legal perspectives on space natural resource exploitation;mining right on the moon
- Paper number
IAC-10,E7,1,19,x6170
- Author
Ms. Ro Yelim, Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University, Canada
- Year
2010
- Abstract
The exploitation of natural resources from outer space is not simply a story in scientific fictions but a foreseeable event in the near future of humankind. It is reported that various types of valuable minerals exist on the Moon, and it is-widely accepted that the exploitation therein promises tremendous economic and social benefits for the international community. Helium-3 is a good example of lucrative resources on the Moon. Helium-3, embedded in the upper layer of the Moon, is an emerging energy source that can surely overcome the shortage of fossil fuel on the Earth, and provide economic opportunities for not only the mining entities, but everyone on the globe who requires alternative energy source. Indeed, space faring powers have been making efforts on the exploitation of natural resources of the Moon and celestial bodies, and related technologies have been developed faster than ever. Not surprisingly, these efforts on commercialization of the exploitation will meet the time before too long. While space science and technology have shown remarkable achievements, space law has been at a standstill without progress since 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The Outer Space Treaty is a Magna Carta of Space law that provides applicable fundamental principles of space activities, but a legal rationale for the exploitation has been rather vague. The exploitation of the moon has been neither expressively prohibited nor allowed due to the absence of concrete space proviso which shall ensure legal rights and the obligations of the space activity. This deficiency makes States or private entities to hesitate in investing in valuable activities in space, including mining natural resources. In light of the space exploitation, related laws have been frozen or have not been invented yet though opportunities of the mining have uniqueness and great values on numerous spheres of fertilizing society. In order to ameliorate such legal vacuum, this paper aims at demonstrating the necessity of specific legal paradigms and proposing a feasible legal instrument by comparing against general international law and interpreting existing Space law regime.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)