Space resource utilisation

2024
IISL President speaks at UN Conference on Space Law and Policy

21 November 2024. IISL President Kai-Uwe Schrogl was invited to speak today at the 2024 United Nations Conference on Space Law Policy in Vienna, Austria, taking place from 19 to 21 November 2024. The UN Conference on Space Law and Policy is part of a long-standing series of capacity-building organizing over 15 workshops and conferences on space law and policy, organised by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs. This year the Office has moved back to the traditional style of having it held as an in-person event. More information on the UN Conference on Space Law and Policy is available on the dedicated website of the United Nations. Schrogl spoke on Day 3 of the Conference during the panel on National Space Legislation (Panel 2), which included the following panelists: His presentation is available below. The Conference was attended by many IISL members and was received very well and the Programme is available below. The Conference objectives were met and a final report reflecting the successful discussions was adopted during the closing session of the Conference. The report will be made available on the dedicated UNOOSA webpage for the UN Conference on Space Law and Policy.

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2024
Save the Date – 13 December 2024: 19th Annual Eilene M. Galloway IISL Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law

A day of insightful discussions and networking at @Akin Gump in Washington DC. This IISL Symposium is a tribute to the enduring contributions of Eilene M. Galloway to space law and policy. Organized in partnership with McGill IASL and Space Court Foundation. To register, for either in-person or virtual, please go to spacecourtfoundation.org/IISLGalloway.

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2024
2024 China Space Conference: Announcement of International Symposium on the Rule of Law in Outer Space

Update 18 April 2024: The live link is as follows: Symposium on the Rule of Law in Outer Space Netmeeting software: ZOOM, Conference number: 835 6507 7116, Password: 2024 On April 25, the 2024 International Symposium on the Rule of Law in Outer Space will be held in Wuhan, China during the course of the 2024 China Space Conference. China Space Conference is held since 2018 and now it is the most influential space event in China and a high-end platform for promoting international space cooperation. As one of the most vibrant events, the International Symposium on the Rule of Law in Outer Space aims to provide a platform for experts worldwide to share insights on the recent trends and challenges in the rule of law in Outer Space and has been successfully held six sessions. The Symposium is organized by China Institute of Space Law (CISL) and supported by International Institute of Space Law, Space Law Center of China National Space Administration and Chinese Society of Astronautics (CSA). IISL President Kai-Uwe Schrogl will address the event in his capacity as President of the IISL. The live link is coming soon.

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2024
IISL Board Member Fabio Tronchetti represents IISL

IISL Board Member Fabio Tronchetti represented the IISL in his capacity as IISL representative to IAA on matters related to the Moon Farside Protection and as Member of the IISL Board. The presentations were held recently during the First IAA Symposium on Moon Farside Protection and the European Interparliamentary Space Conference Workshop. During the 1st IAA Symposium on Moon Farside Protection, which took place in Turin, Italy, on 22 March 2024 Dr. Tronchetti gave a presentation entitled: ‘The role of space law in protecting the Moon Farside for scientific research’. The presentation was given on behalf of IISL in his role of IISL representative to IAA on matters related to the Moon Farside Protection. The presentation can be accessed below and more information on the Symposium is available at: https://www.moonfarsideprotection.org/. The European Interparliamentary Space Conference Workshop, on 25 March 2024, addressed the topic: Legislating space: a commercial affair? The Workshop took place in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. Dr. Tronchetti gave a presentation in his capacity as IISL Board Member entitled: ‘China and space: a regulatory and strategic reflection’. More information is available at: https://www.chd.lu/en/node/2235.

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2024
IISL Board Member publishes on SpaceWatchGL Geopolitics – China and the Moon

IISL Board Member Fabio Trionchetti published an article on Space Watch Global addressing the Chinese position towards lunar activities. The piece analyses China’s position on lunar (and other celestial bodies) activities in light of the recent Chinese submission to the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. The article was originally published on 14 March 2014 on SpaceWatch Global at https://spacewatch.global/2024/03/spacewatchgl-geopolitics-china-and-the-moon/. SpaceWatchGL Geopolitics – China and the Moon By Dr. Fabio Tronchetti The recent Chinese official communication to COPUOS is the first evident manifestation of China’s willingness to engage in multilateral negotiations on this subject. Credit: Emma Gatti/SpaceWatch.Global What is China’s position on space resource activities? The following is a commentary on the Chinese approach following its submission to the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). On March 6th, 2024, China submitted to the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS)a document highlighting the country’s position towards the utilization of space resources and indicated selected issues that should be addressed as a matter of priory importance. The submission represents the first official initiative taken by China to delineate its approach on the regulation of space resources activities; unsurprisingly, this document has received significant attention in the press and among scholars. It seems, therefore, important to undertake an analysis of its content, indicating how the Chinese position differs from that expressed by other countries and assess its implications moving forward. Recent developments in space resources activities In the past decade, the Moon has returned to the centre of States’ space agenda. The United States and China are leading coalitions of States, respectively under the framework of the Artemis Program and the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), with the aim of returning humans to the Moon, building facilities on its surface, and possibly using lunar resources to sustain their missions. These plans have spurred numerous initiatives intended to fill the gaps left open by the space treaties about activities undertaken on celestial bodies. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) only declared celestial bodies non-appropriable (Art. II, OST) and recognized the right of States to explore and use outer space, provided that such exploration and use are carried out for the benefit and in the interest of all countries (Art. I, OST). However, the OST does not specify how these principles apply to activities carried out on a celestial body, leaving, thus, key questions open to diverging interpretations (i.e. are resources appropriable? Is their use, particularly for profit, consistent with the OST?) The Moon occupies a place of special importance in the Chinese space program. In the last decade, four States-  the United States, Luxembourg, the UAE and Japan- have enacted national space resources utilization laws; these laws not only affirm the legality of the use of resources for profit but also lay down the regulatory foundation to authorize private space resources activities. In 2020 the United States went one step further by delineating in a document called the Artemis Accords, a series of principles intended to guide the activities of the States participating in the Artemis Program. The Accords contain several provisions that, while intended to give shape to the principles of the OST in the context of lunar activities, raise questions associated with their consistency with the Treaty itself. The possibility of establishing ‘safety zones’ on the Moon’s surface to prevent harmful interference with one’s mission represents a perfect example of this controversial approach (are ‘safety zones’ consistent with the non-appropriative nature of the Moon?). Importantly, the developments described above occurred outside of the traditional international law-making framework for space activities that has in COPUOS, and specifically its Legal Subcommittee, its centrepiece. This has raised concerns relating to the fragmentation of international space law and the de-legitimation of the law-making role of COPUOS. To reconcile different positions and ideally develop a common understanding of the rules governing space resources utilization activities, States agreed to discuss the matter in the COPUOS’ Legal Subcommittee. In 2022 a Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities was set up with the goal, inter alia, to develop a set of initial recommended principles for such activities by 2027. China and the Moon The Moon occupies a place of special importance in the Chinese space program. Between 2007 and 2020, China undertook the first phase of its lunar exploration program, which included orbiting the Moon with a probe, landing a rover on the Moon’s surface and its far-side, and automated collection of lunar samples. China is now entering the second phase of its lunar exploration program, consisting, first, of a series of missions to study water deposits and other physical resources at the South Pole of the Moon and then, the construction of a lunar research station. To achieve this goal, China has launched the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) initiative, which has been joined so far by 8 countries with 10 other States currently negotiating their participation. Unlike the Artemis Program, the ILRS does not have a regulatory instrument to guide the activities of its participants; up to this moment, China has only concluded cooperation agreements with the participating States, even though it has made clear its intention to develop more detailed arrangements on a bilateral basis. China describes the ILRS as a scientific research facility open to all interested countries and envisions the use of lunar resources for scientific research and support of its mission. Notably, China has not enacted a national space resources utilization law nor has launched any initiative outside of COPUOS to promote its interpretation of the space treaties about space resources activities. The Chinese submission to the Working Group China submitted to the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities of the Legal Subcommittee of COPUOS to respond to the Chair’s invitation to provide information

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