Regulation of Space Resources Mining: the Creation of an International Legal Custom

Попова С.М.

doi:10.7256/2454-0706.2022.12.39421

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Law and Politics

Reference:

Popova, S.M. (2022). Regulation of Space Resources Mining: the Creation of an International Legal Custom. Law and Politics, 12, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.7256/2454-0706.2022.12.39421

Regulation of Space Resources Mining: the Creation of an International Legal Custom

Popova Svetlana Mikhailovna

PhD in Politics

Associate Professor, PhD in Political Sciences, Center for Comparative Law, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University

518172, China, Guangdong Province, Shenzhen, International University Park Road, Dayun New Town, Longgang District, 1, of. 1

condrieu2020@gmail.com

Other publications by this author

DOI:

10.7256/2454-0706.2022.12.39421

EDN:

WBYQFT

Received:

16-12-2022

Published:

23-12-2022

Abstract: This article analyses the current state of affairs on creating "legal certainty" for economic entities in exploring, mining, using, and appropriating space resources. This study uses a parallel analysis of various events (legal, political, and economic ones) in the regulation of the extraction of space resources, as well as relevant legal acts. The studied sources are relevant acts of international and national space law, "gray" literature, and Russian and foreign publications. The transformation of international ideas about the possibility of national and/or private appropriation of space resources is proposed to be considered not only based on an analysis of norms and doctrine but also by considering various countries' institutional changes and technological achievements. The theoretical question of ownership of extraterrestrial resources and territories, discussed since the early 1960s, has moved from the distant future to the present. The current international space law seems insufficiently unambiguous for private companies and therefore requires clarification. However, the pace of modernizing international law lags behind the needs of the development of the space economy and needs to meet the interests of space investors and entrepreneurs. It is concluded that the chain of events of 2014–2022 testifies to the concerted actions of a group of countries aimed at deliberately forming an international legal custom—the source of international space law. It is shown that the adoption of a universal decision shared by all states in the field of space resources is hampered by the existence of equally significant but competing legal principles. Today, economic challenges are decisive in developing international space law: legal certainty in the extraction of space resources is necessary to ensure the economic priority and competitiveness of technologically advanced states in space.

Keywords:

space resources, space resources exploration, space resources mining, space resources appropriation, international space law, space economy, outer space treaty, COPUOS, adaptive regulation, customary international law
This article written in Russian. You can find original text of the article here .

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First Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

The subject of the study. Based on the title, the article is devoted to the regulation of the extraction of space resources in the context of the creation of an international legal custom. The content of the article partially corresponds to the stated title. Research methodology. The materials submitted for review represent a high-quality review of publications and regulatory legal acts. There are no results related to the identified problems and recommendations for their solution. When finalizing the article, it is recommended to eliminate this problem, as well as expand the practice of using graphic objects when presenting the material. The relevance of the study of the issues raised is beyond doubt, since it meets the national interests of the Russian Federation, including in the context of ensuring national security, as well as solving socio-economic tasks defined in the national development goals of the Russian Federation (approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 07/21/2020). There is no scientific novelty in the peer-reviewed materials, despite the presence of a large number of potentially possible problem areas to study. Style, structure, content. The style of presentation is scientific, if assessed by the absence of expressions of colloquial and journalistic styles. The structure of the article is not fully structured (there are no elements that aim the author to conduct an analysis in order to identify problems on the chosen research topic and develop reasonable proposals to eliminate them). The presence of problems with the formation of a well-structured research structure determines the shortcomings in the content. When finalizing the article, it is recommended to pay attention to the identification of problems and their causes, as well as the development of a reasonable set of recommendations for their solution. Moreover, it is extremely important to establish causal relationships, since the success of the long-term nature of the decisions made depends on this. Bibliography. The generated bibliographic list consists of 59 sources. First of all, it should be noted the free approach to the design of bibliographic descriptions, which has a serious negative impression of familiarization with the article as a whole. Moreover, the author has absolutely not studied the scientific works of our time. The research, based on the list of references, is based exclusively on foreign sources. The above comments make it necessary to finalize the reviewed materials. Appeal to opponents. It is valuable that the author conducted a qualitative study of the authors' opinions on the issues under consideration. However, there is no author's position on these issues, which indicates the absence of scientific discussion. The elimination of this problem will be a positive step in ensuring the formation of scientific novelty, which is absent in the current edition of the materials submitted for review. Conclusions, the interest of the readership. Taking into account the above, the article can be published after the addition of mandatory elements missing in the current edition. The chosen research topic has potential interest for a limited number of people, which further increases the level of criticality of the need for qualitative improvement.

Second Peer Review

The subject of the study is a wide range of relations: both those related to the transformation of international space law through the formation of a new source base, and problematic relations related to the commercialization of outer space. The research methodology is based on the application of the main general scientific scientific and legal methods of cognition: analytical, comparative, synthesis and generalization, induction and deduction. The relevance of space issues is beyond doubt. A.S. Ispolinov, whose work, ksati, is not referenced in the article, wrote that the traditional idea of space activities, which can be implemented exclusively by states through specially created structures, is being replaced by an understanding that this activity can be successfully carried out by private companies, while competition between them is not not only acceptable, but also desirable. "The increasing participation of private capital in the exploration of space resources indicates the formation of a large, self-sufficient and investment-attractive economy of the New Space." The new emerging space legal order lacks the kind of legal regulation that would not only adequately reflect modern (mostly economic) realities in space, but also not forget about the main and important approach to understanding space as a truly heritage of all (!) mankind. The scientific novelty is primarily related to the way the author showed the process of custom formation in international space law. Custom as a source of international law still remains for many an incomprehensible and underestimated legal phenomenon. The author, through an analysis of national legal systems and international legal actions, showed how, most likely, a new custom is being formed in space law. And this spectacle is both fascinating and disgusting at the same time, because we see how space becomes a place that is "torn apart" by the economic private interests of individual states. This was not the future that was being prepared for space in the middle of the twentieth century. The style, structure and content are not questionable. The bibliography is represented by numerous domestic and foreign studies, among which there are not enough works by A.S. Ispolinov. The work will undoubtedly arouse the interest of the readership. But here's what I would like to draw attention to - The conclusion: As the author writes, "space is not only a competition of economies (although only strong economies can withstand such a resource–intensive project as space exploration). Space is, first of all, the competition of management systems and models." It seems that the author supports an openly predatory approach to space, which is initiated by the United States and which clearly contradicts the SDGs, especially Goal 17. A true internationalist will not think like a civilist and a marketer, a true internationalist is an altruist and an idealist. The exploration and use of outer space serves not only the interests of the State that carries out such activities, but also the global interests of all mankind. The main task of space law is to ensure a rational and responsible approach to the exploration and use of outer space for the benefit and in the interests of all mankind. If the author takes this into account, then the article will have no price.

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Regulation of Space Resources Mining: the Creation of an International Legal Custom