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This book identifies and discusses problems and opportunities for the future theory and practice of outer space law.
The corpus of outer space law, including the Outer Space Treaty 1967, has faced multiple challenges and critiques. In recent times, these have included advances in technology, the militarisation of outer space, space debris, and geopolitics. The prominent and emerging contributors to this collection draw on diverse research frameworks to discuss proposals for the future of outer space law and policy. These include addressing regulatory gaps and under-examined and emerging areas of the law, but also beyond, the Outer Space Treaty - especially related to potential extraterrestrial settlements, satellites technology, self-defence, self-determination, and the environment. The book discusses the tensions between universalism and localisation, as well as the regionalisation of outer space law and policy - and how these approaches might adapt to create a dynamic space industry for the future.
This book is both practical and theoretical in scope and will be of interest to academics, researchers and students. It will also be of interest to international organisations, diplomats, and other government officials and policymakers.
List of contents
1. Introduction: The Future of Outer Space Law
PART I: The Promise of Outer Space Law
2. From Wagon Trains to Rocket Ships: Frontier Mentalities and Natural Law in Outer Space
3. A Narrative of Space Law: Extra-Textual Extra Terrestrial Law Formation
4. The Right of Self-Defence in Outer Space Law: Legal Issues and Way Forward
PART II: Futures for Colonisation and Residence in Outer Space
5. Boots on the Moon: Managing the Return of Humans to the Moon
6. The Moondust Kingdom: Jurisdiction over 3D-Printed Stations Created on Celestial Bodies
7. Living Amongst the Stars: Conceptualising Freedom of Movement to and From Future Extraterrestrial Human Settlements
PART III: Futures for Contemporary Problems
8. Emerging Principles on Safety Zones Around Space Resource Utilisation Activities on Celestial Bodies
9. It's Not my Fault!: The Looming Danger of Space Debris and the Quest Towards a Future International Legal Framework
10. Critical Space Synergies: The European GNSS, Liability, and Sustainable Development Goals
11. Conclusion: Hypothesising the Future of Outer Space Law
About the author
Anna Marie Brennan is Senior Lecturer in the School of Law, Politics, and Philosophy at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Her teaching and research interests address international criminal law, human rights law, international humanitarian law, and outer space law. She was previously a lecturer in law at the University of Liverpool in United Kingdom and at University College Cork in Ireland. In 2023, she was the Acting Dean of Te Piringa Faculty of Law and is currently the New Zealand Chair of the AI and Space Law Society.
