The Institution of Property Rights and Sovereignty in Space

The article examines the current state of the institution of property rights and sovereignty in international space law, analyzes the problems of the institution of property rights and sovereignty in outer space, in particular, the contradictions between the existing norms of international space law and the economic interests of large corporations and States. The authors have identified the provisions of existing international agreements in international space law that conflict with the interests of States and corporations, reviewed statements, regulatory legal acts, economic, political and legal initiatives of entities interested in changing the current international regulation of space, demonstrating the existing contradictions. The article also analyzes and evaluates from the perspective of law the models of hypothetical embodiment of this contradiction and its solution in works of culture and art, primarily in science fiction literary and audiovisual works. Based on the existing international legal regulation, analysis of the economic interests of States and private corporations, as well as the models studied, the authors propose a forecast regarding possible scenarios for the development of international space law in relation to the regulation of the institution of property rights, sovereignty, international cooperation in outer space, taking into account the contradictions outlined above. These scenarios differ in their established way of regulating the right of ownership and sovereignty in outer space, the role of international organizations, the direction of changing the existing international space law towards the development and ultimately practical implementation of the existing concept of space as «the heritage of all mankind,» or towards the privatization and nationalization of space. The article also offers an analysis of the activities and future plans of existing international organizations to change the regulation of outer space.

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