ABSTRACT
The international legal regulation of outer space represents an ongoing challenge in terms of establishing and implementing frameworks that are appropriate means of global governance. Those of us who are concerned with the legal regulation of outer space have come to realize that there are myriad factors associated with this regime. These are both of a ‘law’ (hard and ‘soft’) nature, as well as stemming from a range of other non-legal areas such as history, technology, science, economics, sociology etc. Dealing with the traditional legal aspects, the United Nations Space Treaties and specific space-related General Assembly Resolutions undoubtedly form an important corpus of rules and guidelines which serve to fashion our conduct in the exploration and use of outer space. The fundamental principles that these instruments set out represent important foundations upon which humankind’s endeavours in outer space have traditionally been based, at least in the public debate. They have also been largely successful in – thus far – steering us away from cataclysmic errors of judgment in the way that we have utilized outer space. However, it would be far too simplistic and plainly inaccurate to assume that the applicable
legal regime begins and ends with these instruments. Notwithstanding their importance, there is much more to consider. The wide ranging and ever increasing number of space activities clearly demonstrates that many issues impact on this legal regime, at the same time that the regime itself impacts on a broad facet of human interactions. In this sense, outer space asserts a far greater influence upon the directions taken by humankind than one might at first instance imagine – yes, the exploration and use of outer space has been designated as the ‘province of mankind’,1 but it is not only a place for us to venture to in order to explore and exploit, but is also a phenomena that has real impacts upon all on Earth every day of our lives.
