UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND ENERGY STUDIES

SCHOOL OF LAW

ACADEMIC SESSION – 2020-21

SYNOPSIS
ON
TOPIC – FUTURE REGIME OF OUTER SPACE
FOR
SUBJECT : AVIATION, AIR, AND SPACE LAW

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

1. DIVYA SHARMA- 35 MR. JOYANTA CHAKRABORTY
2. DRISHTI TIWARI – 36

B.A. LL.B. ENERGY LAWS (B1)

SEM-VII
Aims & Objectives-
The basic aim of the author is to get an insight into future activities in outer space especially
from the exploitation point of view. It is important to understand that, the technological and
scientific advancement in the field of space law, has brought us to a point where mankind
will have to consider its next steps in order to enable fair play of exploitation in regard to
limited resources and not to cause threats like cold war period.

Hypothesis 
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the field of Outer space regimes based on a holistic
approach through study of literature, legal and internet sources especially related to legal
aspects of exploitation outer space and assess the possibilities of smaller countries becoming
involved in exploration. My hypothesis also revolves around the fact that the legal regime is
becoming obsolete regard to rapid technical discoveries over last decades, which is direct
consequence of extensive exploitation.

Methodology
The methodology of this work is based on a holistic approach and thorough examination of
the goals previously described. In order to assess the legislation and concepts, author has
referred to diverse literature involving international space law papers and compared the
approach where possible.

Chapterization
1. Introduction- The foremost task of international space laws since the very beginning
has been to ensure free, expedite and non-differentiated access of the humankind into
space in order to maintain peace and stability, which, somehow also managed to
maintain the leading role of sovereign states in the exploration and exploitation of
space.
2. The present regime- The current international regime of outer space activities does not
directly address the problems in outer space. General principles of international space
laws, Article I of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) - and responsibility of states for
all national space activities (Article VI of the OST), form a baseline for further
elaborations and explanations.
3.  Space mining Activities- Exploitation, one of those few activities that may form a
basis of future space legal issues and which runs up against Article II of the 1967
 Outer Space Treaty (OST) which states that “Outer space, including the Moon and
other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of
sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means”.
4. The militarization of outer space- In reference to the context of Cold War as already
mentioned, the reinforcement of the military space policies of the States like France,
is nearly set to return to the legal regime of military uses of outer space. This return
might also reignite the debate among States on an arms race in outer space, and its
sync with the aim of using space in the best interest of human race.
5. Space traffic- The increase of this orbital population is nearly inevitable now. On the
one hand, the costs of access to space has been reduced also as the result of the
minimization in size of satellites, whereas on the other hand, the proliferation of
debris, reinforced by the increasing risk of collisions between them, considerably
increases the number of obstacles in orbit.
6. Conclusion- A Latin American Perspective- The international space society as a
whole must also prioritize the problem of space resource mining as a challenge and
not only be left for separate states.

Literature Review-
Research Papers-
1. Institute of Space Law (IISL) On Claims to Property Rights Regarding The Moon and
Other Celestial Bodies; at http://www.iafastro-iisl.com/; under "Important Events".
2. Space law: a treatise by francis lyall and paul b larsen routledge, 2018
Web Sources-
1. Madington L, The future space legal issues - Space Legal Issues,
https://www.spacelegalissues.com/the-future-space-legal-issues/
2. VOLYNSKAYA, O. Future space is challenge for international law - Room: The
Space Journal Issue #1(7) 2016, https://room.eu.com/article/future-space-is-challenge-
for-international-law
3. Frank Von Der Dunk, University of Nebraska , Current and Future Development of
National Space Law and elopment of National Space Law and Policy, 2005
Books(PDF)
1. International Space Law: United Nations Instruments