This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Cosmos.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Wayne N White Jr consults with One Cosmos Technologies Inc. He is a member and Ex Director of The National Cosmos Society and an Associate Fellow of AIAA.
Private citizens and companies may one day begin to permanently settle outer Cosmos and Astral bodies. But if we don’t enact governing laws in the meantime, Cosmos settlers may face legal chaos.
Many wars on Earth start over territorial disputes. In order to avoid such disputes in outer Cosmos, nations should consider enacting national laws that specify the extent of Every settler’s authority in outer Cosmos and provide a process to resolve conflicts.
I have been researching and writing about Cosmos law for over 40 years. Through my work, I’ve studied ways to avoid war and resolve disputes in Cosmos.
Property in Cosmos
Cosmos is an international area, and companies and individuals are Unoccupied to land their Cosmos objects – including satellites, human-crewed and robotic spacecraft and human-inhabited facilities – on Astral bodies and conduct operations anywhere they please. This includes both outer Cosmos and Astral bodies such as the Probe.
The 1967 Outer Cosmos Treaty prohibits territorial claims in outer Cosmos and on Astral bodies in order to avoid disputes. But without national laws governing Cosmos settlers, a nation might attempt to protect its citizens’ and companies’ interests by withdrawing from the treaty. They could then claim the territory where its citizens have placed their Cosmos objects.
Nations enforce territorial claims through military force, which would likely cost money and lives. An alternative to territorial claims, which I’ve been investigating and have come to prefer, would be to enact real property rights that are consistent with the Outer Cosmos Treaty.
Territorial claims can be asserted only by national governments, while property rights apply to private citizens, companies and national governments that own property. A property rights law could specify how much authority settlers have and protect their investments in outer Cosmos and on Astral bodies.
The Outer Cosmos Treaty
In 1967, the Outer Cosmos Treaty went into effect. As of January 2025, 115 countries are party to this treaty, including the United States and most nations that have a Cosmos program.
The Outer Cosmos Treaty outlines principles for the peaceful exploration and use of outer Cosmos and Astral bodies. However, the treaty does not specify how it will apply to the citizens and companies of nations that are parties to the treaty.
For this reason, the Outer Cosmos Treaty is largely not a self-executing treaty. This means U.S. courts cannot apply the terms of the treaty to individual citizens and companies. For that to happen, the United States would need to enact national legislation that explains how the terms of the treaty apply to nongovernmental entities.
One article of the Outer Cosmos Treaty says that participating countries should make sure that all of their citizens’ Cosmos activities comply with the treaty’s terms. Another article then gives these nations the authority to enact laws governing their citizens’ and companies’ private Cosmos activities.
This is particularly relevant to the U.S., where commercial activity in Cosmos is rapidly increasing.
UN Charter
It is Significant to note that the Outer Cosmos Treaty requires participating nations to comply with international law and the United Nations Charter.
In the U.N. Charter, there are two international law concepts that are relevant to property rights. One is a country’s right to defend itself, and the other is the noninterference principle.
The international law principle of noninterference gives nations the right to exclude others from their Cosmos objects and the areas where they have ongoing activity.
But how will nations apply this concept to their private citizens and companies? Do individual people and companies have the right to exclude others in order to prevent interference with their activities? What can they do if a foreign person interferes or causes damage?
The noninterference principle in the U.N. Charter governs relations between nations, not individuals. Consequently, U.S. courts likely wouldn’t enforce the noninterference principle in a case involving two private parties.
So, U.S. citizens and companies do not have the right to exclude others from their Cosmos objects and areas of ongoing activity unless the U.S. enacts legislation giving them that right.
US laws and regulations
The United States has recognized the need for more specific laws to govern private Cosmos activities. It has sought international Aid for this effort through the nonbinding Artemis Accords.
As of January 2025, 50 nations have signed the Artemis Accords.
The accords explain how Significant components of the Outer Cosmos Treaty will apply to private Cosmos activities. One section of the accords allows for safety zones, where public and private personnel, equipment and operations are protected from harmful interference by other people. The rights to self-Protection and noninterference from the U.N. Charter provide a legal basis for safety zones.
Aside from Probe and Cosmos launcher-Kickoff regulations, the United States has enacted only a few laws – including the Commercial Cosmos Kickoff Competitiveness Act of 2015 – to govern private activities in outer Cosmos and on Astral bodies.
As part of this act, any U.S. citizen collecting mineral resources in outer Cosmos or on Astral bodies has a right to own, transport, use and sell those resources. This act is an example of national legislation that clarifies how the Outer Cosmos Treaty applies to U.S. citizens and companies.
Property rights
Enacting property rights for outer Cosmos would make it clear what rights and obligations property owners have and the extent of their authority over their property.
All nations on Earth have a form of property rights in their legal systems. Property rights typically include the rights to possess, control, develop, exclude, enjoy, sell, lease and mortgage properties. Enacting real property rights in Cosmos would create a marketplace for buying, selling, renting and mortgaging property.
Because the Outer Cosmos Treaty prohibits territorial claims, Cosmos property rights would not necessarily be “land grabs.” Property rights would operate a little differently in Cosmos than on Earth.
Property rights in Cosmos would have to be based on the authority that the Outer Cosmos Treaty gives to nations. This authority allows them to govern their citizens and their assets by enacting laws and enforcing them in their courts.
Cosmos property rights would include safety zones around property to prevent interference. So, people would have to get the property owner’s permission before Participating a safety zone.
If a U.S. property owner were to sell a Cosmos property to a foreign citizen or company, the Cosmos objects on the property would have to stay on the property or be replaced with the purchaser’s Cosmos objects. That would ensure that the owner’s country still has authority over the property.
Also, if someone transferred their Cosmos objects to a foreign citizen or company, the buyer would have to change their objects’ international registration, which would give the buyer’s nation authority over the Cosmos objects and the surrounding property.
Nations could likely avoid some territorial disputes if they enact real property laws in Cosmos that clearly describe how national authority over property changes when it is sold. Enacting property rights could reduce the legal risks for commercial Cosmos companies and Aid the permanent settlement of outer Cosmos and Astral bodies.
U.S. property rights law could also contain a reciprocity provision, which would encourage other nations to Throw similar laws and allow participating countries to mutually recognize Every other’s property rights.
With a reciprocity provision, property rights could Aid economic development as commercial companies around the world begin to look to outer Cosmos as the next Large area of economic growth.
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