A Study On The International Law Issues Concerning Outer Space Resources Exploitation

Human’s outer space resources exploitation practice was started in the 1950s and has experienced more than half a century.After entering the 21st century,it is moving forward rapidly.However,the rapid development of outer space resources exploration has brought many new problems and challenges,and the lagging construction of the international system of outer space resources exploitation is not enough to cope with the emerging new problems and challenges.In recent years,China’s outer space resources exploitation practice has developed steadily and rapidly,and it has put forward the development vision of “To Build China into a Space Power in All Respects” and the development purpose of “Promoting the Building of A Community with A Shared Future for Mankind in Outer Space”.The realization of the development vision and the development purpose requires China to actively grasp the power of discourse in the construction of the international system of outer space and show its responsibility as a major country in promoting the construction of a fair and reasonable global governance system of outer space.In this context,this paper takes the international law issues concerning outer space resources exploitation as the research object,aiming to enrich the content of the basic theory of outer space law,and add theoretical basis for improving the system of outer space resources exploitation.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,there are five chapters in this paper.The introduction expounds the research background,the meaning,domestic and foreign research status and comments,research ideas,structure arrangement and research methods.Chapter 1 mainly discusses the relevant concepts and basic principles of outer space resources exploitation.Outer space resources are the sum of all tangible resources and intangible resources existing in outer space(including the moon and other celestial bodies),which could be divided into temporary infinite resources and finite resources.Outer space resources exploitation is an important part of outer space activities,referring to the exploration,exploitation and utilization by various States in outer space(including the moon and other celestial bodies),as well as the activities that provide services for the above activities.At present,the exploitation of tangible outer space resources such as water and minerals is on the eve of exploration,and there is no practice of large-scale commercial exploitation.Nowadays,mankind have had many and more mature practices in the exploitation of intangible outer space resources such as micro-gravity,high vacuum,cosmic rays and high position resources.The basic principles of outer space resources exploitation include the principle of common interests,free exploration and utilization,non-appropriation,peaceful exploration and utilization,the earth and the space environment protection principle and international cooperation,those basic principles not only provide principle guidance for outer space resources exploitation activities of all States,but also provide the basis for the establishment of the international system of outer space resources exploitation.Chapter 2 studies the legal status of outer space resources,including the legal nature of outer space resources and the legal attribute of the right to outer space resources.Different States with different outer space technologies and overall capabilities have put forward different propositions on the legal nature of outer space resources and the legal attribute of the right to outer space resources based on the consideration of their national interests.Regarding the legal nature of outer space resources,the three most representative propositions are “the proposition of common heritage of mankind”,“the proposition of res nullius” and “the proposition of res communis”.After studying the origin and application of these three propositions,and analyzing their rationality and irrationality respectively,this paper proposes that the legal nature of outer space resources should be defined as “common heritage of mankind”,and its legal connotation is as follows: Outer space resources are the common property of “all mankind”,outer space resources exploitation should be conducive to maintaining international peace and stability and must be in a responsible manner for all mankind.The two most representative propositions about the legal attribute of the right to outer space resources are “the theory of no right” and“the theory of possession”.After studying the contents,origin and application of these two propositions,then analyzing their reasonableness and irrationality respectively,this paper puts forward “the theory of priority exploitation rights” which aims to balance fairness and efficiency of outer space resources exploitation.This paper argues that the connotation of “the theory of priority exploitation rights” is as follows:Outer space resources are the “common heritage of mankind”,only “the international organization representing all humankind” can claim ownership of outer space resources,States,other non-state entities and natural persons authorized by States can acquire the functions separated from the ownership of outer space resources through“priority exploitation”,including the right of exploitation and the right of distribution.Chapter 3 studies the issue of security in outer space resources exploitation.Security in outer space resources exploitation means that in outer space resources exploitation,the fundamental and major interests of a State are relatively free from danger and threat,and the ability to continuously safeguard such status.Security in outer space resources exploitation is related to the national security of all countries,and its basic contents include military security in outer space resources exploitation and environmental security in outer space resources exploitation.Relevant provisions in international treaties such as the Outer Space Treaty,the Moon Agreement and the International Telecommunication Union regulations constitute the main international rules regulating security in outer space resources exploitation.In addition,the contents of the non-binding documents adopted or put forward on the platforms of international organizations such as the United Nations,the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva,the International Telecommunication Union and the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee play certain reference role in the international regulation of security in outer space resources exploitation.However,the existing provisions of relevant international treaties have defects such as core concepts are unclear,the contents are incomplete,and the geographical scope of application is narrow,the contents of other relevant international documents are incomplete and non-binding,so that it is difficult to cope with threats such as the recklessly development of outer space weapons,the rapid increase of the use of military satellites,the increasing risk of space pollution and the aggravation of the shortage of orbital resources.The defects and challenges of the existing international regulations on security in outer space resources exploitation constitute the driving force to improve the international regulations.The research on security in outer space resources exploitation could provide theoretical foundation for determining China’s position on this issue.Chapter 4 studies the issue of international liability in outer space resources exploitation.This paper summarizes the basic issues of international liability in outer space resources exploitation into five aspects,including the concept,the subject of the liability,the scope of application,the doctrine of liability fixation and the methods of bearing.International liability in outer space resources exploitation refers to the international liability of State for the harmful consequences caused by outer space resources exploitation activities carried out within its territory,jurisdiction,control or supervision,its subject is State,it applies to the direct material damage caused by outer space resources exploitation activities,its doctrine of liability fixation should be improved with the need of outer space resources exploitation practice,and its main method of bearing is reparation.The existing regime of international liability in outer space resources exploitation is mainly reflected in Articles 6 and 7 of the Outer Space Treaty and in the Liability Convention,including rules on the subject of liability,rules on the scope of application,rules on the doctrine of liability fixation and rules on the methods of bearing.With the increasingly complexity of outer space resources exploitation activities,the defects of the existing regime of international liability in outer space resources exploitation have gradually emerged,including the connotation of “launching state” in the rules on the subject of liability is too narrow,core concepts in the rules on scope of activities are unclear and the content are incomplete,the scope of the rules on the doctrine of liability fixation and the criteria of the rules on the doctrine of liability fixation is unclear.The defects of the existing regime and the emergence of new challenges together form the driving force for improving the regime of international liability in outer space resources exploitation.The research on the issue of international liability in outer space resources exploitation could provide theoretical basis for determining China’s position on this issue.Chapter 5 mainly studies China’s position on improving the system of the outer space resources exploitation and the suggestions to improve the system of outer space resources exploitation.“Promoting the Building of A Community with A Shared Future for Mankind in Outer Space” is the application of the vision of “A Community with A Shared Future for Mankind” in outer space.It can be regarded as China’s basic position on improving the system of outer space resources exploitation,and its connotation is consistent with the basic principles of outer space resources exploitation.Under the basic position of “Promoting the Building of A Community with A Shared Future for Mankind in Outer Space”,this paper puts forward China’s position on the legal status of outer space resources,on the issue of security in outer space resources exploitation and on the issue of international liability in outer space resources exploitation.Based on the basic position of “Promoting the Building of A Community with A Shared Future for Mankind in Outer Space”,this paper puts forward four suggestions to improve the international system of outer space resources exploitation,including the formulation of international rules which clarifying the legal status of outer space resources,the formulation of adequate and effective international rules that regulate security issue in outer space resources exploitation,the formulation of comprehensive international rules on the international liability in outer space resources exploitation,and the establishment of “the international organization representing all humankind”.China has preliminarily established the domestic system of outer space resources exploitation,but there are still problems such as too scattered and lack of systemization,as well as gaps and lags.The thesis proposes that China should establish and perfect the domestic system of outer space resources exploitation,including improving the access regime of outer space resources exploitation,improving the management regime for space resources,space objects and related ground facilities,establishing the regime of the liability in outer space resources exploitation,perfecting the insurance regime of outer space resources exploitation and improving the security guarantee system for the exploitation of outer space resources,so as to provide sufficient system guarantee for the further development of China’s outer space resources exploitation.In the conclusion part,this paper holds that the international community should,in the process of improving the international system of outer space resources exploitation,take the basic principles of space resources exploitation as the basis and aim to realize the benefit of outer space resources exploitation to the whole mankind.The international system of outer space resources exploitation should further defines:outer space resources are the “common heritage of mankind” and various States can acquire the right of exploitation and the right of distribution of outer space resources through “priority exploitation”,maintaining security in outer space resources exploitation is the key to realize the sustainable development of outer space resources exploitation,the regime of the international liability in outer space resources exploitation should aim at achieving balance between the benefits and harms from outer space resources exploitation activities.At the same time,as a responsible great power,China should lead the international community to gradually establish “the international organization representing all humankind”,so as to realize the mutual development and mutual prosperity of all States.