Trends and legal perspectives in space law:

a systematic review of the literature

Authors

  • Ana Luiza de Abreu Julião Graduação em Direito, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
  • Carlos Eduardo José da Silva Programa de Pós-Graduação em Pesquisa Operacional, Instituto Tecnológico da Aeronáutica e Universidade Federal de São Paulo, ITA/UNIFESP, São José dos Campos, SP, Brasil
  • Eduarda Cristina dos Santos Silva Graduação em Direito, Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa, FDUL, Lisboa, LIS, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22480/revunifa.2024.37.643

Keywords:

Space Law, Outer Space Exploration, Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This systematic literature review article explores the intricate legal issues associated with the exponential development of outer space exploration and utilization. With the increase in space activities such as satellite launches and mineral resource exploration, legal challenges arise, including the regulation of peaceful space usage, management of space debris, and establishment of rules for extraterrestrial resource appropriation. Cross-border jurisdiction and responsibility issues also gain prominence. The study evaluates the influence of technological transformations on Space Law, aiming to ensure an effective legal framework for space exploration. Based on the PRISMA Protocol and utilizing the computational tool Bibliometrix, the study compiles contemporary discussions on space activities, contributing to legal literature and providing insights for policymakers and legal professionals. It delves into the regulation of human activities in space, liability for damages, governance of extraterrestrial resources, and implications of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). The article also discusses challenges such as defining outer space boundaries, militarization of AI, and dispute resolution. The article underscores the importance of updated regulations, international cooperation, and a balance between regulation and technological innovation. The systematic review offers a comprehensive overview of legal trends in the field of Space Law, contributing to its evolution in the face of emerging legal complexities.

Author Biographies

  • Ana Luiza de Abreu Julião, Graduação em Direito, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil

    Undergraduate student in Law at the State University of Rio de Janeiro - UERJ. He participated in the history monitoring project at Colégio Pedro II as a student monitor and the Junior Scientific Initiation Project "Teaching of History, orality and teaching trajectories: (re)inventions in pandemic times". She works as an intern at the law firm Sergio Bermudes Advogados. He participated as a scholarship student of the scientific initiation project "Prodocência - The application of justice Aristotelian in the Supreme Court" and currently participates on a voluntary basis.

  • Carlos Eduardo José da Silva, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Pesquisa Operacional, Instituto Tecnológico da Aeronáutica e Universidade Federal de São Paulo, ITA/UNIFESP, São José dos Campos, SP, Brasil

    PhD student in Production Engineering / Operations Research, in the Graduate Program in Operations Research (PPG-PO), at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in association with the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA); Master's Degree in Business Administration and Development, Estácio de Sá University (UNESA/MADE), Lato Sensu Post-Graduate Degree in Public Management and Employment of the Air Force, from the University of the Air Force (UNIFA); Post-Graduate Degree in Planning, Implementation and Management of Distance Education, from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Lato Sensu Post-Graduate Degree in People and Process Management, from the Center for Instruction and Adaptation of Air Force Officers (CIAAR); I have a Technological Degree in Aeronautical Management and Maintenance, from CIAAR, and a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). I work as an Instructor at the Air Force Officer Training School and I am interested in the topics of Linear Optimization; Integer Linear Programming; Methods of Problem Structuring and Multicriteria Decision Analysis, mainly applied in Logistics, Materials Management, Production, Education, and Process and Project Management.

  • Eduarda Cristina dos Santos Silva, Graduação em Direito, Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa, FDUL, Lisboa, LIS, Portugal

    Graduating in Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, Portugal. Voluntarily participates in the extracurricular projects of the Luso Study Center Brazilian from the University of Lisbon.

References

AL SABT, I.; FAROOQUI, M. O. Navigating the Convergence of Artificial Intelligence and Space Law: Challenges and Opportunities. HighTech and Innovation Journal, v. 4, n. 1, p. 55-64, 2023.

ARIA, M.; CUCCURULLO, C. Bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of informetrics, v. 11, n. 4, p. 959-975, 2017.

BASELEY-WALKER, B. Is current international humanitarian law sufficient to regulate a potential conflict in outer space? In: 60th International Astronautical Congress, v. 12, Pages 10042 - 10047, 2009.

CLERC, P. Towards a new legal ecosystem for the exploitation of space. In: Routledge Handbook of Commercial Space Law. Routledge, 2023. p. 5-23.

COCCA, A. A. Revaluation of the concept of the human condition and the common heritage of mankind: Keys to the social benefits of space technology. Acta Astronautica, v. 19, n. 9, p. 779-783, 1989.

DAVIS, J. China successfully lands Chang'e-4 on far side of Moon. The Planetary Society, 2019. Disponível em: https://www.planetary.org/articles/change4-success. Acesso em: 10 out. 2023.

DE MAN, P. State practice, domestic legislation and the interpretation of fundamental principles of international space law. Space Policy, v. 42, p. 92-102, 2017.

DE MAN, P. The impact of national space legislation on the interpretation of international principles of global cooperation. In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, 2016.

DE ZWART, M.; LISK, J. Development of the New Zealand and Australian Space Industries: Regulation for a Sustainable Future. RUMLAE Research Paper, n. 17-11, p. 2020-45, 2017.

FILHO, J. M. The place of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in international space law. Space Policy, v. 10, n. 3, p. 223-228, 1994.

FLEMMING, K. Critical appraisal. 2. Searchable questions. NT Learn Curve. 1999 Apr 7;3(2):6-7. PMID: 10474424.

FREELAND, S.; SIM, V. How technology drives space law down under: The Australian and New Zealand experience. Air and Space Law, v. 43, n. 2, 2018.

GOH, G. M. Pella vilya: Near earth objects – Planetary defence through the regulation of resource utilisation. Acta Astronautica, v. 67, n. 1-2, p. 230-240, 2010.

GOH, G. M. The multi-door courthouse: A proposed mechanism for dispute settlement in international space law. In: International Astronautical Federation - 58th International Astronautical Congress, 14, pp. 9550–9560, 2007.

GOMEZ, C. G. Teaching Space Law in Law Schools, a Necessary Challenge in the Developing Countries. In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC ISSN. 2012. p. 0074-1795.

HENDERSON, S. Space courts: Do we need a new dispute settlement body? In: 70th International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2019. 2019.

HERTZFELD, H. R. Unsolved issues of compliance with the registration convention. Journal of Space Safety Engineering, v. 8, n. 3, p. 238-244, 2021.

HINNE, M. et al. The missing link: predicting connectomes from noisy and partially observed tract tracing data. PLOS Computational Biology, v. 13, n. 1, p. e1005374, 2017.

JAKHU, R. S.; FREELAND, S. The relationship between the outer space treaty and customary international law. In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, 2016.

JEYAKODI, D. 3D printing in space: Legal implications. In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, 15, pp. 12295–12301, 2015.

KIAKALAYEH, M. T. Relevance of militarized artificial intelligence to sovereignty in space: Legal challenges and conflicts. In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress. Washington, 21-25 Oct. 2019.

KYRIAKOPOULOS, G. D. Where law meets cinema: James Cameron's Avatar as food for thought about the anthropocentric nature of Space law. In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, 15, p. 11980–11988, 2015.

LIM, J. Charting a human rights framework for outer space settlements. In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, 2020.

LONG, G. A. Artificial Intelligence and State Responsibility under the Outer Space Treaty. In: Proceedings of the International Institute of Space Law, p. 709, 2018.

MCKELLAR, M.; VASTAROUCHA, Y. The plight of Valinor: A realist's approach to the development of space law in future Mars colonial society. In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, 2019.

NASA. Mars InSight Mission. Disponível em: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/overview/. Acesso em: 10 out. 2023.

NETO, O. O. B. Revisiting the Delimitation of Outer Space in Light of the Long-Term Sustainability of Space Activities. Air and Space Law, v. 48, n. Special, 2023.

NUHIJA, B. et al. Comparative planetology as a foundation for associating space law with solar geoengineering governance: stratospheric aerosol injection and variations of sulfur dioxide in Venus's atmosphere. Juridical Tribune Journal, v. 12, n. 3, p. 412-427, 2022.

OSPINA, S. New National Space Agencies in South America: New opportunities for Collaboration. In: Presentation at the 25th Symposium on Space Policy, Regulations, and Economics. Naples, Italy. 2012.

PAGE, M. J. et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. PLoS Med, 18(3): e1003583, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003583.

PECUJLIC, A. N. The “drama” of the legal stalemate in international space law. In: 2nd Advances in the Astronautical Sciences Conference on Space Flight Mechanics and Space Structures and Materials, v. 174, p. 481 - 492, 2021.

PHILIPPOPOULOS-MIHALOPOULOS, A. And for law: why space cannot be understood without law. Law, Culture and the Humanities, v. 17, n. 3, p. 620-639, 2021.

R CORE TEAM. A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Core Team: Vienna, Austria, 2017.

SALMERI, A. Collective Space Object as a New concept of International Space Law. Air and Space Law, v. 46, n. 2, 2021.

SCOPUS. Start exploring, 2023. Disponível em: https://www-scopus.ez422.periodicos.capes.gov.br/search/form.uri?display=basic&zone=header&origin=#basic. Acesso em: 09 ago. 2023.

SEKHULA, P. The right to satellite remote sense data: Impact of multilateral cooperation on international space law. In: 62nd International Astronautical Congress, v. 12, P. 10222 - 10244, 2011.

SHINKARETSKAYA, G. G. General principles of law in the regulation of space activities. Gosudarstvo i pravo, n. 2, p. 131-138, 2023.

SIDDAWAY, A. P.; WOOD, A. M.; HEDGES, L. V. How to do a systematic review: a best practice guide for conducting and reporting narrative reviews, meta-analyses, and meta-syntheses. Annual review of psychology, v. 70, p. 747-770, 2019.

STEELE, S. M. Human spaceflight in 2070: As space agencies are working towards sending humans back to the Moon, what will we be doing in 50 years? Will we have settlers living on the Moon or even on Mars? Will we be there thanks to international endeavors, efforts lead by single governments or by private actors? And how may the discoveries of exoplanets effect and boost human spaceflight to go interstellar? In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC, 2020.

TRONCHETTI, F. The PCA rules for dispute settlement in outer space: A significant step forward. Space Policy, v. 29, n. 3, p. 181-189, 2013.

USP - Universidade de São Paulo. Dia histórico para a ciência: revelada a primeira imagem de buraco negro. Jornal da USP, 2019. Disponível em:https://jornal.usp.br/ciencias/ciencias-exatas-e-da-terra/dia-historico-para-a-ciencia-revelada-a-primeira-imagem-de-buraco-negro/. Acesso em: 10 out. 2023.

__________. Portal da escrita científica, 2023. Disponível em: https://escritacientifica.sc.usp.br/metodologia/bases-metodologia/. Acesso em: 09 ago. 2023.

VAN EIJK, C. Unstealing the Sky: Third World Equity in the Orbital Commons. Air and Space Law, v. 47, n. 1, 2022.

WAKIMOTO, T. Ensuring the safety of commercial space transportation through standardization: Implications of the Chicago Convention and ICAO Standards. Space Policy, v. 49, p. 101326, 2019.

WU, X.; LONG, J. Assessing the Particularity and Potentiality of Civil–Military Integration Strategy for Space Activities in China. Space Policy, v. 62, p. 101514, 2022.

Published

2024-06-12

Issue

Section

Review Articles

How to Cite

Trends and legal perspectives in space law:: a systematic review of the literature. The Journal of the University of the Air Force , Rio de Janeiro, v. 37, p. 1–23, 2024. DOI: 10.22480/revunifa.2024.37.643. Disponível em: https://revistadaunifa.fab.mil.br/index.php/reunifa/article/view/643.. Acesso em: 23 nov. 2024.

Similar Articles

61-70 of 322

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.