Description
Is the Moon a fish? Around the time as when the Outer Space Treaty (OST) was negotiated, discussions on the “tragedy of the commons” and on the common heritage of humankind also took place. The discussion took place as part of the negotiations of the Law of the Sea regime within the UN. Language in the OST strongly suggests that some of the considerations that were discussed more thoroughly in the Law of the See negotiations, were also considered for regulating outer space. However, the language of OST is stuck somewhere between the language of rights and duties of what today is understood as the High Seas and the seabed, both areas that are outside of any state’s jurisdiction. While both the high seas and the seabed are considered a global commons (like outer space) they have radically different governance regimes. The high seas is a traditional commons, and therefore very much susceptible to the “tragedy of the commons” while the international seabed is a common heritage of humankind, a much more regulated and a much fairer governance regime when it comes to the states from the Global South. This paper will discuss the possible analogies that we can draw from the bundle of rules falling under the concept of the high seas and the international seabed for outer space and ultimately ask the question: is the Moon a fish?
