CYIL vol. 13 (2022)

CHARLES BIRD CYIL 13 ȍ2022Ȏ codified into law in Title 51 of the United States Code as “… obtained in accordance with applicable law, including the international obligations of the United States”. 19 Adding further incentives, or complications depending on one’s point of view, was the signing of Executive Order 13914 expressing further support of the commercialization of space and declaring that the OST permits resources extraction of celestial bodies. What’s more, President Trump’s order stated that space was not a global common and the United States’ should begin discussions with other nations to utilize space resources. 20 Shortly after the U.S. law was enacted, Luxembourg, Japan, and the UAE enacted their own. The Legislation of Luxembourg, Japan, and the UAE On 20 July 2017, Luxembourg enacted the act on the Exploration and Use of Space Resources. The law is meant to facilitate the utilization of space resources and is far more blunt compared to its U.S. counterpart. Shortly after the law’s enactment in September of 2018, the Luxembourg Space Agency was established. At the launch of the new space agency the Economy Minister, Etienne Schneider, stated that the space sector already accounted for 2% of Luxembourg’s gross domestic product. He made it clear that the objective of the agency was not to carry out scientific experiments in space, but to exploit the commercial possibilities of space. 21 The act specifically states that space resources can be owned, 22 with a very specific focus on the commercial sector. Article 4 of the law makes it clear that one of the ultimate objectives of the legislation was to facilitate non-governmental asteroid mining: The authorisation for a mission shall only be granted if the applicant is a public company limited by shares ( société anonyme ) or a corporate partnership limited by shares ( société en commandite par actions ) or a private limited liability company ( société à responsabilité limitée ) of Luxembourg law or a European Company ( société européenne ) having its registered office in Luxembourg. 23 Like the Luxembourg legislation, the Japanese act on the Promotion of Business Activities Related to the Exploration and Development of Space Resources of June 2021 (Space Resource Act) allows private exploration and development of space resources to have ownership of those resources. 24 This type of activity must be approved by the Prime Minister for each launch from inside Japan. 25 The UAE’s Federal Law No. 12 permits private ownership of space resources but only if the actors acquiring those resources 26 have received an official permit. 27 These three states’ legislation mirrors the framework set out by the United States’ 19 H.R. 2262, 114 th Cong. (2015) (enacted) (Competitiveness Act). 20 TAICHMAN, E. A., The Artemis accords: Employing space diplomacy to de-escalate a national security threat and promote space commercialization, 11(2) Nat’l Sec. L. Brief 112, 113 (2021). 21 Supra note 1. 22 Loi du 20 juillet 2017 sur l’exploration et l’utilisation des ressources de l’espace, Art. 1 (July 20, 2017). 23 id. A rt. 4. 24 YOTSUMOTO, H., ISHIKAWA, D. AND ODAN, T. Mori Hamada & Matsumoto , The Space Law review: Japan, Dec. 09, 2021. P. 2., See also , Space Resources Act. Art. 5. 25 Space Resources Act, Art. 4. 26 UAE Federal Law No. 12, Art. 18(1). 27 id. Arts. 18(1) and 14(1).

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