The governing international space law regime has been locked in a norm-creation stalemate for over 40 years. This stalemate endangers the preservation of established, guiding legal principles, as well as the sustainability of the parts of outer space that humans utilize. The discrepancy between norm creation, technological advancement, and the ecosystem of novel actors could generate serious consequences for future space activities and the nature of international relations. Besides the return of old rivalries in a New Cold War, new activities and actors emerging amidst a legal void emphasizes the risks of the stalemate: unstable peace, fragile cooperation, uneven technological development, and uncertain eco-sustainability. The prolonged legal stalemate cannot be treated simply as an academic question, for it has broader political and economic implications of growing strategic relevance. Unresolved issues in international space law could threaten the survival of space as a global common, thus it is essential that the ability of the norm-creation mechanism of UN COPUOS is equipped to address the ongoing changes and provide for adequate global governance. This book evaluates the current legal state and sheds light on potential future prospects, offering an overview of the political context within which it developed, providing an assessment of the selected successful examples in international law, and analyzing lessons learned. It makes recommendations for how the UN COPUOS legal apparatus should be modified in order to ensure that future space activities are possible beyond anarchy, greed, and ecological irresponsibility, and to ensure that the principle of the peaceful uses of outer space remains the governing norm.

About the Author

Anja Nakarada Pecujlic holds a doctoral degree in space law from the University of Cologne, Germany. After defending her thesis with honours, Anja joined a Bulgarian space start-up, EnduroSat, as a business developer, where she is in charge of strategic partnerships globally. Prior to that, from December 2017 until June 2020 she was the project manager for a European Space Agency (ESA)/Cologne University joint project: the ESA Convention Commentary. From 2014 to 2016, she was an external consultant of the European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria. From 2009 until 2014 she studied at the school of law of the University of Vienna, where she specialised in international law with a focus on international space law. Subsequently, she continued to conduct space legal research, spoke at several international conferences, and published various articles in esteemed journals, chapters in books, and one edited book. Furthermore, she is the CEO and cofounder of the Serbian Case for Space Foundation in Belgrade, Serbia. This foundation was established in October 2017 with the aim to engage Serbia in the space domain.

Book Information
ISBN 9781032300726
Author Anja Pecujlic
Format Paperback
Page Count 228
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 400g