The article discusses modern challenges of international
space law, which are the
consequence of heightened space activities, loose formulations of space law treaties, increasingly complex legal transactions regarding space activities, and a general
technological progress. The latter has prompted increasing desi- res for the
commercialisation of outer space (for example satellite navigation, satellite telecommunication, commercial
flights to outer space, space mining, space tourism)
prompting evaluations on, for example, legality of space mining
and appropriation of space natural resources in connection to the legal
status of those mined resources, or
questions concerning the ownership and con- trol over permanent space
bases enabling commercial activities in outer
space. Furthermore, the
article offers up an international legal appraisal of the legal transactions that are, according to publicly accessible records, being concluded between some States regarding the transfer of ownership in
objects already in outer space.
Moreover, it addresses legal
dilemmas concerning the military use of outer space, the hierarchy between
astronauts and the imprecise legal stan- dard of harmful contamination of outer
space in respect of the international legal prohibition of environmental contamination. Finally, the article
touches on the first draft
of the Slovenian Law on the supervision of space activity.
Key
words: space law, Outer
Space, space mining, commercialisation, space
object, ownership in Outer Space, liability, military use of Outer
Space, astronauts, contamination of Outer Space.