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JAN ONDŘEJ
CYIL 4 ȍ2013Ȏ
5. Subject of property rights in outer space
When considering
property in relation to outer space
the following items can be
subjects of property rights:
a)
objects
and their
component
parts
launched
into outer space, including objects
that
landed
on a celestial body, stations built on celestial bodies, and other
objects found there
b)
natural resources
, for example mineral resources gained through exploration
on celestial bodies.
c) also the results of activities in the area of
intellectual property.
5.1 Ownership of objects launched into or constructed in outer space,
on space stations, and of other objects on celestial bodies
When considering the
ownership
of objects launched into outer space, including
objects landed or constructed on a celestial body, and of their component parts,
it is
not affected
by their presence in outer space, or on a celestial body, or by their return to
the Earth. These issues are directly regulated by Article VIII of the Space Treaty. Apart
from objects that form, for example, a space station like the currently constructed
one, they could be other chattels, corporeal (things) brought into or constructed in
outer space – for example, cameras
36
etc. Article VIII also covers objects that landed
or were constructed on a celestial body.
A provision similar to that which is contained in Article VIII of the Space Treaty
can be found in Article 12 of the Agreement governing the Activities of States on the
Moon and Other Celestial Bodies of 1979. According to Article 12, Paragraph 1 of
the Agreement, State Parties shall retain jurisdiction and control over their personnel,
vehicles, equipment, facilities, stations and installations on the Moon.
The ownership
of space vehicles, equipment, facilities, stations and installations shall not be affected
by their presence on the Moon. The provision explicitly refers to stations built on the
Moon. The placement of personnel, space vehicles, equipment, facilities, stations and
installations on or below the surface of the moon,
including structures
connected with
its surface or subsurface,
shall not create,
according to Article 11, Paragraph 3, a right
of ownership over the surface or the sub-surface of the Moon or any areas thereof. This
means that states, individuals or legal persons will be
owners
of, for example, stations,
facilities, installations, equipment, etc and also
immovable property
, that is, structures
connected with its surface but not of the Moon or its parts. For comparison we can
quote the currently valid provision in Czech civil law where a structure is not part of
the land (conf. § 120 section 2 Civil Code No. 40/1964 Coll.). It can therefore be
imagined that the owner of a building in relation to the Moon is not owner of the
land on which it is built.
36
See Masson-Zwaan, T. Other Report, IISL Colloquium, 4-8 October 1999, Amsterdam.
Journal of
Space Law
, 1999, No. 2, p. 157.