CYIL Vol. 4, 2013

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.