Geoscience Reference
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The enjoyment of freedoms of exploration, use for peaceful purposes, and the non-ap-
propriation principle are interconnected, since the latter constitutes, at the same time, a pre-
condition and a limit to those freedoms themselves. Claims of sovereignty could not arise
from any activity carried out in space since Article II stipulates: 'Outer space, including the
Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sover-
eignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means', and the non-appropriation
principle should grant the less technologically capable countries the opportunity to access
and use outer space, on the basis of non-discrimination.
Additionally, the sovereignty of the state cannot be extended to the air spaces located
above either the high seas, or the continental shelf, and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
for which the coastal state maintains limited sovereign rights. Similarly to subjacent high
seas, the international air spaces are free zones beyond national jurisdiction.
For security reasons, Article 12 of the Chicago Convention on Air Law (Convention
on International Civil Aviation of 7 December 1944, entered into force on 4 April 1947
(15 UNTS 2959)) stipulates that the enforceable regulations on these areas are within the
auspices of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). 3 For air traffic control and
military surveillance, some parts of them are the objects of different agreements (Air De-
fense Identification Zones - ADIZ) (Lyall and Larsen, 2009 ).
Thus the legal regime of outer space has some analogy with that of international air
space, especially in regard to the principles of non-appropriation, free use, and internation-
al cooperation. It should be noted that the definition of outer space and the delimitation
between air space and outer space remains unsettled and that this is an item still present
on the agenda of COPUOS. On the other hand, the lack of delimitation thus far has not in-
volved serious consequences in terms of peaceful use of space activities. That being said,
commercialization of the latter is likely to spur new developments in the coming years .
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