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(Marchisio, 2005 ) allowed the adoption of fundamental resolutions covering general prin-
ciples, some of which were followed by consistent practice (UN General Assembly Resol-
ution1721of20December,1961).Theseprinciples wereincorporated intotheOST,which
was adopted by the General Assembly on 19 December 1966 and entered into force on 10
October 1967.
The subsequent space agreements, negotiated under the auspices of the United Na-
tions, further developed and integrated the general principles of the OST. 4 The period cov-
ering the late 1950s to the late 1970s, when the fundamentals of space law were fleshed out
and embedded in binding treaties, identifies the first phase of space law, defined also as the
'law making phase' (Marchisio, 2005 ) .
Although the legal regime of space is encapsulated by all the space-related treaties,
the cornerstone is the OST, to which more than one hundred states are part (see
www.oosa.unvienna.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/treatystatus/index.html ) . The regime en-
shrined in the OST establishes the architecture of space law and provides the legal frame-
work of the res communis omnium , stipulating fundamental principles already developed
andconsolidated inthelawofthehighseas,suchasthefreedomofexploration anduse,the
applicability of international law to space activities, the non-appropriation principle, and
the respect of the environment (Back Impallomeni, 1983 ) .
No article stipulates expressis verbis the regime of res communis omnium , but this
can be deduced from the whole and coherent framework of the Treaty, which proclaims
the freedom for all states to explore and use outer space and that these activities should be
carried out for the benefit and in the interests of the whole of mankind (Art. I); that outer
space, including the Moon and celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by
any means (Art. II); that international law is applicable to outer space activities (Art. III),
which shall be peaceful (Art. IV); and that states shall avoid harmful contamination in car-
rying out space activities (Art. IX).
The freedoms of exploration and use of outer space and celestial bodies enunciated
by the Treaty are granted for the benefit and in the interests of all countries (Art. I.1) ir-
respective of their degree of economic and scientific development, and as a consequence
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