The legal regime of outer space in light of the Law of the Sea - Ocean Sustainability in the 21st Century - page 404

In this regard, the Moon Agreement pays special attention to the appropriation of nat-
ural resources and to the possible acquisition of property rights over these goods. The ex-
ploitation of mineral resources turns around this fundamental aspect. Commentators fol-
low a different line of reasoning to demonstrate the commercial exploitation of natural re-
sources of the Moon, as encompassed or excluded in the concept of use in compliance with
space treaties.
In this vein, Paliouras ( 2014 ) distinguishes between the exhaustible (e.g. minerals)
and the inexhaustible (e.g. cosmic rays) resources, so that the latter case 'could hardly be
prohibited'. He then denies any interpretation which 'would render any appropriation of
space natural resources impermissible' since it is based on a wrong assumption, which con-
founds 'the exercise of territorial sovereignty over a given area from the sovereign right to
exploit the natural resources'.
As previously mentioned, if the general provision of the OST (Art. II - common bene-
fit clause) and subsequent practice allow the use for the benefit of mankind, the subsequent
practice recorded so far does not help to clarify the question at stake, since it only con-
cerns the commercial exploitation of orbits and frequencies of outer space. The provision
of Article II is reiterated in the Moon Agreement (Art. 4), which adds that the uses should
be taking place with due regard to inter-generational interest (the interests of present and
future generations), 'as well as to promote higher standard of living and condition of eco-
nomic and social progress and development' in the light of Article 11.7, which imposes the
equitable sharing of resources through the organizational mechanism to be defined (Art.
11.5).
According to the general rules for the interpretation of treaties, stipulated by the 1969
Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties (Art. 31.3, 1135 UNTS 331, 1980), each
expression has to be connected with the other provisions of the same treaty. 7 The Moon
Agreement enunciates that ' the Moon and its natural resources are the common heritage of
mankind, which finds its expression in the provisions of this Agreement, in particular in
paragraph 5 of this article'. The reference to paragraph 5 is intended to highlight that any