Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
environmental approach is necessary to carry out any activity on the Moon in conformity
with international environmental law and Article IX of the OST.
In the context of the law of the sea, the environmental approach has been reaffirmed
by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in case no. 17 'Responsibilities and
obligations of States sponsoring persons and entities with respect to activities in the Area'
(request for Advisory Opinion submitted to the Seabed Disputes Chamber,
www.itlos.org/
index.php?id=109&L=0
)
. Although it deals with an advisory opinion with limited legal
value,thisopinionprovidesinterestingindicationsonthefunctioningoftheCHMprinciple
in the area (Andreone,
2012
). The opinion of the tribunal has a paradigmatic value and
paves the way for application of the UNCLOS, in particular, its Part XI and the 1994 Im-
The tribunal identifies specific states' obligations concerning the exploitation of the re-
sources of the area.
SincetheMoonAgreementisonlyinforceamongafewstateswithlimited spacecap-
abilities, the OST, which does not regulate the prospective exploitation of lunar resources,
binds the large majority of countries. In the absence of an ad hoc international regime for
the exploitation of natural resources, the OST remains the Treaty in force among more than
one hundred countries and the extraction of minerals would be regulated on the basis of the
first-come-first-served rule. Without new developments, the prospective exploitation of the
lunar soil and subsoil will likely not be regulated in accordance with the common heritage
approach.
