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the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and
Other Celestial Bodies (the Outer Space Treaty) in 1967.
The Treaty proclaims the freedom for all states to explore and use outer space and
stipulates that these activities should be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all
of mankind; outer space, including the Moon and celestial bodies, is not subject to national
appropriation by any means; international law is applicable to outer space activities, which
shall be peaceful; and states shall avoid harmful contamination in carrying out space activ-
ities. Analogies can be found with fundamental principles already developed in the law of
the high seas, such as the applicability of international law to space activities, the non-ap-
propriation principle, the freedom of exploration and use, and the respect of the environ-
ment, which constituted the basis for defining the regime of res communis omnium in the
context of space law.
The historical evolution of the concept of the common heritage of humankind in the
context of the law of the sea, which saw the concept introduced in the framework of the
1970 Declaration on Principles Governing the Sea-bed and Ocean Floor, and the Subsoil
Thereof, beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction, and the evolution of the concept in
the context of space law, and specifically the 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of
States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which was concluded prior to the adoption
of the final text of UNCLOS in 1982, deserve comparison. Several provisions under the
Antarctic Treaty were also used as an inspiration to develop similar provisions under the
Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, in-
cluding peaceful cooperation for scientific research and environmental protection.
The Outer Space Treaty includes a ' common benefit clause ' which should be con-
sidered as a limitation on the absolute freedom of space activities since it establishes that
the exploration and scientific research ' shall be carried out for the benefit and in the in-
terests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development,
and shall be the province of all mankind '. This is explained in the light that while the law
of the high seas is essentially based on old customs, space law was at the time lege ferenda
(new law). These provisions should be intended in the sense that the spacefaring nations
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