Securing Freedom in the Global Commons: The Model of the High Seas and Property Rights in Outer Space
Introduction
Land rights and air rights are commonly agreed upon concepts, but when it comes to the high seas and outer space, disputes have arisen about where one states rights begin and anothers end. This paper addresses the notion that As the model of the high seas suggests, there is nothing unusual or unlawful about the assertion of property rights in relation to outer space resources. The position of this paper is that the model of the high seas is idealistic in essence, as the sea lanes are a major subject of national security for powerful states. The same goes for outer space rights. In addition, the idea that in time of peace the high seas are open to all nations (freedom of the seas) is problematic because when can one point to a time of peace in a universal, global sense? Even when war is not specifically declared by one nation against another, proxy wars go on, economic wars in the form of sanctions are waged, and disputes over territorial rights persist. The model of the high seas is really an example of empire inscribing colonization into international law under the guise of securing freedom in the global commonsfor it is might that makes right in the international order. But...
Legalism is not something that is likely to ever be completely eradicated, but by adopting a rights of
nature based model for international law, the problem of outer space
claims could be addressed more adeptly than would be the case if the model of the high seas were applied to this situation.
Bibliography
Baars, G. (2019). The Corporation, Law and Capitalism: A Radical Perspective on the
Role of Law in the Global Political Economy. Brill.
Gorove, S. (1969) Interpreting Article II of the Outer Space Treaty, Ford L Rev 37 349
Grotius H., Mare Liberum" (1609)
Jasper, S. (2010). Securing Freedom in the Global Commons. Stanford University Press.
Jones, E., (2021).Posthuman International Law and the Rights of Nature. Journal of
Human Rights and the Environment. 12 (0), 76-101
Rothwell, D. (2015) TheOxford Handbook…
