The Laws of Mars Colonisation – A Legal Analysis

R. Costa (2018), JBIS, 71, pp.190-196

Refcode: 2018.71.190
Keywords: Mars, Colonisation, Law, Space Law, Legal

Abstract:
Space colonisation is almost exclusively approached from a scientific perspective, focusing its technical feasibility. Although since 1967 (the year of adoption of the Outer Space Treaty), human activities in outer space have been regulated by international law, the legal feasibility of colonising celestial bodies is still a new topic. This paper aims to consider the law as it already applies to Mars colonisation by analysing the legal conditions relating to a human colony on Mars and the legal problems that will arise through long-term occupancy of the Red Planet’s surface. It follows work on the same topic (including space colonisation by space stations) that comprehensively examines the subject and is to be published (in French) by The Hague Academy for International Law in a book entitled 50 Years of Space Law – Space Law in 50 Years.