Il Trattato sullo spazio del 1967: passato, presente e futuro

The 50th anniversary of the 1967 Treaty on Outer Space (OST) raises the question whether this instrument, which has adopted at a time when States were the only space operators, is still adequate to face the increasing commercialization of space activities and the new applications for the space economy. The fundamental principles laid down in the Treaty continue to constitute the key pillars of the international legal regime of space activities. Some these principles have acquired the status of customary international law, and, in certain cases, even of peremptory norms of international law. Furthermore, Article VI of the 1967 Treaty, following which States bear international responsibility for all their national activities in outer space, hether carried on by governmental agencies or by private entities, continues to be the Cornerstone of the international legal regime of outer space. However, the OST appears n some ways ageing, because it does not contain provisions for regulating the new space applications. This has led some States to adopt national legislation that unilaterally interprets the scope of certain obligations of the OST, mainly in the field of private exploitation of natural resources of celestial bodies. This trend could lead to a real risk of overlapping claims. Thus, the UN is engaged in negotiations for the adoption of non-legally binding guidelines for the long-term sustainability of space activities. In this line, the OST continues to indicate, fifty years after its conclusion, that international Cooperation is the most appropriate instrument for ensuring the future of space activities whithin a framework of legal certainty and benefit for the wholehumanity.