COLLECTIVE TRUSTEESHIP FOR NEAR SPACE - THE CASE FOR UNNESA

The recent increase in space development activity has created a need t o determine what source of legal authority will govern those commercia l activities. The Outer Space Treaty, which has near universal accepta nce, determines that only international law can be the source of legal authority. Ad hoc treaty negotiation methods are not appropriate give n the likely pace of development. The United Nations possesses the leg al right to declare its authority over Outer Space and to set up a reg ime for regulatory governance, particularly in pursuance of its stated goal of collective trusteeship over outer space. This article propose s such a regime. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.