A New Way to Regulate Space? Evolving the Licensing Regimes for Space Activities

Authorisation and continuing supervision were the price paid by States in the 1960s to ensure that outer space was open for non-governmental entities. This obligation has been implemented by certain States through national laws. Contained in these laws is a licensing regime that prohibits space activities without an authorisation granted by a governmental authority. While this model has proven to be effective, it is far from the only regulatory model that can be applied to space activities. Noting the increase in commercialisation of outer space, this article will consider an alternative regulatory model that, while still utilising prohibitions, would rely on notifications and activity-based enforceable codes of conduct. This approach will utilise broad-based behavioural norms reflective of international obligations codified in flexible performance-based terms centred around a presumption that activities should be permitted unless there is a firm basis to reject them. The underlying premise of this article is that as regulated sectors evolve, the regulatory frameworks that apply to these sectors should evolve along with them and its purpose is to ask the question, are there other ways?