Аннотация:
Landing astronauts on the moon is one of the greatest achievements
of humanity, but the status of historic lunar landing sites in international
law is uncertain. There is a general consensus in the literature on space
law and policy that Apollo landing sites deserve a recognition of their
outstanding universal value and appropriate protection by the entire
international community. However, enforcing such protection might
be problematic from a legal perspective, since there is no legally binding
norm in the current body of international law that would authorize or
oblige states to identify and protect heritage sites on the moon or other
celestial bodies.
There is a nascent concept of outer space heritage in the field of
international space law. The notion has been introduced through soft law
instruments which are not binding upon states, such as the 2020 Artemis
Accords, or policy recommendations by various expert panels (e.g. the
Hague Working Group Building Blocks). The Outer Space Treaty and the
other four UN space treaties do not contain any provision about heritage
sites in outer space. International cultural law, and the World Heritage
Convention in particular, is not applicable to outer space because the
Convention’s provisions limit the identification and protection of cultural
heritage sites to the territories of States parties, but the moon and other
celestial bodies are areas beyond national jurisdiction.
This paper analyzes possible trajectories of normative development in international law to
introduce a legally binding norm for recognition and protection of humanity’s heritage in outer space.
These trajectories include amending existing treaties, such as the Outer Space Treaty or the World
Heritage Convention, concluding implementation agreements to the existing treaties, drafting a new
international treaty, developing norms of customary international law, as well as a possibility of extension
of state sovereignty to certain areas in outer space. The paper complements the existing literature by
considering trajectories of normative development that have been omitted by previous studies, as well
as by comprehensively analyzing all possible trajectories within the same piece of research. By assessing
advantages and challenges of every trajectory, the study identifies the easiest initiatives to implement, as
well as the ones that will be the most robust and efficient
