The Environmental Othering of Outer Space under International Law
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Newcastle Law School
Abstract
Outer space is critical to our daily lives in countless invisible ways - but space is not protected
by the same environmental rules that applies on Earth. Space lawyers tend to conclude that
space is not part of 'the environment', based on a common interpretation of the four core space
treaties, especially Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty. This legal conclusion rests upon certain
historical presumptions that are rarely considered in their own right. By assessing environmental
law in space by reference to history, this thesis will explicate these presumptions, reassessing
the environmental status of space from the ground up.
by the same environmental rules that applies on Earth. Space lawyers tend to conclude that
space is not part of 'the environment', based on a common interpretation of the four core space
treaties, especially Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty. This legal conclusion rests upon certain
historical presumptions that are rarely considered in their own right. By assessing environmental
law in space by reference to history, this thesis will explicate these presumptions, reassessing
the environmental status of space from the ground up.
