The IISL’s 15th Nandasiri Jasentuliyana Keynote Lecture on Space Law (2023) highlights a key mission of the IISL: the expansion of the ‘rule of law’ in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. The keynote lecture explores the role that the rule of law plays under national and international space law, with the five authors of the keynote lecture each representing a region of the IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition: Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America. We highlight regional understandings and historical developments of the rule of law in outer space, and explore the manner in which rule of law leads to the development of space law. We advocate a ‘functional’ understanding of rule of law that bridges the traditional divide between legally and non-legally binding instruments of space law.

Space debris is one of the most challenging issues of space activities, which not only threatens the sustainability of the Earth’s orbit but can also have a devastating impact on the Earth’s environment. On this ground, and by considering Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty as a gateway to environmental domains, it could be reasonable to investigate the applicability of environmental law principles to tackle the challenges of outer space activities. In this regard, the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) could be one of the most relevant environmental principles for space debris issues, suggesting a practical mechanism and compliance with it could be a condition for sustainable access to outer space. By examining its pros and cons, this paper makes an effort to bring to light the feasibility of applying the PPP to space debris.

A new legislative trend is spreading among spacefaring States: the inclusion of the space sector under the protection of screening mechanisms. The latter consist in particular powers endowed to governmental authorities by domestic laws with the aim to screen foreign investments in strategic sectors and block them, or condition them, if they raise national security concerns.
Challenging screening decisions is utterly difficult, both at the national and at the international level, due to their political nature and to their exclusion from the scope of application of international investment agreements.
The present paper delves into this matter revolving around the following question: are screening powers an unrestrainable exercise of sovereign rights or is it possible to challenge them?
Italy represents an interesting case study in this regard, having drafted a screening regime that creates a balance between national security concerns and the respect of the rule of law.

International collaboration in the commercial space sector is a strategic approach aimed at optimizing the space industry and maximizing mutual benefits for all stakeholders involved. Despite certain developed nations, such as the United States, imposing stringent controls on the export of space-related goods, technology, and services through regulatory frameworks like the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and Wassenaar Arrangement along with domestic legislation, China actively seeks opportunities for cooperation. However, China’s current export control regulations of the space industry lack unified guidelines that hinder potential internationalization efforts in commercial space activities. Therefore, it is crucial for China to establish a comprehensive and scientifically grounded legal framework and policy support mechanism concerning export controls on items related to outer-space endeavors. Additionally, active participation by China within multilateral export control systems can help overcome barriers hindering international collaboration in commercial space by fostering transparency, mutual trust, and reciprocity.

Countries around the world are developing reusable objects that can be controlled and maneuvered upon re-entry into airspace. Owing to this development, this paper will analyze whether state parties to the Return and Rescue Agreement, 1968 (ARRA) are obligated under the Article 5 to recover and return such objects that have been repurposed by launching state to perform surveillance or other military activities in their airspace, upon controlled re-entry from Outer Space. The paper will also explain how space objects that can be maneuvered in the airspace upon re-entry should be regarded as an aircraft and be excluded from this obligation under ARRA.

The existence of a wide range of international institutions, with unique mandates and competences, in regulating space activities, has resulted in institutional fragmentation of global space governance. Although the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (“COPOUS”) is regarded as the main actor in global space governance, the participation of other institutions including the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”), the International Civil Aviation Organization (“ICAO”) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (“IAEA”) cannot be overlooked. As a consequence of the participation of these various institutions in regulating space activities, the structure of global space governance was diversified and fragmentated simultaneously. Choosing the analytical research method, this paper aims at answering this main question how can the negative impacts of institutional fragmentation of global space governance be eliminated. The hypothesis of this article is that the establishment of the global space organization may make a significant contribution in this regard.