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49 Denv. J. Int'l L. & Pol'y 27 (2021)
Filling the Vacuum: Adapting International Space Law to Meet the Pressures Created by Private Space Enterprises

handle is hein.journals/denilp49 and id is 27 raw text is: FILLING THE VACUUM: ADAPTING INTERNATIONAL SPACE LAW TO
MEET THE PRESSURES CREATED BY PRIVATE SPACE ENTERPRISES
ALDA YUAN*
I. Introduction..........................................................................................................28
II. The Proliferation of Private Actors Strains the Legal Framework and Presents an
Existential Threat to Space..........................................................................30
A .   From   Public   to  Private.........................................................................31
B. The Legal Framework of International Space Law and its Deficiencies
.............................................................................................................33
i.   Venue and Regulation Shopping...................................................36
ii. Coordination Problems .................................................................37
iii. Territoriality ..................................................................................38
C. Non-state Actors Introduce Practical Challenges that Endanger the
Future of Space Travel........................................................................38
III. Space is a Global Commons Under Customary International Law...................40
A. Customary International Law Emerges Based on the Settled Practice of
States and Opinio Juris ........................................................................40
B. Preservation of Space as the Province of All Humankind has Become
Customary International Law ..............................................................41
i. Space is a Global Commons .........................................................42
ii. State Practice.................................................................................43
iii. Opinio Juris...................................................................................45
IV. Private Actors are Analogous to New States and Subject to Customary
International Law ........................................................................................48
V. Customary International Law Should Apply Directly to Private Actors ...........50
A. Extending Legal Duties to Private, Non-state Actors .........................50
B. Existing Models of International Regulation and Coordination Don't
Address the Unique Problems Presented by Space Law .....................51
C.    Other Proposals Do Not Offer Long Term              Solutions..........................52
VI. Conclusion.........................................................................................................54

27

Alda Yuan works on public health and environmental law. She graduated with her JD and probably
several complexes from Yale Law School in 2018. She writes on healthcare policy, space law, and open
science.

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