Spaceports located on coastal areas can have adverse consequences for the marine environment including acoustic disturbance (e.g. underwater noise) from launch, as well as flight paths passing over these areas affecting marine biodiversity, toxic contaminants and thermal effects from any discharges arising from these activities. Spaceport activities can also affect the displacement of animals and …More
law of the sea
Fair and equitable benefit-sharing in a new international instrument on marine biodiversity: A principled approach towards partnership building?
3 December 2018This article suggests a principled approach to the negotiations on benefit-sharing from the use of marine genetic resources under a new international legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). It first reflects on the terms in which benefit-sharing has been discussed in the BBNJ negotiations until now, which have been …More
The Concept of Commons and Marine Genetic Resources in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction
27 November 2018This article explores some of the ways in which marine genetic resources conceptually and normatively intersect with the concept and idea of commons. Through an analysis of the terminological ambiguities and semantic slippages characterizing the usage of the concept of commons in international law, the article addresses questions relation to the idea of global commons …More
Building upon the Developments in the Law of the Sea: The Extension of the Concept of Sustainable Development to Outer Space
5 August 2015The current legal regime regulating activities in outer space does not provide for rules capable of handling the complex process of developing the mining industry in outer space. This article proposes extending the concept of sustainable development to the domain of outer space. The application of sustainable development to outer space can be better understood …More