The Sky is Not the Limit: Towards a Sustainable Vision of Property Rights in Outer Space
Since the 1960s, seven Niels Stensen Fellowships (Porticus) have been awarded annually to outstanding and socially engaged postdoc researchers so that they can gain research experience at a top university abroad at the beginning of their scientific careers. For the academic year 2023-2024, a Niels Stensen Fellowship has been awarded to Dr. Katja Zimmermann. She will use the Fellowship to conduct her interdisciplinary research project ‘The Sky is Not the Limit: Towards a Sustainable Vision of Property Rights in Outer Space’ at KU Leuven (Centre for Catholic Social Thought).
Never in history have we been closer to the realization of space colonies, flights, tourism and mining. Once associated with mere science fiction, they are becoming concrete options as access to space improves. These new developments raise new legal questions, the most prominent of which is whether states and private entities can become owners of (parts of) planets and resources in space.
To this day, the 1967 Space Treaty expressly prohibits any property claim to space. Yet this treaty was adopted at a time when access to space was fundamentally different. Therefore, some legal scholars advocate the development of a new legal framework for property rights in outer space.
To advance existing research on alien property rights, this interdisciplinary research project will combine property law research with Catholic social thought to develop a sustainable framework for property rights in the universe.
Duration of the project
2023 - 2024
Contact person at our Faculty
Websites with additional information
| Last modified: | 09 July 2024 10.46 a.m. |