Eligibility of Historical International Governance Models for Lunar Governance

Determine whether, and which particular elements of, the Antarctic governance regime and the international governance regimes for the high seas and seabed are eligible for inclusion in principles governing lunar activities.

Background

The paper examines negotiations within the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Working Group on the Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities. Because the negotiations remain in an introductory phase, the authors identify uncertainty about whether existing governance models can provide suitable precedents for lunar resource governance.

The unresolved issue concerns both the relevance of the Antarctic, high-seas, and seabed regimes and the transferability of their specific institutional and legal elements to lunar governance principles. Resolving it would help determine whether established international governance arrangements can inform a future legal framework for activities involving lunar resources.

References

Developments at the Working Group should clarify whether and what historical international governance models, namely the Antarctic governance regime and the high seas and seabed international governance regimes, and what their particular elements are eligible to be included in desired lunar governance principles.

— Space Diplomacy Toward a Legal Regime for Space Resource Activities on the Moon  (2610.08542 - Riordan et al., 6 Oct 2026) in Discussion