Property Rights in Outer Space

Abstract

In the recent years, there have been a lot of reports claiming that actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Sushant Singh Rajput own acres of land on the moon. Is it practically possible to own a piece of land in a celestial body? According to the international law principles on the possession of land, one, its necessary to have physical possession of the land, at least for some time, and second, it’s a must to have effective control. Apart from the basic principles, there are treaties that countries around the world have ratified to, including India, that govern the outer space celestial bodies (Outer Space Treaty, 1967) and one treaty that especially governs the moon (Moon treaty, 1979) and matters relating thereto. This article traces the two treaties and discusses the various provisions of the treaties that talk about the possession rights over the land in moon and other celestial bodies and the challenges over such ownership rights.

Keywords: property, outer space, moon treaty, outer space treaty, appropriation