ARTEMIS ACCORDS – A NEW ERA OF SPACE LAW OR AN INITIATIVE OF THE WORLD’S SUPERPOWER?

Abstract

The article below addresses the Artemis Accords. It is a non-binding act by which its signatories adopted a set of principles for space exploration. Even though it is not an international treaty, it is a controversial issue. The author presents the Artemis Accords against the background of international agreements, soft-law and domestic regulations, aiming to answer the question of their revolutionary character and of them being an agreement between states that strive for a common goal. Firstly, the author presents the problem of space mining and the related possibilities. There are numerous benefits from this new branch of economy, but there is also a risk of global conflict on the ground of a race for space resources. After this, the author presents the state of affairs of international law and tries to draw crucial conclusions on the subject of space mining. The last part of the paper is devoted to an analysis of the Artemis Accords as a non-binding agreement between states and as a new platform which allows the launch of a new era of conquest of outer space. At the end the author presents his opinion on the Artemis Accords as an instrument of a new space policy of world’s superpower and its allies.