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Regulating Space-Based Commerce: Insights from Economics and International Economic Law

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Regulating Space-Based Commerce: Insights from Economics and International Economic Law

Author: Ronald Davies; Joseph Francois; Rodrigo Polanco
Publisher: Hart Publishing
ISBN: 9781509992065
Published In: October 2026
Format: Hardback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Contents

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As private actors increasingly enter the space sector, longstanding questions about the regulation of outer space take on new urgency.

Is the existing international legal framework sufficient to govern this shift, or will national laws and state-supported commercial initiatives create regulatory fragmentation? What responsibilities do states and private entities share in this evolving domain? Can trade, investment, and tax laws developed for earthbound commerce be extended to space-based activities?

Regulating Space-Based Commerce brings together leading voices from both legal and economic disciplines to explore these pressing questions. Moving beyond traditional space law, the book offers a fresh, external perspective that recognises the growing relevance of non-space-specific frameworks-such as trade, taxation, and investment-in regulating commercial activity beyond Earth.

The book is structured around three central themes: space resource management, the governance of space as a global commons, and the legal and regulatory challenges posed by security and private enterprise. The book provides a multi-angled platform, allowing readers to engage with each issue from several expert viewpoints.

With contributions from both established and emerging scholars, the book provides a timely, thought-provoking entry point into the interdisciplinary challenges shaping the future of space governance. It is an essential resource for anyone interested in the legal and economic architecture of space-based commerce.

1. Preface: Economics and Law of Space-based Commerce. A Personal Perspective

Jean-Claude Worms (Committee on Space Research, France)

2. Introduction: Why We Need Different Vantage Points to Understand Space-based Commerce?

Ron Davies (University College Dublin, Ireland), Joseph Francois (World Trade Institute, Switzerland), and Rodrigo Polanco (World Trade Institute, Switzerland)

Part 1: Space Resource Management

3. Reappraising Liability in the Age of Autonomous Space Systems: An Economic Analysis of Law Approach

Roser Almenar (Space Generation Advisory Council, Spain)

4. From the Deep Seabed to Outer Space Resources: Lessons from UNCLOS for Regulating Space Resource Activities

Nathan Eastwood (Watson, Farley & Williams, Australia)

5. Quo vadis spatium arbitrium: Role and Future of International Law and Arbitration in Space-Related Disputes

Peng Wang (Xi'an Jiaotong University, China), and Maciej Zenkiewicz (Nicolaus Copernicus University, Poland)

6. National Space Legislations and the Appropriability of Space Resources

Lesley Jane Smith and Lew Toepfer (Leuphana University Luneburg, Germany)

Part 2: Managing the Space Commons: Space Sustainability and Private Actors

7. Economic Growth in Space

Alessio Terzi (University of Cambridge, UK) and Francesco Nicoli (Politecnico di Torino, Italy)

8. Putting a Price on Space

Joseph Francois (World Trade Institute, Switzerland) and Michael Francois (Google, Switzerland)

9. The Political Economy of Subsidizing Space Commerce

Ron Davies (University College Dublin, Ireland), Joseph Francois (World Trade Institute, Switzerland), and Rodrigo Polanco (World Trade Institute, Switzerland)

10. The Afterlife of Space Junk: Legal Ramifications of Recognizing Space Debris as a Resource for Space Manufacturing and ISRU

Kamil Muzyka (Polish Science Fiction Foundation) and Anna Hurova (Koretsky State and Law Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)

11. The Development of Space Debris Mitigation Measures at the National Level

Merve Erdem Burger (University of Neuchatel, Switzerland)

Part 3: Space Law, National Security and Regulation of the Private Space Economy

12. Space Law and National Security

Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer (Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, Switzerland) and Riccardo Loschi (Lalive, Switzerland)

13. China-Latin America Cooperation in Outer Space: Implications for the United States?

Ana Soliz de Stange (Helmut-Schmidt-Universitat, Germany)

14. Introduction to Space Taxation

Erika Isabella Scuderi (Vienna University of Economic and Business, Austria)

15. Allocating Taxing Rights for Off-Planet Mining

Damien Macedo (University of Cambridge, UK)