As more countries look to space, the prospect of diplomatic and/or commercial disputes in the cosmos is looking like a very palpable one.
Which is why something like the United States Space Force was created in the first place – to settle possible future conflicts beyond the domain of planet Earth. A seemingly outlandish idea at first that now seems not so crazy after all.
IMAGE: Arab News
Now, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has joined the party by creating a "space court" for settling commercial space-related disputes. On February 1, 2021, Dubai launched The Courts of Space initiative as a partnership between the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Dubai Future Foundation.
Hello, commercial players.
Once a domain occupied exclusively by national agencies and government institutions, space law has traditionally been governed by a series of conventions, including the UN Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and several other agreements between nations to regulate their operations in space.
But things have changed. In recent years, space travel has no longer remained an arena for governments, and has instead opened up to private companies looking to commercialize spaceflight in a big way.
And with the UAE looking to involve itself more heavily in astronautical activities – including its ongoing Mars probe mission – the Courts of Space initiative will serve to deal with any future disagreements involving commercial spaceflight companies, like Elon Musk's SpaceX for example.
UAE's "Hope" probe is set to reach Mars in early February, 2021. IMAGE: The Verge
"An integrated space industry, supported by human resources, infrastructure, and scientific research, is under way," said Zaki Azmi, Chief Justice at DIFC Courts.
"The Courts of Space is a global initiative that will operate in parallel, helping to build a new judicial support network to serve the stringent commercial demands of international space exploration in the 21st century."
Although the DIFC courts have presided over many foreign commercial disputes, none have had the specialty of arbitrating issues related to space, until now.
A space of growing importance.
The UAE's involvement in space exploration has been growing significantly in recent years, with its Mars-bounds probe "Hope" expected to reach its destination in early February, 2021 following the success of sending its first astronaut into space in 2019.
Hazzaa Ali Almansoori became UAE's first astronaut sent into space in 2019. IMAGE: Space.com
These events have apparently been the driving force behind the decision to create the Courts of Space, with future space-related disputes – such as collisions between spacecraft and disagreements regarding satellite purchases – becoming a very real possibility.
"That was for us an eye opener that we need to provide the UAE with the right infrastructure (in case of disputes)," said Amna Al Owais, Chief Registrar at DIFC Courts.
"We want to set the scene in terms of what courts can do. We believe that there will be a huge appetite for it."
The Courts of Space – like the already-existing DIFC courts – will be open to companies and institutions both local and foreign, and will be one of the options for officially settling disagreements in a neutral setting.
While the court will deal with space-related matters, the tribunal itself will be based at the DIFC Courts.
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