19 January 2026
“The Centre of Conflict Itself”
In late November, the German Ministry of Defense and the German Foreign Office jointly published the first-ever “Space Safety and Security Strategy”. Its most remarkable aspect is the straightforward recognition of Outer Space “increasingly [as] the centre of conflict itself”. In the absence of a comprehensive multilateral treaty, the specific application of international law’s principles to the military uses of Outer Space is currently under development. Given significant divisions among spacefaring states, this legal order will most likely crystallize through a non-linear, heterogeneous process of individual statements, actions, and reactions. Germany’s strategy chimes into this debate and sets the tone for a much-anticipated Federal Space Law. Continue reading >>
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16 September 2025
Der EU Space Act
Der Weltraum ist seit dem „Outer Space Treaty“ von 1967 immer wieder Gegenstand internationaler Regulierung. Am 25. Juni 2025 hat die EU-Kommission ihren Vorschlag für den sog. „EU Space Act“ veröffentlicht. Dieser Beitrag stellt den Vorschlag vor und beleuchtet ein zentrales Problem des Rechtsakts: die Ausnahmeregelung für die militärische Nutzung von „Weltraumobjekten“ in der sog. National Security Clause. Continue reading >>
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16 February 2023
A Dormant Struggle Reaches Critical Mass
Developments in Europe and beyond mark a changing landscape of (constitutional) space law – an unsustainable upsurge in the numbers of satellites and resulting light and debris pollution, the entry into the market of new actors with conflicting interests, and the fragmentation of domestic systems’ approach to space law mean that the current quasi-constitutional system is under the immense risk of being entirely disregarded. For the sake of the future, there are good reasons to keep a constitutional basis to space endeavours. We have to discuss ways of doing so now. Europe appears willing, and I would argue should, lead the way. Continue reading >>
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