Changing attitudes of Central and Eastern European States towards the Artemis Accords

• Authors: ŠVEC Martin
• Year of publication: 2022
• Type: Appeared in Conference without Proceedings
• MU Faculty or unit: Faculty of Law
• Description: Given its unique character, outer space is primarily regulated by public international law. However, the lack of a comprehensive legal framework and the consequent legal uncertainty represent a significant barrier for private investors. To be precise, outer space is not unregulated. There are norms of customary international law applicable to activities in outer space and fundamental legal principles have been enshrined in the Outer Space Treaty. However, these legal principles enshrined are too vague to provide private investors with the regulatory certainty they need. As a result of the lack of progress on legally binding instruments within traditional fora, especially the UN COPUOS, the U.S. announced the Artemis Program. Under the NASA leadership, the U.S. aim to establish the first long-term human-robotic presence on and around the Moon, preparing the way for human missions to Mars. Artemis Accords - a common guide to space exploration cooperation among nations participating in the Artemis Program, including principles for lunar surface operations, has been introduced in 2020. According to a former head of NASA, Jeff Bridenstine, the Artemis Accords will allow them to move more quickly than if NASA sought a multilateral agreement under the aegis of the United Nations. The Artemis Accords were already signed by Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Ukraine, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The paper explores a rational behind Poland's and Romania's decision to sign the Artemis Accords and discusses changing attitudes of other Central and Eastern European States towards the Artemis Accords.