The IISL Working Group on Next Steps for Space Traffic Management (STM) is exploring an innovative approach: drawing inspiration from maritime law to shape the future legal framework applicable to space activities in orbit.
As models derived from civil aviation are proving inadequate in addressing the specificities of the space environment (absence of sovereignty, increasing number of objects in orbit, sustainability challenges), maritime law offers relevant conceptual tools: regulation of traffic, collision avoidance, liability, and international cooperation.
This analogy opens the way to a more stable, open, and sustainable governance of outer space, better suited to the rise of large satellite constellations and growing safety requirements.