By 
October 28th, 2025
International space law from decades ago was written for a world that no longer exists, explains space lawyer Michelle Slawecki Hanlon.
“The treaties that guide us, visionary as they are, were crafted when only two nations had the power to reach orbit. They focused on peace and principles, not procedures or property rights,” Hanlon explains in a recent Facebook posting.
Cold War time capsule
Hanlon notes that today there are commercial launch providers, multinational resource ventures, private stations, lunar habitats and artificial intelligence systems operating with increasing autonomy. “Yet the legal framework that governs them still reads like a Cold War time capsule,” she responded.
Lawyers are needed, but not as regulators or obstacles.
Signing of Outer Space Treaty.
Image credit: United Nations
“Lawyers are the navigators of this new era. We shouldn’t tell industry what it can’t do; we should help it understand how to do what it wants to do — responsibly, sustainably and lawfully,” Hanlon suggests.
Stalling at the edge of legality
For one, “good space lawyering” isn’t about drawing borders, Hanlon adds. “It’s about drawing pathways and aligning innovation with international obligations so that progress doesn’t stall at the edge of legality.”
Space cowboys? International lawyers are trying to agree on what legislation will be needed to control the exploration of mineral resources in space to avoid a new ‘Wild West’.
Credit: James Vaughan
Space doesn’t need more rules; it needs people who know how to use them, Hanlon says, as the next leap in human civilization “won’t be powered by rockets alone. It will be powered by law that keeps pace with technology and imagination alike.”
For more on the advancement of space law, go to the Space Law Quick Reference Booklet – Digital Edition at:
https://secure.touchnet.net/C21670_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=1582
Posted in 
