The legal regime of the areas beyond national jurisdiction in the BBNJ agreement and lessons learned for space law

Abstract

As a result of the discussions on ocean pollution in recent years, the ‘Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’ (also known as the BBNJ Agreement) was signed on 4 March 2023. One of the most notable aspects of the Agreement in question is that it imposes certain responsibilities on states in a region that are not subject to the sovereignty of any state, while states may extend their jurisdictional authority to these regions only in the case of certain exceptions such as registration. This development can serve as a significant illustrative record of the interaction between environmental protection and state accountability in places like Antarctica or outer space, which are also not under state jurisdiction. This study addresses the lessons learned from the BBNJ Agreement for the environmental protection of outer space by examining benefit-sharing mechanisms, area management tools, and environmental impact assessment in the BBNJ Agreement and makes suggestions on how to strengthen the protection of the space environment through these mechanisms.