appropriation to, the space environment. They are to have equal rights of access and use pursuant to the res communis legal principle. Although States by reason of the stage of their development do not have equal space capabilities, nonetheless the space resource States are not to be denied by the non-space resource States the right to free use. Over time, however, as provided in Article 1, paragraph 1, the resources of the space environment are open for sharing "irrespective" of the degrees of "economic or scientific development" of the signatory States, since such space environment resources are "the province of mankind." In short, the use of an orbital slot by space resource States is not a de facto appropriation. It is merely a use for an indeterminate but temporary period. The ultimate utility and validity of such use will be subject to later community judgments and must conform to the goal of serving the general interests of mankind. 3.4 Preferential Claims to the Orbit Resource Because of the belief on the part of some States that geostationary orbital slots constitute a limited natural resource--a belief that has been termed a myth, and in any event has not been proven to be a scientific fact despite the language of Article 33 of the 1973 ITU Convention--some States have sought to establish preferential claims to the resource. These claims have taken two directions. Some of the nonresource States, including some of the LDCs, have urged that the ITU make allocations of orbital slots. Others, namely the principal equatorial States, have asserted sovereignty over geostationary orbital positions.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==