Mars Needs Lawyers

[David Morris]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/mars-needs-lawyers/?

Escaping Earth’s gravity is way easier than escaping its international
legal issues.

Getting [to Mars] would require an international coalition of governments,
private companies and foundations [because of the massive costs]. Which
means it’s unlikely that the first human habitation on Mars will be an
American ship, carrying a crew of Americans to plant an American flag in
the dust. Those days are over.
[...]
For instance, under the Outer Space Treaty, you can’t just go around
claiming Martian land for Spain. But a habitation pod built by Spain is
Spanish territory, Gabrynowicz said. And in a place where humans have no
choice but to live in a pod or die, planting your habitat on a patch of
ground might be a way to claim that land in practical terms, even if you
can’t do so legally. Meanwhile, crew members retain their Earth
citizenships and remain subject to the laws of their home nations, von der
Dunk said.

So what happens when you have an American, two Indians, a Russian and a
Nigerian living in a pod that’s owned by a private corporation under the
authorization of Liberia? By whose laws are they all governed? What happens
if the rules set by one country conflict with another’s? Who benefits from
the mineral rights? What if India decides it’s OK for its citizens on Mars
to secede and form their own Martian government before Liberia decides
that’s OK?
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