AUTHOR: DYKSHA VERMA

INTRODUCTION

This paper answers the following research question: can Alternative Dispute Resolution function as the primary legal mechanism for solving disputes In the outer space, and if so what enforcement architecture is constitutionally, institutionally and technically required to make is work legally This paper proceeds on the assumption that outer space requires not merely dispute resolution, but a legally enforceable system of adjudication capable of operating in the absence of territorial sovereignty.

Humanity stands at the threshold of an era in which the human beings will not just visit outer space but also live in it on orbital stations, lunar outposts, and eventually Martian colonies. With habitation there comes human conflict which calls for a need of laws. Laws require enforcement. This simple and basic argument contradicts with the reality of outer space: a frontier that has no police force, no prison system and no government authority capable of compelling compliance with any legal decision.