[[ Also time for only a quick reply on this this morning -- more later ]]
In a message dated 6/23/00 1:18:34 AM Central Daylight Time, random@qnet.com
writes:
> Spike Jones wrote:
> >
> > Question legal types: if we extropians were the first to land and
> > stay on Mars, could we legally claim the whole rock? spike
>
> You could try, but the Outer Space treaty prohibits extraterrestrial
> claims, and signatory nations would not recognize such claims. Bottom
> line is, you'd have to be ready to survive an embargo. Conversely, it's
> a great big commons that you're free to rape- materials extracted would
> be yours, ya just can't claim real estate. When the time comes, this
> treaty could be renegotiated or abrogated, of course.
I'll check in more detail to confimr this, but I think the treaty only
prohibits national claims of SOVEREIGNTY. The issue of private OWNERSHIP is
left untouched, although, naturally, most conventional-minded lawyers assume
"no sovereignty" = "no property", since they identify property with the state.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
ICQ # 61112550
"We never stop investigating. We are never satisfied that we know
enough to get by. Every question we answer leads on to another
question. This has become the greatest survival trick of our species."
-- Desmond Morris
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:14:06 MDT