UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities (draft initial recommended principles)
Intergovernmental working group of the UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee mandated to develop a set of initial recommended principles for space resource activities. As of October 2026 it has produced only drafts: a consolidated draft set of non-binding principles was issued in July 2026; nothing has been adopted by COPUOS or the General Assembly.
Facts
- Level
- Non-binding guidance
- Scope
- International
- Citation
- Mandate and terms of reference: A/76/20, annex III; five-year workplan: A/AC.105/1260, annex II, appendix; 2026 reports: A/AC.105/C.2/2026/SRA/L.1 and Add.1; A/81/20 paras. 98-100
- Established
- 2021
- Status
- ProposedCOPUOS report A/81/20 (June 2026 session) records that a consolidated draft would be prepared and that the WG should be reconvened at the Legal Subcommittee's 2027 session (para. 110) under its 2023-2027 workplan; the UNOOSA WG page lists the 'Consolidated Draft Set of Initial Recommended Principles' dated July 2026. The workplan targets finalization for consensus agreement in 2027. Read on 2026-10-29, the UNOOSA page still lists the 24 September and 22 October 2026 meetings under upcoming intersessional meetings, also lists 17 December 2026 and, with dates and times still to be confirmed, January and February 2027, and posts no outcome document from either meeting.
Dated steps
Treaty actions, signings, notices and drafts recorded as events, newest first.
- 2026-07
UN COPUOS working group issues consolidated draft principles for space resource activities
The chair and vice-chair of the COPUOS Legal Subcommittee's Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities issued a consolidated draft set of initial recommended principles, which the draft itself calls non-binding. It says extraction in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty does not inherently constitute national appropriation. Nothing has been adopted; the working group's plan targets finalization in 2027.
Sources (5) and evidence gaps
Consolidated Draft Set of Initial Recommended Principles for Space Resource Activities July 2026
- [2]Consolidated draft set of initial recommended principles for space resource activities (July 2026)
Recognizing that these Principles are non-binding and do not create new legal rights or obligations
- [3]Consolidated draft set of initial recommended principles for space resource activities (July 2026)
The extraction of space resources in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty does not inherently constitute national appropriation of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies.
2027: (a) Finalization of a set of initial recommended principles for such activities for the consideration of and consensus agreement by the Committee
the Committee noted that a consolidated draft set of initial recommended principles for space resource activities would be prepared by the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the Working Group
- The UNOOSA page gives only the month of the consolidated draft, not a day.
- No outcome document is posted for the 24 September or 22 October 2026 intersessional meetings.
Resource provisions
A paraphrase followed by the source wording.
Draft only (July 2026 consolidated draft): would affirm that the international space law regime applies to space resource activities, that the principles are non-binding and create no new rights or obligations, that nothing authorizes national appropriation, and (draft Principle 2(D)) that extraction in compliance with the OST 'does not inherently constitute national appropriation'. These are proposals under negotiation, not adopted text.
Recognizing that these Principles are non-binding and do not create new legal rights or obligations [4]
Drafts and outputs
Checked 2026-10-29.
| Date | Output | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-27 | Initial draft set of recommended principles (Note by the Vice-Chair, A/AC.105/C.2/L.339) | draft |
| 2026-04-28 | Updated drafts by the Chair and Vice-Chair (versions dated 7 July 2025 through 28 April 2026) | draft |
| 2026-07 | Consolidated Draft Set of Initial Recommended Principles for Space Resource Activities | draft, posted on the UNOOSA working-group page |
Open evidence gaps
- The draft principles are subject to change; no text has been agreed by consensus, adopted by COPUOS, or endorsed by the General Assembly.
- Exact date the working group was first established (Legal Subcommittee 2021 session; mandate in A/76/20 annex III) not confirmed from the report text itself.
Sources
12 sourcesDevelop a set of initial recommended principles for such activities, taking into account the need to ensure that they are carried out in accordance with international law and in a safe, sustainable, rational and peaceful manner, for the consideration of and consensus agreement by the Committee, followed by possible adoption by the General Assembly as a dedicated resolution or other action
Consolidated Draft Set of Initial Recommended Principles for Space Resource Activities July 2026
2027: (a) Finalization of a set of initial recommended principles for such activities for the consideration of and consensus agreement by the Committee
- [4]Consolidated draft set of initial recommended principles for space resource activities (July 2026)
Recognizing that these Principles are non-binding and do not create new legal rights or obligations
The extraction of space resources in compliance with the Outer Space Treaty does not inherently constitute national appropriation of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies.
The Working Group agreed to continue its work on the development of the draft set of initial recommended principles for space resource activities, while striving to achieve a greater common understanding and identifying areas of convergence.
- [7]A/AC.105/C.2/2026/SRA/L.1 - Report of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Working Group, 15 April 2026
reconvened the Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities, with Steven Freeland (Australia) as Chair and Ayman Mahmoud Mohamed Ahmed (Egypt) as Vice-Chair
the Committee noted that a consolidated draft set of initial recommended principles for space resource activities would be prepared by the Chair and the Vice-Chair of the Working Group
under the five-year workplan of the Working Group for the period 2023-2027
Mandate, terms of reference, and workplan and methods of work of the Working Group ( A/76/20 , Annex III)
Thursday, 22 October 2026, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CET
January 2027 (date and time to be confirmed) February 2027 (date and time to be confirmed)
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities (draft initial recommended principles)”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/laws/copuos-space-resources-working-group.html. Record checked 2026-10-31.