Roscosmos and Russian Academy of Sciences have pointed to the issue recently.

As the two agencies noted in their joint decision, problems may arise during the future colonization of the Moon. Some experts have expressed their concerns about the enforceability of current legal regulations which prohibit national appropriations of celestial bodies.

Adel Abdullin, Chair of the Department of International and European Law, commented that spacefaring nations pay attention to space law, and not only because of possible territorial disputes, “Russia is, undoubtedly, one of such countries. As for KFU’s potential, our department is absolutely ready to work in that direction as of now. Some of our professors already tackle problems of space law. Moreover, courses in international law including space law are already being taught to undergraduates and graduate students – and that includes courses in English.”

PhD candidates and DSc candidates also study space law. Kazan University has a dissertation board ready to accept works on international and space law.

“This is the organizational capacity which our department can allocate to educating such specialists. We have authored a number of textbooks, including International Law and International Environmental Law. The books comprise chapters on pollution, including space pollution, and principles of space exploration as they are codified in international documents,” added Dr. Abdullin.