6 Conclusions
This article presents some of the central provisions in the proposed draft of the new Norwegian space law and the expert committee's analyses and arguments behind these provisions. With regard to the draft space law, it remains to be seen whether the legislator will find the committee's proposal acceptable and whether any adjustments will be made to the proposed legal text. It was not always easy to come up with solutions for the complex issues which the committee faced. International space treaties are not clear and to a large extent out-of-date on some of the important issues pertaining to central definitions in space law, standards for the responsible use of outer space, and liability issues. While the work on the proposed legal text was informed by other countries' experiences with the space legislation, different countries have also chosen somewhat varying approaches to central space law issues and legislative formats. The committee kept in mind that Norway differs from most other European and Nordic states because of its plans to begin orbital launches from its own territory at Andøya.
The work on the Norwegian space law draft began in 2019, but it is fair to say that the Norwegian space law reform had begun even earlier: Norway's joining as a member of UN COPUOS in 2017 may have been the decisive step in this direction. It should be pointed out that the reform of space legislation will not be finished with the Norwegian Parliament's enacting the legal text; rather, this will be yet another important event, to be followed by the adoption of regulations, development of administrative and branch practices etc. The international space law framework is also evolving, with new instruments being adopted under the auspices of COPUOS and other international fora. New issues arise which are not included in the scope of the draft space law arise and are not properly regulated at the international level, for example, space tourism, space mining and 'privatisation' of natural resources of the Moon, asteroids and Mars. These should be considered in the future space legislative work.