Que reste-t-il du principe du patrimoine commun de l’humanité dans le droit international de l’espace?

The author analyses the legal regime of outer space and state practice, including some recent national legislations, highlighting the tendency of this regime to oscillate towards compliance with two different international principles of great importance: the principle of the common heritage of mankind and the principle of res communis omnium. While highlighting the limited relevance of the principle of the common heritage of mankind in the current international law of space, the author demonstrates that explicit and implicit references to this principle in the international law regime still produce relevant legal effects aimed at limiting state claims.