Asgardia: An American-launched “Nation” by a Russian Citizen That Orbits the Earth

Guest Opinion

Almost a decade ago, a Russian billionaire, Igor Ashurbeyli, committed to funding a space station-project that would orbit earth in low orbit (LEO), named Asgardia (from Asgard, the mythical Norse world where gods reside.) At the time, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong bureau, contacted me because I teach “Space Law”, to ask if I thought it was realistic for Igor Ashurbeyli to apply for (and obtain) United Nations membership for Asgardia. I thought it would be interesting to share my answer, and to follow up and see how Asgardia is doing today.

United Nations membership

The short answer to the reporter’s question is that Asgardia would likely be under the sole jurisdiction of the launching state, the United States and therefore not a sovereign nation. However, if humans were in a space station and gave up their Earthly citizenship, declaring themselves an independent sovereign nation, they could apply for membership, but getting past the application stage would be unlikely.

The hurdles to UN membership

First, under the Outer Space Treaty, the launching state has jurisdiction over its space object, forever, in terms of liability.¹ Second, looking at the current ISS as a model for legal frameworks is our next analysis. Under the Outer Space Treaty, an intergovernmental agreement (IGA), was signed by the participating nations on the International Space Station.² This is not a precedent or binding on future ISSs, but could be argued that it is customary law under international law, and thus binding. Article 5 of this IGA holds that “each partner shall retain jurisdiction and control over the elements it registers and over personnel in or on the Space Station who are its nationals”. That is, the citizenship of the person in the space object is subject to the jurisdiction of his or her own country, so forming a sovereign nation on this space station would be an act of insurrection, e.g., a declaration of independence. If each member gave up their citizenship that might also put them in a better position to be independent. Historically, Russia has not been passive about declarations of independence from “satellite” nations. No pun intended. So this is a major hurdle. The fact there are no humans in space in Asgardia, leaves that question for another day.

The United Nations Purpose

Continuing with our thought experiment, if there were people in Asgardia on a space station-type craft, how might they analyze their chances at UN membership? The UN Charter’s purpose is “To maintain international peace and security, . . .” (Art. 1(1)) and as explained in the Preamble “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” Further, the UN Charter “is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.” ³and is intended to provide a forum for resolving disputes.⁴

The UN Charter deals with membership which is “open to . . . peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the . . . Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations”⁵

The process is that a member proposes its membership to the Secretary of the UN who decides whether it meets the requirements and then puts it before the General Assembly for a vote.

The UN charter sets out the basics of international relations expected from the members. There are four: (1) to maintain international peace and security; (2) to develop friendly relations among nations; (3) to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights; and (4) and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

Membership in the Organization, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, “is open to all peace-loving States that accept the obligations contained in the United Nations Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able to carry out these obligations”. States are admitted to membership in the United Nations by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.⁶

Now, before the UN would take up consideration of membership of a space station, they would likely have objections from all those in observer status, like the Holy See, for example. There are about 54 small nations that are “dependencies” not members of the UN who would also likely object.

The definition of what is a sovereign state could be a real obstacle for the space station, given that Palestine has been trying to get recognition as a sovereign state for decades, but has been repeatedly delayed in consideration. When Palestine was allowed to be a member of the organ of the UN that protects world heritage sites, UNESCO, the U.S. withdrew from participating in UNESCO (at least for a time), for example.

There is a mechanism whereby smaller sovereign states are represented by a larger state. New Zealand represents several small Pacific island dependencies in the UN, and they do not have full membership. (Presumptively, it is not cost effective for them to maintain a presence at the UN, and New Zealand shares their interests.) This seems to be the most likely route for the new space station “nation” which would most likely come under the sponsorship of Russia. Whether Russia would recognize any dependency in this space station would be left to Russia. Another possibility for Asgardia to have some independence from Russia would be as a recognized “Special Administrative Region” of Russia, like Hong Kong is to China. Again, even this recognition for Asgardia is politically unlikely.

Where is Asgardia today?

The BBC did a great job of documenting the kick off for Asgardia with a big banquet, meet-and-greet with the “head” of the constitutional monarchy, Igor Ashurbeyli. They even have a national anthem.⁷ There is an app, now, too, from the Apple Store as well As Google Play. To be a citizen requires you to assent to the constitution of Asgardia.⁸ It is only open to humans, I was pleased to see. The purpose appears to be to keep peace in space and also to have a human born in space.

It turns out Asgardia is a six-pound satellite about the size of a breadbox,⁹ but aspires to be an ark in the future, and even expand to a colony on Mars. Asgardia is called a digital, space-faring nation by its Head of Nation; however, it is worth noting that the Head of Nation can become a “King” if he is coronated.¹⁰ Asgardia has over a million citizens, now; and at least in the beginning was made up of 75% male citizens.¹¹ All of them live on Earth. Asgardia is not acknowledged by the United Nations or any national government, or law in its current digital form.

Where is the litigation?

To add to its quest for recognition, I expected to see some litigation establishing its party status in some way. In fact, its Terms of Service are to be resolved under the laws of Austria, so we have one foot on the ground (Earth) with a legal system. But beyond its Terms of Service, in the use of its digital platform, other conflicts would likely fall within the jurisdiction of the legal system established in the Asgardia constitution. But if one decides to file a claim against the Agardian government, Agardia can be served with process at the corporate headquarters in Vienna, Austria, presumably. (Please note I am not a member of the Asgardian Bar Association, so I cannot give you advice on Asgardian law.)

Ebay has its own binding conflict resolution process, so why not Asgardia?

While this may not be a question that needs answering today, a space station in LEO that has declared its independence may be something we need to consider for our future and it may not be that far in the future.

To read more articles by Professor Sutton go to:  https://profvictoria.substack.com/ 

Professor Victoria Sutton (Lumbee) is a law professor on the faculty of Texas Tech University. In 2005, Sutton became a founding member of the National Congress of American Indians, Policy Advisory Board to the NCAI Policy Center, positioning the Native American community to act and lead on policy issues affecting Indigenous communities in the United States.