At least he has a claim in accordance with the Terra (Luna?) Nullis rules used to establish ownership of otherwise unclaimed and uninhabited land.
I'm not familiar with this "terra nullis" (nullus?) convention. Maybe you could offer a citation?
There are a number of interesting conventions about terra lucrabilis which is land converted out of the ocean or from waste (e.g., swamp or more modernly "wetlands") and terra nova.
If the claim would stand in an International tribunal context is questionable.
Of course! And the corresponding question: what standing does an internationl tribunal have?
Oh, sure on *Earth* it sound impressive that you have an international tribunal or a "world court." But how does that court have jurisdiction off-world?
And, the "United Nations" contains a minority of all the nations on Earth. Moreover, it represents the various governments or nation-states, as if they matter.
However, it maybe likely that there would be some kind of compensation, should his claims (and those of the people buying from him) be nullified at some point in time.
That's an interesting idea, of course. Who would enforce such a compensation ruling against the nullifiers, though?
When you really think about the space frontier as terra incognita it gets pretty Wild West.
In the end, I'd say that the value of the claims depend on what humanity does with the moon in future.
Actually, it also seems to matter quite a bit what humanity has done in the past. The USA and the USSR had quite a little territorial thing going on the Moon's surface in the 1960s - all the way up through the last lunar landings.
If they colonize or mine or otherwise exploit it -
They? You mean, if any humans do? Or if "humanity" as a Roddenberry collective, "beyond struggle for personal gain" does these things?
which would require some sort of ownership arrangements,
It is indeed the case that investors in mining do not like messy ownership problems. That's why the "Law of the Sea" killed off most seabed mining efforts.
then his claims are likely to be worth something, if one considers the precedents in kolonial history.
It could be fun.
Of course, there is the issue that on Earth teritories have been claimed on behalf of governments and individuals had been chartered to do so at the time.
Well, that turns out to be not entirely true. Antarctica and the "high seas" and the seabed beneath international waters have been set aside as territories not claimed by any nation, at least for the lifetimes of the respective treaties. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 does away with the concept of nations establishing sovereignty over any celestial body.
However, the mere filing of the claim in an American land registry by an individual could even be taken as a base to claim American jurisdiction over the moon - a scary thought.
If by "American jurisdiction" you mean the jurisdiction of the American who filed the claim, then tell me why that's scary. If by "American jurisdiction" you mean jurisdiction of the USA feral gummint, then I can only quote the police lieutenant in the opening scene of "The Matrix": "If you're gonna give me any of that juris-my-dick-tion crap, you can blow it out yer @ss!"
On the other hand, he did declare independence (uncontested) and proclaimed his own nation state and government.
Which exists exactly to the same extent that any other nation state or government exists.
Legally, this is likely to be an interesting case to decide on, if it ever comes to that.
It would be interesting to see how the fur flies over whom might have jurisdiction.
Still, I believe that there are just enough "registered property owners" for the moon, to make enough of an impact to warrant some sort compensation, if not indeed validation, at some point in the future.
Could be fun.
So, as a long term investment gamble, buying a few acres of the moon certainly beats buying lottery tickets. The odds of winning are better and the bragging rights are priceless :o)
I do keep asking Dennis to accept e-gold.
Meanwhile, I've written a lengthy though incomplete essay on the subject here: http://www.houstonspacesociety.org/icon/moon.html
It is an important issue, and as the map indicates, I think the powers that be were "covering their options" during the planning phases for the various lunar landings.
I have not had time to update the map with the crash site for the Lunar Prospector which delivered some of Gene Shoemaker's ashes to the Moon a few years back.
Regards,
Jim http://www.ezez.com/
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