| Summary: | Until today, there has been little interest of international Law concerning the earth’s subsurface, as the space that extends from the surface of the soil or of the seabed to the center of the earth. On the one hand, there is no rule of international law that regulates the use Sovereign States have of their territorial subsurface. It is currently understood that subsburface activities and property law that regulates them, are within domestic jurisdiction only and do not come under international law scrutinity as they waive the exercice of an absolute independance of States. On the other hand, the existing rules of international law that regulates extraterritorial subsurface, notably the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond national jurisdiction and the Antarctic, consider the earth’s subsurface mostly in terms of use and exploitation of mineral resources. Faced with the evergrowing uses of the subsurface that are solely used for extraction or for injection and storing, and regarding the impacts of some underground activities on the environment and on human rights, International Law must play a role by regulating the content and extent of rights that are exercised over the earth’s subsurface inside and outside territorial jurisdiction for development and protection purposes. L’espace souterrain, qui s’étend depuis la surface des terres émergées et des fonds marins jusqu’au centre de la Terre, est délaissé par le droit international. Aucune règle de droit international positif ne vient réglementer l’utilisation que les Etats font de leur espace souterrain territorial, cette utilisation et le régime de la propriété souterraine faisant partie de leur domaine réservé. Si les normes internationales régissent l’utilisation de l’espace souterrain extra-territorial, celui des grands fonds marins et celui de l’Antarctique, elles n’appréhendent l’espace souterrain qu’en termes d’utilisation et de mise en valeur des ressources minérales. De ce régime juridique d’exploration et d’exploitation des ressources ...
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