He flew with his idea far from the typical usual judicial flock and distinguished himself with a qualitative message titled ” The Legal Laws for the Commercial Use of Space.” Despite of the unusual idea and the strangeness of the unprecedented title, his message was the most in keeping in touch on the approach to space exploration that the Kingdom seeks and is taking rapid steps to achieve.
Lawyer Mazin bin Abdul Wahab Kurdi, who holds an honorary doctorate from the International University of Cambridge, jumped ahead of time to present a legal vision for the commercial use of space and let his idea gain the honor of starting out, keeping in line with his message the ambitions of empowerment, unleashing capabilities, and supporting Saudi talent in the field of space, which are the most important bets of the astronaut program and a step toward a brighter future along with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, set by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, to be a road map that enhances our strengths that God has given us and lays strong foundations for creativity and innovation to achieve goals, including space exploration and then searching for ways to conducting it.
Among the incentives that sparked the idea and the stations that inspired “Kurdi” before he started choosing the title of his message and then completing it, perhaps the most prominent is the history of the Kingdom’s space and the success stories of its pioneers, which began forty years ago and are still being renewed. Not only that, but his investment in the stimulating climate provided by the Kingdom’s vision calls on Saudis to awaken the giant within them and enter into exploratory trips to serve humanity and invest in the promising opportunities offered by the space sector and its industries globally, and after the international competition in the field of outer space and its discoveries, which today represents a demonstration of strength and control that tips the scales in favor of one country over another.
Despite all the incentives, the most powerful one can be seen in “Kurdi’s” passion for choosing difficult paths professionally and pioneering paths at the regional and Arab level that many have not taken before. This is documented by his practical journey and his successful fingerprints in every professional forum, including his tenure as head of legal affairs in the European Arab Organization in Geneva and as president of the Kingdom’s legal team to study emissions from aircraft at ICAO.
These elements led him to forgo all of the customary judicial titles and select and choose a unique title and topic for a legal treatise written today to serve future generations.
In his message, “Kurdi” was keen to establish special rules and provisions to regulate the uses of space and document the legal status of the uses and organization of outer space so that there is no legal vacuum resulting from the failure to keep pace with the rules of the current law for application and access to outer space due to the difference of the space environment from the terrestrial environment and the distinction of space activities.
“Kurdi” excelled in his message to develop national legislation that regulates the exploitation of space, encourages investments in it, provides the necessary government support to organize the activity, and identifies the rights and obligations of space and non-space states regarding the uses of space from an international perspective.
Despite all that was contained in the doctoral thesis plan of lawyer Mazen bin Abdul-Wahhab Kurdi’s appreciation of his supervisor’s appreciation of the thesis plan in the research and discussion forum and the praise of his professional companions who reviewed it from lawyers and specialists for his good choice and successful presentation, the canvas of praise expands if we realize the value of his thesis and its impact on the future of humanity.
“Kurdi’s” message, which was penned with the pen of the present to serve the future, it should be read and considered in its details if we want to know the law of living in worlds that we have not yet reached.
