Working Group on the Legal Aspects of Satellite Connectivity in AfricaNew!!
Contact the members at: wg-satafrica@iisl.space The African Working Group on Satellite Connectivity, under the auspices of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), is inviting applications for Research Members to support its mission of advancing legal and policy understanding of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite broadband services across Africa. The group aims to assess the current status of LEO satellite adoption in several African countries, explore legal, regulatory, and policy challenges, analyze international space law, ITU frameworks, and national licensing systems, and develop legal guidelines that promote equitable and sustainable access to satellite broadband across the continent. Research Members will engage in legal research, data analysis, stakeholder interviews, and the preparation of reports and papers, ultimately contributing to peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, regulatory proposals, and actionable policy recommendations. Please, find below the form link for the call for applicants: or copy/paste: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScO_-83x90yZCbuSdd1HJ5H-Pda9Lc7iTfBJai_Nk2MTwVC6g/viewform?usp=dialog This initiative focuses on: Role of Research Members Research Members will contribute over a 12–18 month period, supporting: Expected Outcomes Together, we can pave the way for a more connected, innovative, and sustainable future for Africa.
IISL Awards 2025 – Call for Nominations
Nominations should be made in the prescribed nomination form in one of the five categories of IISL awards. The deadline for this year’s nominations is Friday, 28 February 2025. Nominations must be submitted electronically to awards@iisl.space, by filling and e-mailing the prescribed form, and providing all the required information and documentation. Please note that the scope of the IISL Awards is global and not limited to IISL members, therefore we invite all members to actively participate in the nominations. More information: https://iisl.space/index.php/awards-and-competitions/
Note for IISL members wishing to submit a paper for IAC Sydney
IPC members Lesley Jane Smith and Catherine Doldirina have the following advice to those wishing to submit abstracts to this year’s IAC Sydney. Category E, Space and Society, IISL E.7: Abstracts for IISL should be submitted under. IISL own sessions are listed under E7. Submission Deadline: 28th February 2025 prior to midnight CET. Even although this end of February deadline is generally always extended by the IAF around one week prior to expiry, we do not recommend relying on an extension taking place. Should the deadline be extended, you will not be able to adjust abstracts once they are submitted. In our internal dealings, we appreciate that there uis a level of unequal conditions prevailing for those who have submitted on time and those who take advantage of a possible deadline. Should there be issues in selection of balancing the merits of one paper over another, the chairs may well look to see which of the abstracts was submitted under the principal deadline, not the extension. This is the only way that some recognition can be given for the hard work and timeliness of submission, independent of the deadline extension. Selecting your session: Authors should select the session of their choice corresponding to the topic they wish to discuss. Authors who are still young professionals, and either in training, further education AND are under 35 should present their abstracts to the E7.1. Young Scholars session. This is exclusively for young scholars, and not for academic supervisors or senior co-authors. Time constraints and limited number of abstracts admissible within symposium: no double submissions; no multiple authorship. There is a finite number of abstracts of about 12-14 papers that can be admitted to each session. This is dictated by the session timing, which is now reduced by the IAF to 90 minutes. It is neither appropriate nor feasible to require authors to present their research and findings in anything under 8 minutes. No double submissions: Both IAF and IISL operate a strict policy of no double submissions. This is to prevent over-subscription of sessions by individual authors, and allow reasonable chance for others to have their work considered for acceptance. The practice of co-authorship is to be kept to a minimum, with the co-author being deemed an author for that purpose. Interactive Presentations: If authors are unsure whether their papers will be accepted and/or are looking for a high degree of probability of acceptance, then these authors should submit to the interactive poster sessions. The IP sessions are not subsidiary in quality to the main sessions, they simply use an interactive, discursive format that requires the author to be on site to discuss the poster and article at a specific time that IAF will indicate. There is a separate award (prize) for posters submitted into this category of abstracts. Abstract Selection: Selection is done by the session chairs, not by IPC who have no influence on decisions taken. Abstracts not selected: Please note that there are various reasons why your abstract may not be selected. Most sessions are per seoversubscribed, so that the Session Chairs select in terms of quality, as best suits the subject. A reserve list is always made. Should selected authors not formally commit towards IAF that they are attending IAC (the request to confirm attendance is generally around end May), the waiting list serves to fill any empty positions that occur within the session. The reserve list is ranked. Authors are therefore reminded of the advantages offered by the Interactive Poster session (IP) which offers a less complicated and more predictable form of not only submission but in itself, acceptance. The trend within IAF is to move towards more interactive poster sessions and less Rapporteur Volunteers: IISL frequently requires additional support at rapporteur level, due to some rapporteurs not always being able to travel. Given the costs involved in travelling to Sydney, those younger professionals who specifically know they will be on site there should please contact IPC. Assessment of session by Chairs: Abstracts are selected by chairs and arranged in a structured order best reflecting the subject matter. Further information available via: https://www.iafastro.org/events/iac/international-astronautical-congress-2025/technical-programme.html Authors wishing instruction on technical issues should contact IAF directly: support@iafastro.org
MLMC 2025: Responses to the Requests for Clarification
The Responses to the Requests for Clarification of this year’s Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition have been published!
Statements at the 2024 UNCOPUOS Legal Subcommittee
In March and April 2024, the International Institute of Space Law proudly showcased its expertise at the UN COPUOS in Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹 Our very own Maruška Strah, Co-Chair of the Space Traffic Management Working Group, delivered insightful speeches to the Legal Subcommittee of UN COPUOS. She summarised 2023-2024 IISL activities, shared news about scholarship and publications and described how the IISL contributes to the conversations on STM in global fora. March 2024 Statement: http://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/copuos/lsc/2024/Statements/5_International_Institute_of_Space_Law.pdfApril 2024 Statement: http://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/copuos/lsc/2024/Statements/12_IISL.pdf Additionally, Olavo Bittencourt Neto participated in the IISL/ECSL Symposium co-organized with the ECSL – European Centre for Space Law. His involvement highlights the collaborative spirit and expert knowledge within our space law and space policy community. Congratulations to both Maruska and Olavo for representing the IISL with such distinction and advancing our mission in the international arena.
MLMC 2024: Responses to the Requests for Clarification
The Responses to the Requests for Clarification of this year’s Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition have been published!
RESULTS: 32nd Annual Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court World Finals
The 32nd Annual Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court World Finals were held on Thursday, October 5 at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan in its capitol, Baku. Presiding were three justices on the International Court of Justice: Her Excellency Judge Xue, His Excellency Judge Brant and His Excellency Judge Tomka. The students who pleaded the fictitious case of Argyliam v. Koligian, authored by George Kyriakopoulos, were winners of competitions among 73 teams across the regions of Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Competing in the preliminary and semi-final rounds were the Latin American regional winner, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; the African regional winner, the University of Calabar, in Nigeria; the Asia-Pacific regional winner, China University of Political Science and Law; the European regional winner, the University of Cologne, Germany; and the North American regional winner, the USAF Air Command and Staff College, from the United States. Pleading in the World Finals were Christina Schmitz and Verena Celina S. for the University of Cologne and Huang Rixin and Zhuo Linling for China University of Political Science. The judges declared China University of Political Science and Law as the winner and voted Christina Schmitz, of the University of Cologne, the Best Oralist. The Best Memorials award was presented to China University of Political Science and Law. The memorials judges for the competition finals were Michael Dodge, Rebecca Connolly, Laura Garry, Zuzanna Kulinska – Kępa, Christopher J. Newman, Jinyuan Su, Guoyu Wang, Deepika Jeyakodi, Annie Handmer (PhD) and Anne-Sophie MARTIN, Ph.D🪐💫. The judges of the preliminary round were Olavo Bittencourt Neto, Dr. Ulrike M. (Ulla) Bohlmann and Michelle L.D. Hanlon. The judges of the semi-final rounds were Henry Hertzfeld, Frans von der Dunk, Dr. Ranjana Kaul, Guoyu Wang, Tanja Masson-Zwaan and George Kyriakopoulos.
III Seminario Internacional de Derecho Internacional
[English below] La Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas te invita al III Seminario Internacional de Derecho Internacional, a llevarse a cabo en línea los días 6 y 7 de diciembre. La asistencia es gratuita. IISL Member of the Board of Directors Martha Mejía-Kaiser and IISL Members Irmgard Marboe y Catherine Doldirina, miembros del Instituto Internacional de Derecho Espacial, presentarán temas en el panel de derecho espacial. Te puedes registrar en el siguiente enlace: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfVXbEpYeILxwsI1BueZ8rbd1Uhz4_dkRgpHepN3X4hoAEfzQ/viewform The Faculty of Law of the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas invites you to the III International Seminar on International Law, to be held online on 6 and 7 December. Attendance is free of charge. Irmgard Marboe, Catherine Doldirina and Martha Mejía-Kaiser, members of the International Institute of Space Law, will present topics in the space law panel. You can register at the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfVXbEpYeILxwsI1BueZ8rbd1Uhz4_dkRgpHepN3X4hoAEfzQ/viewform
ISPL to offer course on Space Warfare
The London Institute for Space Policy and Law (ISPL) is running a short course on Space Warfare at the end of this month. This Course provides an overview and general understanding of conflict in and through space. The legal, policy and other political factors concerning military and security operations in outer space and the role of space assets in warfare will be considered. Placement of weapons in space and the deployment of space capabilities in terrestrial conflicts will be examined, including considerations affecting deployment of dual-use systems. The course will be held on 29 March 2023. The announcement, programme, and application details are available at https://www.space-institute.org/space-warfare-course/.
Annual Standing Committee Reports
At the meeting of the IISL Board of Directors held at Brighton, United Kingdom, in October 1987, the Board decided to create a standing committee of the Institute to prepare and submit at each annual Colloquium a report on the status of agreements relating to activities in outer space.Institute members who can contribute substantively to the work of the committee are invited to serve on it. Membership is open to any interested IISL member. The committee members help collect, review and verify data concerning selected space agreements. Agreements of general global applicability or regional applicability are selected for reporting. Bilateral agreements are not included in the report. In general, the agreements included in these reports, and their status, are believed to be valid as of the dates indicated in the respective reports. 2020-2021 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2021 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2020-2021 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2021 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001