Announcement
Information on IISL activities at IAC 2024 in Milan
Dear Members, We have published information relevant to our activities at the IAC 2024 taking place in Milan, Italy from 14 to 18 October 2024. The page is regularly updated, so you are welcome to revisit it ahead of and during the Congress. See you in Milan!
Joint IISL ECSL KAS event on space law in Asia – registration open
Dear IISL Members, The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung – Rule of Law Progrmme Asia (KAS), the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL), and our Institute are convening a joint event on Dialogue on Space Law in Asia. The event will take place on 9 October 2024 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. CEST at the KAS Paris Office. Participation is possible both in person at the venue as well as online. The event gives the floor to renowned experts who will inform about recent developments in space law in India and South Korea, and will be moderated and framed by leading experts of IISL, ECSL, and KAS. You can register for the event here (select your mode of participation and you will receive the necessary details for attendance by email). We look forward to seeing many of you there – in person or online!
IISL Awards Dinner Registration OPEN!
Dear IISL Members, The 2024 IISL Annual Awards Dinner will take place on Thursday, October 17, 2024 | 19:00Palazzo Turati, Via Meravigli, 7, 20123 Milano, Italy Registration for the Dinner is now OPEN here: IISL Awards Dinner Registration IMPORTANT Note on Dietary Requirements: All dietary requirements and preferences have to be submitted to us by 5 October 2024, in order to ensure the delivery from the caterer. If you have questions, please contact us on secretary@iisl.space and webmaster@iisl.space. We look forward to seeing you there!
IISL lunch time events at IAC in Milan
Dear IISL Members, During this year’s IAC in Milan, IISL will hold two special lunch time events: a General Counsel Roundtable and the presentation of the current work under the IISL Study Group on Legal Aspects of AI in space. General Counsel Roundtable On Wednesday, 16 October 2024 at 13-14 h in Green Hall 3 For this event, General Counsels from agencies and ministries are invited for a roundtable discussion of current issues General Counsels are dealing with. Presentation and Discussion on the Draft Findings of the IISL Working Group on Legal Aspects of Al in SpaceOn Tuesday, 15 October 2024 at 13-14 h in Green Hall 3 The IISL Study Group on Legal Aspects of AI in Space will share its draft findings and open the floor for discussion with the audience. Both events are open to IISL Members and IAC participants. An update with the participating experts will be provided in the week ahead of the Congress. We hope to see many of you there!
Register for IISL Happy Hour #17 on IAC
Dear IISL members, The 17th IISL Happy Hour will be held on 26 September (Thursday) 12:30-13:30 h CEST (it could be extended until 14:00 h). This time, IISL Officers will share the important information with us, IISL members on the IAC 2024 , taking place in Milan, Italy from 14 to 18 October. To better prepare for and the make the most of the IAC 2024, please save the date and register the next IISL Happy Hour! In order to receive the meeting link, please register using the link below.
IISL Elections 2024: Run-off Elections – Voting Information
The IISL Elections 2024 for Board and Officers were successfully held between 15 June and 15 July 2024. The IISL elections this year offered one open Vice-President position (IISL Officer) and nine open positions on the IISL Board of Directors (IISL Director). The specific results will be announced soon, however there was a tie in the vote for two candidates for the ninth Director position. In accordance with the IISL Bylaws a run-off election is being held between these two candidates between 30 August and 15 September 2024. We urge you to take part and vote so that the result will accurately reflect the wishes of our entire membership. Voting opens on August 30 at 00:00 CEST, and closes on September 15 at 23:59 CEST. Find more information and the link to the voting poll here:
IISL Elections 2024: Run-off to be held 30 August to 15 September
Dear IISL Members, The IISL Elections 2024 for Board and Officers were successfully held between 15 June and 15 July 2024. Participation in this years’ elections by IISL members in nominating and supporting candidates, and voting, was exceptionally high and we thank everyone for their participation in making the IISL Elections 2024 a truly democratic endeavour! The IISL elections this year offered one open Vice-President position (IISL Officer) and nine open positions on the IISL Board of Directors (IISL Director). The specific results will be announced soon, however there was a tie in the vote for two candidates for the ninth Director position. In accordance with the IISL Bylaws, therefore, a run-off election will be held between these two candidates between 30 August and 15 September 2024. We kindly ask you to note the run-off voting period in your schedules and heartily invite you to take part in it. The more IISL members that participate in the elections, the truer the result will be reflective of the wishes of our entire membership. We will send out another email to IISL members before the start of the run-off voting period and inform you about the voting procedures. The candidates’ nomination forms and supporting documents will be available on the website when voting opens. For your information, please find the IISL Statutes and Bylaws here.
Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition – Statements of Facts for 2025 released
IISL has released the Statements of Facts and Summary of Agreed Statements of Facts for the 2025 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition Case: Admetus v CronusCase Concerning the Legality of Space Activities in Conflicts Find our dedicated page for the 2025 MLSLMCC here:
Obituary: H.E. Judge Vladlen S. Vereshchetin
9 August 2024 IISL is saddened to announce the passing of H.E. Judge Vladlen S. Vereshchetin on 7 August 2024. Judge Vereshchetin was a strong promoter of space law and a great supporter of IISL. He joined the Board of Directors in 1982 and served as Vice President for over ten years. The Institute awarded him the Honorary Directorship in 1994, recognizing his outstanding contribution to space law. Judge Vereshchetin was an enthusiastic supporter of IISL’s Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition and judged the World Finals for the first time in 1995 in Oslo and without interruption until he retired from the International Court of Justice, demonstrating his vivid interest in educating the young space lawyers. In 2009, he held the inaugural Nandasiri Jasentuliyana Keynote Lecture at the IISL Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space at the International Astronautical Congress in Daejeon, on the topic “The Law of Outer Space in the General Legal Field (Commonality and Particularities)”, published in the IISL Proceedings. Judge Vereshchetin served as a Member of the International Court of Justice from 1995 to 2006. Before that, he was a member and Chairman of the International Law Commission, and a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. He was Professor of International Law (Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Doctor of Juridical Sciences, Maître émérite des Sciences of the Russian Federation (title bestowed by the President of the State). He served as Vice-Chairman and Legal Counsel, INTERCOSMOS, Russian Academy of Sciences; Deputy-Director and Head of the International Law Department of the Institute of State and Law (Moscow); Member of the USSR delegations to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Legal Subcommittee. He has published widely in the area of international law, in particular the law of outer space, international judicial settlement and the theory of international law. IISL will miss him dearly as will the whole space community. We were privileged by his interest and engagement in space law and our Institute. Officers and Presidents Emeriti of IISL
Academics at Durham Law School and St Andrews University launch global online survey on contact with extraterrestrial intelligence
The survey is available in four languages (English, German, French and Spanish), with additional invitations in Arabic and Chinese. For the invitations containing further information and the links to the survey see the link below.