IISL Working Group
Submission of the Working Group on the Future of the Moon Agreement to UN COPUOS
On 15 November 2024, the Working Group on the Future of the Moon Agreement submitted an answer to UNOOSA’s Invitation Circular OOSA/2024/43 CU 2024/221. The circular was distributed under the initiative of the Legal Subcommittee’s Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities, and invited Committee members and permanent observers to provide contributions on elements for an initial draft set of recommended principles for space resource activities. The Invitation Circular as well as the IISL Working Group on the Future of the Moon Agreement’s response can be viewed and downloaded below. More information on the Working Group is available on the dedicated IISL website of the Working Group.
Call for Participation – Working Group on Indigenous Law and Governance and Non-State Peoples’ Law and Governance in International Outer Space Law
Working Group Overview The expansion of outer space activities, including resource extraction and satellite deployment, necessitates a re-evaluation of existing legal frameworks to ensure globality and inclusivity. This Working Group, under the auspices of the International Institute for Space Law (IISL), aims to address these emerging challenges and opportunities and contribute to the ongoing evaluation of an interplay between international law (lex generalis) and international outer space law (lex specialis). Call for Participation The Working Group endeavours to foster a worldwide, inclusive, and pluralistic process of participation and drafting. We invite expressions of interest from IISL members, and experts from other disciplines to join this initiative. Emphasis will be placed on members’ existing expertise and background in specific topics, while ensuring expansive representation from all global regions. Selection criteria for membership selection In addition to expertise in space law, we are focusing on extensive and demonstrated experience (lived, professional, and academic) in these specialized areas of research and analysis. Call for participation The document providing the call for participation can be found below. More information More information can be found on the dedicated page for the Working Group:
IISL holds lunchtime events at IAC 2024
15/16 October 2024. During this year’s IAC in Milan, IISL held two informative lunchtime events at the side of its annual Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space. The events were open to IISL members as well as IAC participants. On Wednesday, 16 October 2024, IISL hosted a General Counsel Roundtable, providing the participating experts Nicoletta Bini (Italy), Christine Calvé (Canada), Ian Grosner (Brazil), Nomfuneko Majaja (South Africa), Gisela Süss (ESA), and Gabriel Swiney (United States) the opportunity to address current issues of particular relevance and to exchange with IISL members and audience. The event was moderated by IISL Officers PJ Blount and Lesley Jane Smith.Amongst the topics discussed was the legal issues raised by a situation related to space debris that fell in Canada this year as well as Canada’s work underway to modernize its legal framework for space; the new Brazilian Space Act (Law 14,946 of 2024); as well as law and legal instruments as enablers of the international relations in the space domain. On Tuesday, 15 October 2024, the IISL Working Group on AI in space presented its current state of work and engaged in an interactive discussion with the audience. The Working Group is chaired by Tuana Yazici and comprises members Anne-Sophie Martin, Steven Wood, Lisa Kucher, Roser Almenar, Laura Yvonne Zielinski, Stefan-Michael Wedenig, and Giovanni Tricco. In the next step, the Working Group aims to conclude and present its report.
Update on IISL Lunchtime events during IAC 2024
During this year’s IAC in Milan, IISL is holding 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 This panel provides the General Counsels/Legal Advisers in Ministries and Agencies the opportunity to inform about current issues of particular relevance and to exchange with IISL members and audience. The GCR is moderated by IISL Officers PJ Blount and Lesley Jane Smith. Participating Experts:Nicoletta Bini, ItalyChristine Calvé, CanadaIan Grosner, BrazilNomfuneko Majaja, South AfricaGisela Süss, ESAGabriel Swiney, United States Presentation and Discussion on the Draft Findings of the IISL Working Group on Legal Aspects of Al in Space On Tuesday, 15 October 2024 at 13-14 h in Green Hall 3 During this interactive session, the IISL Working Group on Legal Aspects of AI in Space, chaired by Tuana Yazici, presents its current work product and invites IISL members and other interested congress participants to engage in a dialogue before the upcoming finalization of its study. The working group comprises esteemed members: Anne-Sophie Martin, Steven Wood, Lisa Kucher, Roser Almenar, Laura Yvonne Zielinski, Stefan-Michael Wedenig, and Giovanni Tricco. Both Lunchtime Events will be introduced by IISL President Kai-Uwe Schrogl and are open to IISL Members as well as IAC participants. We hope to see many of you there!
Call for participation in the IISL Working Group on the Future of the Moon Agreement
Dear Members, Prospective Members, and Friends of the International Institute for Space Law (IISL), We are pleased to invite you to participate in the newly established Working Group on the Future of the Moon Agreement. Working Group Overview In light of the ongoing efforts to set up a framework to govern the utilization of space resources as well as the plans to return to Moon, the Working Group on the Future of the Moon Agreement, under the auspices of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), aims at exploring the contribution that the Agreement can give to this process. Despite the limited number of States Parties to it, the Moon Agreement remains the only existing international treaty specifically designed to regulate human activities on a celestial body, hence it seems worth to reflect upon the lessons to be learned from its drafting history and provisions and its relevance in today’s space environment. You can find more details on the Working Group IISL page and the Call for participation below.
IISL publishes Report of IISL Light Pollution WG
In 2019, deployment started of the two first large constellations of satellites which are intended to provide global broadband internet. The resulting launch of several thousands of satellites into Low Earth Orbit has caused a steady increase in the light pollution of the night sky. In 2021, the Board of Directors of IISL agreed to form a new ‘Working Group on the Light Pollution of the Night Sky from a Space Law Perspective.’ The goals of the Working Group were to collect as much information as possible about this issue, analyze it from a space law perspective, raise awareness on the topic among IISL members, and provide the IISL Board of Directors with a report describing the current state of the situation. The Group had ten members and was led by IISL member, Professor Rafael Moro-Aguilar. The Group completed its report early in 2023. It was reviewed by the IISL Directorate of Studies and presented to the IISL Board of Directors in June 2023. The report was also presented to the IISL community at large by means of a webinar hosted by IISL, which was well attended and which provided some additional input for the report. The final report of the IISL Working Group on the Light Pollution of the Night Sky from a Space Law Perspective, titled “Keeping the Night Sky Clear”, can be found here: