IISL Happy Hour #16 held

IISL Happy Hours are events coordinated and co-hosted by IISL Members Setsuko Aoki and Quentin Verspieren. This is a monthly 60-minute program starting with a presentation by an IISL member about a recent project or study, followed by a free discussion session during which all participating IISL members are invited to chat and report on their relevant activities.

For the 16th IISL Happy Hour, Dr. Nomfuneko Majaja, Chief Director for Space Affairs at the Department of Trade and Industry, South Africa, and former COPUOS/LSC Chair gave a presentation titled “South African Space Policy & Law”, starting from the foundational Space Affairs Act of 1993, and providing first-hand information on subsequent domestic developments, including the founding of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) in 2010. She insisted on the importance of space as a driver of socio-economic development in national space efforts in South Africa.

She then delved into one of the most recent significant developments of national space policy: the drafting of a South African Space Industry Regulatory Bill. The bill has two main pillars: (1) creating an environment conducive of industry development, and (2) maintaining continuous supervision and control over space activities under the jurisdiction of South Africa, with an emphasis on space safety and sustainability.

Dr. Majaja also expressed South Africa’s interest for emerging challenges in space: legal framework for resource utilisation, dark and quiet skies, debris mitigation and remediation, in-orbit services, etc. She reaffirmed the recognition of COPUOS as the main place for multilateral space engagement and South Africa’s ratification of the four main space law treaties (South Africa did not sign nor ratify the Moon Agreement).

Finally, she presented regional efforts on space law capacity building, including the creation of specialised space law programmes in higher education organisations, the organisation of the Africa Region Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition for more than 10 years, etc.

The presentation was followed by an active Q&A session.

Attending IISL members then shared updates on their recent activities and new members introduced themselves to the community.

The video recording of the 16th IISL Happy Hour is available below.