Asia Pacific | Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition

Contact

Email the IISL Asia Pacific Representative: lachsmoot-asiapacific@iisl.space

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Registration form

About the Asia Pacific Regional Round

The IISL introduced the Asia Pacific Regional Round of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition in 1999. The winner of this round represents the Asia-Pacific region at the World Finals, to be held in conjunction with the International Astronautical Congress.

The Asia Pacific Regional Round is governed by the Asia-Pacific Regional Rules of the Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition.

About the IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition

Background:

• Held yearly since 1992 by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL)

• Involves about 80-100 law schools from around the world every year

• Prior space law course NOT a prerequisite. Many schools that have no space law course have won Regional Rounds and World Finals

• Largest round in the five Regional Rounds: Africa, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe

World Finals:

• Traditionally judged by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judges

• Held in October along with the International Astronautical Congress, which provides opportunities to meet space lawyers and space industry representatives from around the world

•   The 2026 World Finals will take place in Antalya, Türkiye.

Information on this year’s MLSLMCC Case


 About Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law

The first batch of students at the SMU Yong Pung How School of Law graduated in 2011. The school offers a 4-5 year LLB, 2-3 year JD, and various LLM and PhD specialisations. Its Ian Taylor International Moots Programme has consistently produced good results in many major moots, including the 2025 Jessup world championship, 3x Vis world championship finals, 3x Vis East world championships, 7x International Criminal Court world championships, 5x Price world championships, 4x Frankfurt world championships, and the 2024 Lachs world championship. YPHSL graduates are very well-represented in judicial clerkships at the Supreme Court, leading postgraduate programmes like Harvard and Cambridge, and top peer-reviewed journals such as Civil Justice Quarterly, Lloyd’s Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, and the International Review of Law, Computers & Technology. In addition to the state-of-the-art David Marshall Moot Court, YPHSL has dozens of classrooms and seminar rooms that can be converted into moot court facilities.

The law school set against the city skyline (Pictures Copyright: Chen Siyuan):

The law school set against the city skyline

The David Marshall Moot Court (Pictures Copyright: Chen Siyuan):


Sample seminar room (Pictures Copyright: Chen Siyuan):

Sample hall (Pictures Copyright: Chen Siyuan):

Address: 55 Armenian Street, Singapore 179943

Suitable accommodations: YPHSL is conveniently located near downtown. A wide range of accommodations within walking distance can be found; the school can also be easily reached via almost all the major subway lines

    Calendar

    Oral rounds25 to 29 May 2027
    Commencement of team registration
    All teams looking to participate must pay the initial registration fee of 800 SGD. Payment and back account details to follow    		1 September 2026 (SGT)


    Last day to pay the initial registration fee
    31 December 2026, 23h59 (SGT)
    Announcement of teams that qualify for the oral rounds based on the written memorials1 March 2027 (SGT)
    For teams that qualify, last day to pay post-memorial fee of 700 SGD1 May 2027, 2359h (SGT)

    Official Rules

    MLSLMCC Official Rules

    The Asia Pacific Regional Round of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition is governed by the Offical Rules of the Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition. The Official Rules were last updated in 2022 and are available below.

    IISL_LachsMC_Official_rules_2022_updatedDownload

    More information can be found here: https://iisl.space/index.php/mlmc-official-rules/.

    Regional Rules

    The Asian Pacific Regional Round furthermore is governed by a set of Regional Rules, adopted pursuant to Article 2(2) of the Official Rules. The Regional Rules were last updated in 2014.

    MLSLMCC_AP_Regional-Rules_2014Download

    IISL Licence

    Moreover, there is an IISL Licence＆Declaration form for the Asia-Pacific Round, which is available below.

    MLSLMCC_AP_Licence-and-Declaration_2024_for-signDownload

    AI Policy

    In 2025, IISL adopted an AI Policy. From the 2026 Competition onwards, competing teams are required to submit the AI Use Disclosure Statement (below) with their teams’ memorials.

    MLMC Moot Court AI Policy 2025 FINALDownload
    MLMC Disclosure Form 2025 FINALDownload

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