Update: 2024 IISL Awards Season currently running !
The Institute is calling for nominations for the 2024 IISL Awards!
Nominations should be made in the prescribed nomination form in one of the five categories of IISL awards. The deadline for this year's nomination period is Monday, 25 March 2024 (extended from originally 29 February 2024).
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. Nomination forms and eligibility criteria for each category, and the procedure for nominations, can be accessed below. Nominated individuals for the Space Law Award for Young Achievers should be below 40 years of age as of 31 March 2024.
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.
The IISL's Awards
Each year, IISL recognises eminent and extraordinary contributions and services in the field of space law, and in advancing the broader objectives of the Institute through prestigious IISL annual awards.
The Institute gives out annual awards in five categories:
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Distinguished Service Award
- Award of Appreciation
- Certificate of Gratitude
- Space Law Award for Young Achievers
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises outstanding lifetime dedication to the development and furtherance of space law. The Distinguished Service Award honours extraordinary achievements to the goals of IISL. The Award of Appreciation expresses appreciation for special contributions and services for the furtherance of the Institute. The Certificate of gratitude recognises extraordinary services rendered to the Institute. The Space Law Award for Young Achievers was introduced as a new category of award in early 2019 and recognises meritorious contributions or outstanding achievements relevant to the field of space law or distinctive service to the activities, events or goals of IISL by young individuals. The nominated individuals should be below 40 years of age as of 31 March of the year of the nomination period.
The IISL Board of Directors additionally annually grants the Prof. Dr I.H.Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor Award. This Award is given to the best paper accepted for presentation at the Institute’s Colloquium during the International Astronautical Congress by an author not older than 30 years and who has not published more than five papers in the Proceedings of IISL Colloquia. A medal is donated each year by the initiator of the Award, Prof. Oscar Fernandez Brital from Argentina.
The IISL awards and certificates are presented every year at the IISL's Annual Awards Dinner held during the IISL Colloquium. As most of the work of the Institute is undertaken honorarily by its members, the awards and certificates denote an important appreciation expressing the IISL's recognition of the furtherance of its goals and objectives as well as efforts undertaken to further the Institute.
Nomination form and procedure
For nominations in the five categories of awards and certificates mentioned above, please use the Nomination form below.
Nominations should be made in the prescribed nomination form in one of the five categories of IISL awards. The deadline for this year's nomination period is Thursday, 29 February 2024.
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. Nomination forms and eligibility criteria for each category, and the procedure for nominations, can be accessed below. Nominated individuals for the Space Law Award for Young Achievers should be below 40 years of age as of 31 March 2024.
Please note that the scope of the IISL Awards is global and not limited to IISL members.
Please see below for the Nomination form (docx) to be used for nominations for IISL Awards and Instructions on IISL Awards and Certificates (pdf).
A specific nomination for the Prof. Dr I.H.Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor Award is not needed; the organisers of the IISL Colloquium will award the distinction to one of the papers submitted in the annual first session of the IISL Colloqium, entitled Nandasiri Jasentuliyana Keynote and Young Scholars Session.
Previous IISL Awards winners
| Year | Name | Country | Award |
| 2023 | Lesley Jane Smith | Germany | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Rosanna Hoffmann | Germany | Young Achiever Award | |
| Maruška Strah | Slovenia | Young Achiever Award | |
| Henry Hertzfeld (Outgoing Audit Committee) | United States of America | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| Ulrike Bohlmann (Outgoing Audit Committee) | Germany | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| Gopal Krishnan (Outgoing Audit Committee) | India | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| Teja Dobnik | Slovenia | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| Nikoleta Vassileva | Bulgaria | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2022 | Steven Freeland | Australia | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Melissa K Force | United States of America | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Deepika Jeyakodi | India | Young Achiever Award | |
| Lulekwa (Lulu) Makapela | South Africa | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2021 | Zhenjun Zhang | China | Distinguished Service Award |
| Scarlet O'Donnell (Wagner) (IISL Web Team) | Germany | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| Laetitia Zarkan (IISL Web Team) | France/Luxembourg | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2020 | Prof. José Monserrat Filho | Brazil | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Dr. Stephen Doyle | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| Dr. Mahulena Hoffman | Czech Republic/Germany | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Dr Catherine Doldirina | Georgia | Young Achiever Award | |
| Prof. Melissa de Zwart | Australia | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2019 | Prof Christian Brünner | Austria | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Mr Victor Veshchunov | Russia | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Dr P J Blount | United States of America | Young Achiever Award | |
| Dr Fabio Tronchetti | Italy | Young Achiever Award | |
| Dr Olga Volynskaya | Russia | Young Achiever Award | |
| 2018 | Dr George S. Robinson | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Mr Jason Steptoe | United States of America | Distinguished Service Award | |
| China Institute of Space Law | China | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2017 | Dr Andrei Terekhov | Russia | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Mr Niklas Hedman | Sweden | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Dr Ranjana Kaul | India | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Dr Michael Davis | Australia | Award of Appreciation | |
| European Centre for Space Law (ECSL) European Space Agency (ESA) | ESA Member States | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2016 | Prof. Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Dr Milton “Skip” Smith | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| Dr Irmgard Marboe | Austria | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Prof. Sa’id Mosteshar | United Kingdom | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Yvon Henri | International Telecommunication Union | Award of Appreciation (joint) | |
| Attila Matas | International Telecommunication Union | Award of Appreciation (joint) | |
| Indian Space Research Organisation | India | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore | India | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2015 | Ms Marcia S. Smith | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Prof. Dr Sergio Marchisio | Italy | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Dr B. Schmidt-Tedd | Germany | Award of Appreciation (joint) | |
| Dr M. Stanford | United Kingdom | Award of Appreciation (joint) | |
| Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency | Japan | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2014 | Prof. Dr Paul B. Larsen | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Prof. Dr José Monserrat, Filho | Brazil | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Mr Dennis J. Burnett | United States of America | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2013 | Dr Marietta Benkö | Germany | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Dr Martha Mejia-Kaiser | Mexico/Germany | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Mr Philippe Clerc | France | Award of Appreciation | |
| 2012 | Ms Corinne Jorgenson | United States of America/France | Distinguished Service Award |
| 2011 | Judge Abdul Koroma | Sierra Leone | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Dr Ernst Fasan | Austria | Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| Prof. Joanne Gabrynowicz | United States | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Prof. Datuk Dr Mazlan Othman | Malaysia | Award of Appreciation | |
| Mr Scott Hatton | United Kingdom | Certificate of Gratitude | |
| 2010 | Prof. Dr Vladimir Kopal | Czech Republic | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Dr Sylvia Ospina | Colombia | Distinguished Service Award | |
| Dr Jean-Michel Contant | France | Certificate of Appreciation | |
| 2009 | Prof. Dr Stephan Hobe | Germany | Distinguished Service Award |
| Judge Vladlen S. Vereshchetin | Russia | Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| Mrs Annie Moulin | France | Certificate of Appreciation | |
| 2008 | Prof. Francis Lyall | United Kingdom | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2007 | Mr KRS Murthi | India | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Prof. Ram Jakhu | Canada | Distinguished Service Award | |
| 2006 | Dr Lubos Perek | Czech Republic | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Dr Leslie Tennen | United States of America | Distinguished Service Award | |
| 2005 | Mr Ricky Lee | Australia | Distinguished Service Award |
| 2004 | Dr Frans von der Dunk | Netherlands | Distinguished Service Award |
| 2003 | Dr Kai-Uwe Schrogl | Germany | Distinguished Service Award |
| 2002 | Prof. Jonathan Galloway | United States of America | Distinguished Service Award |
| 2001 | Ms Tanja Masson-Zwaan | Netherlands/Switzerland | Distinguished Service Award |
| 2000 | Dr Milton (Skip) Smith | United States of America | Distinguished Service Award |
| 1999 | Dr I.H. Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor | Netherlands | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Dr Andrei Terekhov | Russia | Distinguished Service Award | |
| 1998 | Prof. Carl Q. Christol | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Law Offices of Sterns & Tennen | United States of America | Distinguished Service Award | |
| 1997 | Amb. E. Finch Jr. | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Bin Cheng | United Kingdom | Special Book Award | |
| 1996 | Prof. Francis Lyall | United Kingdom | IISL Certificate |
| Dr He Qizhi | China | Special Certificate | |
| 1995 | Judge Vladlen Vereshchetin | Russia | IISL Certificate |
| Dr Michel Bourely | France | Special Certificate | |
| 1994 | Judge Gilbert Guillaume | France | IISL Certificate |
| 1993 | Dr Priyatna Abdurrasyid | Indonesia | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 1992 | Dr Paul Dembling | United States of America | IISL Certificate |
| 1991 | no award | ||
| 1990 | Dr Reinhard Mueller | Germany | IISL Certificate |
| Dr I.H. Ph Diederiks-Verschoor | Netherlands | Special Certificate | |
| Dr Eilene M. Galloway | United States of America | Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| 1989 | Dr He Qizhi | China | Certificate of Merit |
| 1988 | Dr Stephen Doyle | United States of America | Certificate of Merit |
| 1987 | no award | ||
| 1986 | no award | ||
| 1985 | Dr Neil Hosenball | United States of America | Certificate of Merit |
| 1984 | no award | ||
| 1983 | Prof. K.-H. Bockstiegel | Germany | Certificate of Merit |
| 1982 | Dr Nandasiri Jasentuliyana | Sri Lanka | Testimonial Certificate |
| 1981 | Dr Carl Q. Christol | United States of America | Testimonial Certificate |
| Dr Vladimir Kopal | Czechoslovakia | Testimonial Certificate | |
| 1980 | Dr Michel Bourely | France | Testimonial Certificate |
| Dr Martin Menter | United States of America | Testimonial Certificate | |
| 1979 | Dr Priyatna Abdurrasyid | Indonesia | Testimonial Certificate |
| Dr Lubos Perek | Czechoslovakia | Testimonial Certificate | |
| 1978 | Dr Nicolas M. Matte | Canada | Testimonial Certificate |
| Dr A.S. Piradov | USSR | Testimonial Certificate | |
| Dr Vladlen Vereshchetin | USSR | Testimonial Certificate | |
| 1977 | Amb. E. Wyzner | Poland | Testimonial Certificate |
| Ms Kwen Chen | United States of America | Testimonial Certificate | |
| Prof. S. Gorove | United States of America | Testimonial Certificate | |
| 1976 | no award | ||
| 1975 | no award | ||
| 1974 | no award | ||
| 1973 | no award | ||
| 1972 | no award | ||
| 1971 | no award | ||
| 1970 | no award | ||
| 1969 | Dr Gennady P. Zhukov | USSR | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award |
| 1968 | Dr Eilene M. Galloway | United States of America | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award |
| 1967 | no award | ||
| 1966 | Judge Manfred Lachs | Poland | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award |
| 1965 | Amb. Armando A. Cocca | Argentina | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award |
| Prof. Myres S. McDougal | Canada | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award | |
| 1964 | Dr Yevgeny A. Korovin | USSR | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award |
| Prof. Cyril Horsford | United Kingdom | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award | |
| 1963 | Dr Eugene Pepin | France | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award |
| Dr Ernst Fasan | Austria | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award | |
| 1962 | Dr Alex Meyer | Germany | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award |
| Dr Antonio Ambrosini | Italy | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award | |
| 1961 | Dr John Cobb Cooper | United States of America | Andrew G. Haley Gold Medal/Award |