News

In view of recent misleading views and discussions on this subject in the press, the IISL Board considers that it is appropriate to further clarify a number of salient points as follows: International Law establishes a number of unambiguous principles, according to which the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is permitted for the benefit of mankind, but any purported attempt to claim ownership of any part of Read more

Lee Morse Love, a pioneer in reporting on United Nations’ efforts to ensure the peaceful uses of outer space for over 40 years, passed away Sunday 31 August 2008. She wrote about the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space from its early days, and her personal relations were so close with committee members that during the Cold War years she was one of the very few people who was able to Read more

Origins of International Space Law and the International Institute of Space Law of the International Astronautical Federation, S. Doyle, Honorary Director, 2002 (Univelt, ISBN 0-912183-17-9). Available here.

Claims to own the Moon or parts thereof by private parties have been made for many years, but so far such claims have not been taken very seriously. However, this could change, as “deeds to lunar property” have started to appear, raising the opportunity for individuals to be misled. In addition, the scope of such claims has been extended recently to other celestial bodies. Thus, the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Read more

In July 2021, the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Law issued a joint statement concerning the role that the interests of the public and other stakeholders play with regard to commercial space activities. The statement highlights that commercial space activities should be developed in accordance with the rule of law, for peaceful purposes, and in a manner that is sustainable for the present and future generations. The Board calls on national Read more

IISL President Kai-Uwe Schrogl participated in the 2021 Space Diplomacy Forum, an event co-organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea together with the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), a state think tank, and held on 12 August 2021. The forum was entitled “Envisioning a Better Future through Space Diplomacy”. The event was attended by experts on space diplomacy, including from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Read more

IISL president Kai-Uwe Schrogl and IISL Member Philippe Achilleas participated in the 2021 Seoul Defence Dialogue, which took place from 8 to 10 September 2021 and focussed on the topic “Borderless Security Crises and Multilateral Responses”. The programme of the 2021 Seoul Defence Dialogue 2021 is available here. The event was live streamed by the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea and can be viewed here. Prof. Dr. Schrogl and Prof. Dr. Achilleas participated in Special Read more

The 2021 Galloway Symposium was successfully held in a virtual setting on 14 December 2021, 9:00-12:30 US Eastern time. The excellent contributions by the presenters were followed by a rich discussion in the Q&A sessions following each panel. Following a timely keynote speech which highlighted the current legal and policy developments in the United States, the Symposium had a welcome from the IISL President, a keynote address and three panels. The IISL president emphasized in Read more

The IISL General Assembly, for the second time after its inaugural online edition last year, took place in a virtual setting and completed its business in a smooth and successful way. Similarly to last year, it drew a larger participation than during prior on-site meetings held at IAC’s. The IISL President Kai-Uwe Schrogl, summarised 2021 for IISL in the following way: The President noted with appreciation that the IISL did not only continue with current activities, Read more

IISL Young Scholars Symposium was held via virtual platform on 18 December (Saturday) (13:00-15:00 UTC) hosted by the IISL and Keio University Law School. Following the welcome remarks by Setsuko Aoki, Vice-President, IISL and Kai-Uwe Schrogl, President, IISL, five presentations were made, which had been originally planned to be done in the “IISL Young Scholars session and Dr. Jasentuliyana Keynote lecture by a leading space law expert” (session 1 of the IISL Colloquium) on 26 Read more