Each year, IISL recognizes eminent and extraordinary contributions and services to the field of space law, and for advancing the broader objectives of the Institute through prestigious IISL annual awards.
The annual awards are given under the following five categories:
– Lifetime Achievement Award
– Distinguished Service Award
– Award of Appreciation
– Certificate of Gratitude
– IISL Space Law Award for Young Achievers
In particular, the last category of award entitled IISL Space Law Award for Young Achievers, introduced in 2019, aims at recognizing meritorious contributions / outstanding achievement 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 2022. More details on all categories of the awards can be accessed from the IISL web site The Institute calls for nominations in prescribed forms for the 2022 IISL Awards in the above categories, to be sent before the deadline of 28 February 2022. 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 on the IISL website under “awards and competitions” menu. The list of past awardees can also be found on the same page. As the scope of the IISL Awards is global and is not limited to IISL members, all members are urged to actively participate and nominate.
IISL Awards Committee
New Email Addresses
IISL has moved its email addresses to its new domain: iisl.space! We pologize for any confusion or inconvenience caused by this change.
We are happy to announce the 11th IISL Happy Hour to be held on 12 March 2022.
IISL Happy Hour consists of two parts. The first 30 minutes is for presentation and discussions and the latter half is reserved for updating and casual exchanged of views among IISL space law family members:
Time: 11:30-12:30 UTC, 12 March 2022 (Saturday)
Presenter: Prof. Dr. Sandeepa Bhat B
Title: “A Discourse on Key Deliberations in the CASL(Center for Aviation and Space Laws) Conference on Space Tourism”
The link for registration will be added to this post shortly.
An IISL members’ 40% discount is available for proceedings bought from Eleven. Members can receive their discount by contacting the publisher, Eleven International Publishing, at klantenservice@boomdenhaag.nl.
IISL Colloquium Abstract Deadline Approaching
The IISL Colloquium on the Law of Outer space will be held as part of the International Astronautical Congress in Paris 18-22 September 2022. IISL members are invited to submit their abstract before the 28 February deadline through the IAF website: https://www.iafastro.org/ . Members are reminded that only one paper per author should be submitted. This years sessions include:
1. IISL Highlight lecture and Young Scholar session
2. Dispute Settlement
3. Balancing Needs: Protection of Space Science
4. Space Sustainability
5. Safety Zones on Celestial Bodies and in Outer Space
7. Current Developments in Space Law with Special Emphasis on National Space Legislation
IP. Interactive Presentations - IISL COLLOQUIUM ON THE LAW OF OUTER SPACE
We look forward to seeing you in Paris!!
IISL Hosts Young Scholars Symposium Online
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 October 2021 in the 72nd IAC/IISL in Dubai, UAE. 15-minute presentations were followed by active discussions. The speakers and their presentation titles are as below:
Maquelin Pereira, “Human Settlement in Outer Space: The Need for an International Legal Framework”;
Tanishtha Vaid and Pranay Lekhi, “International Space Crimes – Solving the Jurisdiction Vacuum;
Alessandra Matteis, Legal Challenges of the Deployment of Cubesats from the International Space Station”;
Pierfrancesco Breccia, “The Evolving Role of the Environmental Impact Assessment as Valuable Legal Tool for the Protection of Outer Space and the Sustainability of Space Activities”;
Ludovica Ciarravano, “The European Space Situational Awareness Legal Framework as An Example of Top-Down Approach Applicable to Future European Space Traffic Management-related Initiatives”
2021 Galloway Symposium Report
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 his introduction that with an even wider, global virtual audience, IISL now benefits from two features of Galloway: firstly, global dialogue (as in panel 1) and secondly, insights for the global audience – which can attend from different locations, not only locally – in US activities and developments (panels 2 and 3).
The first panel addressed of the national frameworks for space resource extraction by Japan, Luxembourg, and the US, as well as updated information on the newly founded COPUOS Legal Subcommittee Working Group on Space Resources. The second panel discussed conditions for coordination and authorisation of space activities, highlighting both viewpoints of regulators and the industry in the US market, and the third panel concentrated on legal issues regarding private astronauts, with presenters from NASA and the private sector. To round off the Symposium, Marietta Benkö and Kai-Uwe Schrogl presented the newly released Liber Amoricum in honor of the late Dr. George Robinson.
The 2021 Galloway agenda in detail:
• 09:00 – 09:10: Welcome: Kai-Uwe Schrogl, President, International Institute of Space Law
• 09:10 – 09:20: Keynote: Dr. Diane Howard, Director Commercial Policy, U.S. National Space Council
• 09:20 – 10:10: National Space Resource Extraction Laws
• Moderator, Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz, Prof. Emerita, UM School of Law, IISL Director
• Japan – Setsuko Aoki, Prof. of Law, Keio University Law School, Tokyo, Japan
• Luxembourg – Mahulena Hofmann, Prof., SES Chair in Space, SatCom and Media Law, University of Luxembourg
• U.S. – Michael Dodge, Assoc. Prof., Director of Graduate Studies, Dept. of Space Studies, Univ. of ND
• UNCOPUOS LSC WG – Steven Freeland, Emeritus Professor, Western Sydney University; Professorial Fellow, Bond University; Vice-Chair UNCOPUOS Working Group on Space Resources
• 10:10- 10:25: Break
• 10:25 -11:15: Coordination and Authorization of Space Activities
• Moderator, Dennis Burnett, General Counsel, HawkEye 360
• Ryan Guglietta, Office of Space Affairs, U.S. Dept. of State
• Therese Jones, Senior Director of Policy, Satellite Industry Association
• Audrey Allison, Senior Project Leader, Center for Space Policy and Strategy, Aerospace Corporation
• 11:15 -12:05: Legal Issues Regarding Private Astronauts
• Moderator, Milton “Skip” Smith, Member, Sherman, and Howard
• Sumara Thompson-King, General Counsel, NASA
• Aaron Futch, Sr. Director, Legal, Commercial and Regulatory, Virgin Galactic
• Megan Sieffert, Axiom Space, Inc.
• 12:05 Presentation of Liber Amoricum in honor of the late Dr. George Robinson
• Marietta Benkö and Kai-Uwe Schrogl
The Symposium was recorded and will be available in the coming days in the IISL members area (link will follow once available).
We thank the presenters and participants for their contributions and are already looking forward to next year’s Galloway Symposium!
Happy Birthday to Judge Vereshchetin!
In 2022, JudgeVladlen Vereshchetin, Honorary Director of the IISL and Former Member of the International Court of Justice, is celebrating his jubilee – 90 years!
Judge Vereshchetin is an outstanding scholar and practitioner in international law, in particular international space law, international judicial settlement and the theory of international law. He is Professor of International Law, Doctor of Juridical Sciences, Maître émerite des Sciences of the Russian Federation.
Professor Vladlen Vereshchetin served as Judge of the International Court of Justice and Chairman of the International Law Commission. He was USSR delegate to the UN COPUOS and its Legal Subcommittee, member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and of several national and international academies, including the International Academy of Astronautics.
Judge Vereshchetin has made an invaluable contribution to the creation and development of international space law.
The International Institute of Space Law heartily congratulates Judge Vladlen Vereshchetin on his jubilee and wishes him excellent health, long and peaceful years ahead, family wellbeing and happiness!
MEMBER NEWS
Board members Frans von der Dunk and Fabio Tronchetti are pleased to announce the publication of the Chinese translation of their Handbook of Space Law, with thanks to Zhuoyan Lu, Dejian Kong and Chaohan Zang, who made the translation possible.
Member Olga Volynskaya has launched a series of scientific-practical online seminars on international space law at the Space Research Department of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The honorary guest of the inaugural seminar was IISL Board Member Elina Morozova who shared her expert opinion on the most pressing issues of international space law. The video is available here (in Russian): https://vk.com/video-202954627_456239038.
The second seminar of the series welcomed Alexander Desyatov, former Head of the Legal Service of Roscosmos, who presented recent business-friendly developments in the licensing regime of space activities in Russia. The video (in Russian) is available at https://vk.com/video-202954627_456239039 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSt3YGpc4BI).
Executive Secretary P.J. Blount is pleased to announce that he has taken up a position as Lecturer in Law in the School of Law and Politics at Cardiff University. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/2596741-
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