IISL Newsletter March

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

IISL Newsletter - March to June 2025

Contents

IISL 2025 Board Elections: Voting period is open
Updates on the 2025 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Regional Rounds
Call for members by newly established IISL Working Group on the Legal Aspects of Satellite Connectivity in Africa
New Chairperson for IISL Membership Committee
2025 IISL/ECSL Space Law Symposium successfully held
News on the upcoming IISL annual Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, IAC 2025 in Sydney
IISL strengthens cooperation with China
IISL Members' News, publications, and upcoming events
Enhancing the newsletter experience

IISL Board Elections 2025: Voting period is open

The IISL Election Committee, comprising Anne-Sophie Martin, Narkhanim Orujova and Leslie I. Tennen, invites you to take part in the 2025 IISL Board Elections. The voting period is now officially open for the 2025 IISL Election and goes from 15 June to 15 July 2025.

All IISL members are invited to participate in this important electoral process. Your vote contributes directly to the leadership and future direction of the Institute.

For more information about the voting process, consult: https://iisl.space/iisl-electi...

The names of the IISL Board members whose term of office expires this year are:

President: Kai-Uwe Schrogl

Directors: Scarlet O’Donnell, Martha Mejia-Kaiser, Peter Martinez, and Helen Tung

Important Reminders:

All members, including nominators and supporters, must cast their vote. Participation in the nomination process does not constitute a vote.
Registration with newly relaunched IISL Membership Platform Required. All members have to register on the new membership platform before voting (even if you previously held login credentials, as the platform has been reinitialised). The platform is available at: https://members.iisl.space.
Registration is approved manually and may take several hours, so we encourage early action.
Eligibility: Only individual and institutional members in good standing are eligible to vote. If you are unsure of your current membership status, please contact the IISL Treasurer at [email protected].
Voting Deadline: Voting will close on 15 July 2025 at 23:59 CET. Votes submitted after this time will not be counted.

Key Information for the election period:

Important information for the 2025 IISL Elections is available on the platform, once you are logged in. You will be able to:

Find information on the candidates running this year
Cast Your Vote: https://members.iisl.space/2025-iisl-elections-vote/
(Re)watch the “Meet the Candidates” Event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GVln-UKxD0

For any questions, remarks or technical assistance, please contact our webmaster at the email address dedicated to the elections: [email protected]

Updates on the 2025 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Regional Rounds

We are pleased to share the latest updates on the 2025 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition, highlighting the recently regional rounds

African Regional Round

Team Kenya from Strathmore University emerged victorious in the 2025 Africa Regional Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition held in South Africa, making history as the first Kenyan team to advance to the global finals.

Our gratitude to the Regional Organisers, including Nomfuneko Majaja.

Asia-Pacific Regional Round
Dates: April 10-12, 2025
Location: Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, India

The Team from SMU Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore | Natasha Lim, Lachlan Neo 梁凯泽, and Daniel Sum won the 2025 Asia-Pacific Regional Round.

Our sincere thanks go to the organizers for this successful round, led by Prof. (Dr.) S. Shanthakumar, Director of GNLU, and Dr. Nitin Malik, Registrar of GNLU. We also extend our appreciation to Prof. Girish R. (Faculty Convenor, Moot Court Committee), Dr. Divya Tyagi (Regional Organizer), Mr. Avi Maheshwari (Student Convenor, Moot Court Committee), and Ms. Vismita Rathi (Student Co-convenor, Moot Court Committee) for their dedicated work.

Photo credit: SMU Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore

European Regional Round

Dates: April 1-3, 2025
Location: European Space Agency Headquarters, Paris, France

Winning Team: Université du Luxembourg | Lucia Maori and Noan Renault

A huge thank you to the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL) and the organizing team for their dedication to the success of this round. Special thanks go to Dorota Englender, Alessia Barese, and Romane Fonmartin for their excellent coordination and leadership.

Photo credit: European Centre of Space Law

Latin American Round

The Argentine Team from the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires won the Latin American Rounds of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition 2025.

This was the first time ever that a team from Argentina competed in the IISL MLSLMCC.

Thank you to the regional organisers, Laura Gamarra and Jairo Becerra.

North American Regional Round
Dates: March 27-28, 2025
Location: Washington, D.C., United States

Winning Team: New York University School of Law Team | Denis J. McGrath, Jacqueline Stark, and Elyse Cox

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Space Court Foundation for their exceptional efforts in organizing this round, with a particular thank you to Nathan Johnson for his invaluable support in making the event run smoothly.

Photo credit: Space Court Foundation

Call for members: Working Group on the Legal Aspects of Satellite Connectivity in Africa

The African Working Group on Satellite Connectivity, under the auspices of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), is inviting applications for Research Members to support its mission of advancing legal and policy understanding of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite broadband services across Africa. The group aims to assess the current status of LEO satellite adoption in several African countries, explore legal, regulatory, and policy challenges, analyze international space law, ITU frameworks, and national licensing systems, and develop legal guidelines that promote equitable and sustainable access to satellite broadband across the continent.

Research Members will engage in legal research, data analysis, stakeholder interviews, and the preparation of reports and papers, ultimately contributing to peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, regulatory proposals, and actionable policy recommendations.

Find more information here: https://iisl.space/wg-satafric...

Contact the members at: [email protected]

New Chairperson for IISL Membership Committee

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Gabrielle Leterre has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the IISL Membership Committee. Gabrielle brings a strong commitment to continuing the important work of this committee. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Thea Flem Dethlefsen, the outgoing Chairperson, for her exceptional service and dedication these past few years. Her leadership has been instrumental in modernising our digital processes and elevating the committee's work with tremendous dedication.

Thank you, Thea, for your outstanding contributions!

2025 IISL/ECSL Space Law Symposium successfully held

The International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and the ECSL - European Centre for Space Law successfully held the 2025 Space Law Symposium on Due Regard in Outer Space: Current Legal Implications, held in the framework of the 64th session of the UNCOPUOS Legal Subcommittee on 14 May 2025,

From space traffic management to lunar governance, panellists explored the legal foundations of the due regard principle under Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty, with regional and generational perspectives.

The panel dealt with the notion of "Due Regard" and was co-moderated by Kai-Uwe Schrogl (IISL President) and Sergio Marchisio (Chair of the ECSL), and had space lawyers and practitioners from various regions and generations: Andrea Harrington, Olavo Bittencourt Neto, Tare Brisibe, Setsuko Aoki, Tim Flohrer, Antonino Salmeri, Isi Casas Del Valle Pacheco. The Symposium was co-prepared by Antonino Salmeri (IISL) and Safwene el Khaira (ECSL).

Upcoming IISL annual Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, IAC 2025

The International Institute of Space Law (IISL) will host its annual Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space as part of the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), this year focused on “Sustainable Space: Resilient Earth” and taking place from 29 September to 3 October 2025 in Sydney, Australia.

More information at: https://iafastro.directory/iac/list/IAC-25/E7/

The IISL Colloquium aims to serve as a platform of exchanges for international legal and policy experts, academics, and policymakers to engage in discussions about the law of outer space as it develops.

We are pleased to share with you as our readers and members that, for this year’s Colloquium, our team of chairs and rapporteurs selected 104 papers from 34 different countries that will be presented during the various sessions.

IISL strengthens cooperation with China

At the occasion of the 2025 Space Day of China which was organized by China National Space Administration (CNSA), and the 2025 China Space Conference which was organized by Chinese Society of Astronautics, during April 23-26 in Shanghai, China, the IISL President Kai-Uwe Schrogl and the CSA Vice President and Secretary General Wang Yiran, signed an MoU intending to formalize and to strengthen the already longstanding cooperation between the two institutions.

On April 24, the IISL President Kai-Uwe Schrogl was invited by CNSA to attend the opening ceremony of the 2025 Space Day of China and was invited by CSA to deliver a keynote for the plenary of 2025 China Space Conference.With the theme of International Cooperation and Competition Rules in Commercial Space, President Kai-Uwe Schrogl analyzed the inherent relationship between technological innovation and rule game in the space industry, and provided unique insights for establishing a fair, transparent and
sustainable international commercial space order.

On April 25, President Kai-Uwe Schrogl had exchanges at the meetings of the Space Policy and Law Committee of CSA and the Chinese Institute of Space Law (CISL). At the latter occasion the recent IISL study on legal aspects of Al in space activities was reviewed.

IISL highly welcomes the opportunity to provide the platform for interaction of Chinese space law experts and institutions with their colleagues in the international community on all continents. This is crucial for IISL’s mission to maintain and extend the rule of law in
outer space reflecting the responsibility of all actors to jointly work together in securing this goal.

IISL Member News

Five Leaders in space law diplomacy meeting at this year's LSC

Assembled for this photo in a rare moment of opportunity at the IISL/ECSL Symposium: four former chairs of COPUOS and the present chair. From left to right: Tare Brisibe, PhD (2016-2018), Sergio Marchisio (2004-2006), Santiago Ripol (current), Setsuko Aoki (2020-2022), and Kai-Uwe Schrogl (2014-2016). Their work stood and stands in the service of moderating the further development of space law and through active diplomacy and to strengthen the rule of law in outer space, advancing through their work IISL's core mission.

7th edition of Space Resources Week 2025

On May 19, Laetitia Cesari took part in the panel discussion on "Regulatory Framework for Space Resources Activities" in Luxembourg, where she shared insights into how a law firm can support legal developments and compliance in the fast-evolving field of space activities.

The panel was expertly moderated by Lisa Burke and brought together a remarkable group of speakers from key institutions and organizations across the sector:

🔹Rosanna Hoffmann, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

🔹Steven Freeland, Western Sydney University & Bond University

🔹Niklas Hedman, Committee on Space Research - COSPAR

🔹Héloïse Vertadier, PhD, ispace-EUROPE

🔹Karina Cessy, International Telecommunication Union

🔹PJ Blount, Durham University Space Research Centre (SPARC)

🔹Martina E., McGill Institute of Air and Space Law

The conversation addressed critical legal and regulatory considerations for the future of space resource exploration and use, a key topic as public and private actors accelerate their ambitions beyond Earth.

Upcoming event at VU Amsterdam on space sustainability

How is has artificial intelligence deployed in outerspace? What is the status quo in terms of applications as well as the legal implications? Is the European AI Act applicable to AI systems used in space operations?

What are the latest developments in terms of quantum technologies and their applicability in an outerspace context? What is the legal framework applicable to quantum tech? What are the European developments in quantum tech? And how are both AI and quantum contributing to secure space activities?

All these and much more will be discussed part of the inaugural conference 'Sustainable Space - Secure Future', in the expert panel featuring multiple IISL members.

20 June 2025

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) Amsterdam & live transmission

Registration required at: https://vu.nl/en/events/2025/i...

New publication: Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Space Law

OUT NOW: Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Space Law, edited by Mahulena Hofmann and PJ Blount

More information: https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/g...

Enhancing the newsletter experience

We have upgraded our newsletter platform to enhance your reading experience while ensuring that you continue receiving IISL news. For feedback or suggestions for improvement, please reach out to [email protected].

Share your news!

We welcome updates from IISL Members to share with the broader IISL Community. If you have any news you would like to highlight, please send them to [email protected].

If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.