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Members' Corner #21 on 14 March 2026 |
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The 21st edition of IISL's Members' Corner (previously: Happy Hour) took place on Saturday, 14 March. We were honoured with the participation of the following experts for the IISL MC: Ruairidh Leishman, Solicitor, Shepperd Wedderburn
Patrick Bell, GC SaxaVord, Shetland Space Centre
Fionagh Thomson, Fellow, Durham University
Find information on the 21st IISL Members' Corner also here and more information on the IISL Members' Corner on our website. |
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Report: Space Symposium Colorado Springs |
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President Lesley Jane Smith was invited to attend and speak at the Space Law Day during the Space Symposium Colorado Springs 13-16th April, on issues relating to the future of space law as well as the draft EU Space Act. The Space Law Panel is an annual event for lawyers, policy and business professionals organised by our honorary Board member, Skip Smith of Greenberg Traurig which also qualifies for continuing legal development. Space Symposium Programme: https://www.spacesymposium.org/print-agenda/ |
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Photo: Space Law Panel, IISL President Lesley Jane Smith |
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The President also met with representatives of the recently established National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS), Mr. Jonathan Hung, including our own member Bryan Lim, as well as the chief representative of the International Peace Alliance (Space) (“IPA”), Beijing, Dr. Wang, that organizes a regular conference IPSPACE which this year is to be held in Hainan, November 16th. Further details are available. |
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Photo: Jonathan Hung, NSAS and IISL President Lesley Jane Smith |
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Report: IISL/ECSL Annual Symposium on Space Law |
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This year's IISL/ECSL Annual Symposium on Space Law at LSC was held on Tuesday, 14 April 2026 from 15:00 – 18:00 h CEST at the Vienna International Centre (VIC), Austria - one day ahead of the start of this year's LSC session (this year, 15-22 April 2026). The topic of this year's symposium was: Legal approaches for a safe space environment. |
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The representatives participating in this year's IISL/ECSL Symposium and their topics were: PJ Blount (USA, Durham University): Normative Aspects of Technical Governance for Space Safety Guoyu Wang (China, Beijing Institute of Technology): Is there a right of way in space? The need for legal criteria to attribute liability and responsibility in case of orbital collisions Holger Krag (Germany, European Space Agency): Technology as enabler of future regulation for orbital safety Federico Di Vruno (Argentina, Square Kilometer Array Observatory): The need for legal action on dark and quiet skies Maria Nonyana Mokabane (South Africa, South African Space Council): When the sky falls: legal challenges of space debris re-entering on Earth Nobuyuki Kikuchi (Japan, Permanent Mission): Legal aspects of active debris removal for sustainable space
IISL and ECSL were represented on the podium by IISL Vice-President Olavo Bittencourt and ECSL Chairman Sergio Marchisio, and moderated by IISL Director Antonino Salmeri. |
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As space activities continue to expand, one key question is at the forefront: How can we ensure a safer and more sustainable space environment? This year's symposium brought together experts, practitioners, and policymakers to tackle this challenge and exchange perspectives on Legal Approaches for a Safe Space Environment. Discussions explored evolving legal frameworks, emerging risks and cooperative solutions to support responsible space activities. |
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Photo: IISL/ECSL Symposium panel on the margins of LSC 2026 |
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An official report on the Symposium will be made available at a later stage by the organsiers. |
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Update: IISL submits contribution to LSC through Expert Initiative on Article XI OST |
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The final report of the IISL Expert Initiative on Information-Sharing and Article XI of the Outer Space Treaty was submitted to the Secretariat of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) ahead of the 2026 session of its Legal Subcommittee. |
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In early 2026, IISL members were invited to participate in a new format of collaboration: the Expert Initiative, designed as a short, intensive working process to gather input from across the membership. The Initiative’s primary objective was to produce a working paper for submission to UN COPUOS at the sixty-fifth session of its Legal Subcommittee.
The resulting report was reviewed by the IISL Board of Directors at its spring 2026 meeting and approved as an official IISL document prior to its submission to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), which serves as the Secretariat of UN COPUOS. |
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The Expert Initiative operated under significant time constraints and with a clearly defined mandate. Participating experts contributed with remarkable dedication and energy, and IISL expresses its sincere appreciation for their commitment.
The IISL Expert Initiative on Article XI of the Outer Space Treaty comprised the following experts:
Members
Neha Dagley, United States
Sanchi Dhamija, India
Farah Diya Yasmine, Indonesia
Tate Few, United States
Radhakrishnan Mahalingam, India
Larry Martinez, United States
Rhoda Obi-Adigwe, Nigeria
Maria A. Pozza, New Zealand
Mila Spence, United Kingdom
Mary-Christine Sungaila, United States
Beauler Wozhele, Zimbabwe
Khafayat Yetunde Olatinwo, Nigeria
Advising Expert and Chair of UN COPUOS WG TRE
Franziska Knur, Germany
Coordinator
Scarlet O’Donnell, Germany |
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Photos: Larry Martinez, presenting the IISL contribution to WG TRE, at the UN COPUOS Legal Sub-Committee, on Friday 17 April 2026. |
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The CRP was presented during the 2026 UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee session by Expert Initiative member and IISL Parlamentarian Larry Martinez during an informal meeting of the Working Group on the Status and Application of the Five UN Treaties on 17 April 2026. |
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Opening of the 2026 IISL Election Period - 4 positions available |
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Dear IISL Members,
The IISL Election Committee is pleased to announce the opening of the nomination period for the 2026 IISL Board Elections.
Positions available: The positions with expiring terms are: Treasurer: Dennis Burnett Executive Secretary: PJ Blount Directors: Frans von der Dunk, Mahulena Hofmann, Olga Stelmakh-Drescher.
Nomination procedure: Candidates must be nominated by an IISL Member in good standing and supported by five IISL Members in good standing, and must confirm their agreement to being nominated. For further details, please refer to the IISL Statutes and By-Laws.
Nomination submissions should include the candidate's CV and a statement of motivation.
Please, find the information about the process at: https://iisl.space/call-for-candidates-2026-iisl-elections-now-open/
Nomination deadline: May 15, 2026 Please submit nominations to: [email protected]
For any questions, please contact the Election Committee at the same address.
Best regards, IISL Election Committee |
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2026 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition | Regional Rounds Update (April 2026) |
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The International Institute of Space Law provides a brief update on the regional rounds of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition. Confirmed regional winners to date are: Europe: Utrecht University North America: New York University School of Law Asia-Pacific: National Law School of India University, Bangalore
Results for the African and Latin American rounds are pending.
The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB/MCTI) will host the XI International Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Network (ReLaCa Espacio) together with the VI IISL Latin American Round in Brasília, Brazil, from 20-22 May 2026.
The African Regional Oral Rounds will be held later in the cycle, bringing together the winners of the national rounds from across the continent.
Further updates will follow as additional results become available, for more information, click here, or visit this link: https://iisl.space/2026-manfred-lachs-update/ |
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Call for new IISL PRISM Committee Members |
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The IISL PRISM Committee - the Committee on Public Relations Including Social Media - is looking for new members! |
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The main mission of the IISL PRISM Committee is to use all modern means for communication with the general public to raise awareness of and further enhance the visibility of IISL and of the relevance of its activities in order to further the aims and objectives of IISL, in accordance with the IISL Statute and the IISL By-Laws, and to ensure the interests of IISL are properly and in a coherent fashion represented. |
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It is a Committee that is connected to many activities of the IISL - from updating the website and news channels, publishing the IISL newsletter, editing IISL publications, providing technical support to other IISL Committees such as the IISL Elections Committee and the IISL Membership Committee, technically supporting annual events such as the IISL/ECSL Symposium and the Galloway Symposium, public relations with our partner organisations and much more. If you are looking for ways to engage with the Institute, working with PRISM will provide an excellent overview over the various and manifold IISL activities. |
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Please express your interest to the Chair of the IISL PRISM Committee Scarlet O'Donnell at [email protected] by 30 April 2026. |
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Update from IISL Working Group on the Interplanetary Internet |
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The IISL Working Group on the Interplanetary Internet has begun its work to advance research on the legal foundations of interplanetary connectivity, drawing on relevant policy and technical considerations. The Group’s mandate includes developing a report that identifies applicable norms and principles of outer space law and public international law, examines emerging models of interplanetary internet governance, and highlights gaps and challenges within current governance frameworks.
In December, the Working Group was formally established with 18 members. Work packages were created to structure the research, and leads were appointed for each.
Chair: Berna Akcali Gur Work Package Leads: Laetitia Cesari, Filippo Marchetti, Anne-Sophie Martin, and Charles Horikami. Members: Hassan Abou Seada, Beauler Wozhele, Kevin Setiadi, Daphne Politikou, Lucillien Denoyelle, Shrawani Shagun, Jeferson Tampelli, Manzoor Hassan, Erik Michňák, Andres Alma, Mustapha Eleyawa Agbadi, and Fuhua Ni.
In January, the Working Group held its inaugural meeting via a webinar hosted in collaboration with the United Nations University. The event summary is available here: IISL Working Group on the Interplanetary Internet Holds Inaugural Event with UNU-CRIS | UNU-CRIS.
In February, the Working Group invited IISL Members to participate in its second webinar, organised in collaboration with UNU-CRIS Digital Governance Cluster: “Building the Interplanetary Internet: Infrastructure and Technical Foundations“. The speaker, Dr Keith Scott, is an IPNSIG Board member and one of the leading experts in interplanetary networking. He introduced the technical infrastructure underpinning the emerging interplanetary internet.
IISL members can follow ongoing updates and activities through the Working Group’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/iisl-wg-ipn. The IISL webpage of the Working Group is available here.
Kind regards, Berna Akcali Gur, PhD |
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Upcoming events and conferences |
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COPUOS updates: LSC 2026 going into its second week |
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This year's sixty-fifth session of the UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee has been shortened to six days and scheduled from 15 to 22 April 2026. Now going into its second week. |
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Find more information on this year's session on UNOOSA's session page. |
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Register to the Online Colloquium - Shaping the legal framework for future space activities Online | Tuesday 28 April 2026 | 10:30 - 16:00 |
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Space has long been central to scientific progress, from astronomy to Earth observation. Today, this role is evolving alongside the rapid growth of a global space economy, marked by expanding commercial activity and increased private access to outer space. At the same time, geopolitical tensions have underscored the strategic and military significance of space systems, raising new governance and security challenges. In this context, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and Université Paris-Saclay propose a discussion that moves beyond the adequacy of existing international space law to examine the broader transformation of space governance, including the growing influence of national regulations, operational standards, and legal concepts drawn from digital law. |
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Register to the IISL Spring Space Law Symposium Online | Friday 8 May 2026 | 10:30 - 16:00 |
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Organised by the IISL, with the support of the Amsterdam Space Law & Sustainability Centre and Durham University' Space Research Centre, the IISL Spring Space Law Symposium will examine the extent to which the existing international legal framework governing outer space is capable of accommodating rapid technological and operational developments. Across three panels, the symposium considers how emerging technologies, evolving uses of space, and increasing environmental pressures challenge foundational principles of space law, including jurisdiction, responsibility, and international cooperation. Programme: 10:30- 12:00 Panel 1: Emerging Technologies and Implications for Space Law 13:00-14:30 Panel 2: Reinterpreting Established Space Law Frameworks in Contemporary Contexts 14:30-16:00 Panel 3: Legal Dimensions of Space Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility |
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ReLaCa Espacio Meeting and Latin American Manfred Lachs Moot Court Round 2026 Brasília, Brazil | 20–22 May 2026 |
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The International Institute of Space Law (IISL) is pleased to promote the XI International Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Space Network (ReLaCa Espacio), to be held alongside the VI Latin American Round of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition.
Date & Location: Brasília, Brazil | 20-22 May 2026
The event will convene academics and professionals from across the region to discuss developments in space research, technology, policy, and law, while also hosting one of the leading academic competitions in space law.
For inquiries, please contact: [email protected] |
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