Continue reading »]]> At the 68th International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, the
International Institute of Space Law (IISL) organized the Final Rounds of the 2017
Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition. Altogether, world-wide 74 teams
participated in the four Regional Rounds.

The World Finals on 28 September 2017 were judged by one former Member and two
sitting Members of the International Court of Justice (ICJ): H.E. Ret. Judge Sir
Kenneth Keith, H.E. Judge Kirill Gevorgian and H.E. Judge James Crawford.

The result of the 2017 Competition was as follows:
• Winner: National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India
• Best Memorials: National Law School of India University, Bangalore, India
• Best Oralist: Ms. Alexia Boggs, University of Mississippi Law School, United
States
• Runner-up: University of Mississippi Law School, United States
• Semi-Finalists: University of Pretoria, South Africa & National and
Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece

The problem, on issues relating to interference with the activities of states in the use
of lunar resources, and the resolution of the dispute under the novel principles of ex
aequo et bono, was authored by Dr. Michael Simpson, Executive Director of the
Secure World Foundation, and Mr. Christopher Johnson, Secure World’s Space Law
Advisor.

Continue reading »]]> The Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition, organised annually by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) will take place during the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia.

There, the winning teams of the four regional competitions in North America, Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe will meet to compete for the World Finals held in conjunction with the annual IISL Colloquium. The name of this year’s Moot Court Problem is the “Case Concerning Lunar Facilities and Withdrawal from the Outer Space Treaty (Pervosk v Titan).” The Moot Problem presents issues relating to interference with the activities of states in the use of lunar resources and the resolution of the dispute under the principles of ex aequo et bono (Pervosk v Titan). The semi-finals will be held on Tuesday, 26 September in a closed sessions at the Adelaide Convention Center. The Final Round will be held the afternoon of Thursday, 28 September at the Federal Court in Adelaide and will be judged by two current and one former members of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Following the awards ceremony at the conclusion of the Final Round, the IISL will host its annual dinner.

More details about the Lachs Moot Competition

Continue reading »]]> This book celebrates 25 years of the Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition of the International Institute of Space Law. It contains information grouped by year, including summaries of the Problems, names of participating schools, winners, runners up, best memorial and best oralist winners and more. There are numerous photos showing the hard work of students, judges and organisers, as well as the Judges of the International Court of Justice who have honoured us with their presence through all these years. There are testimonials from numerous students, judges and sponsors of the competition that demonstrate the impact this competition has had on their life and work.

Order now at www.elevenpub.com/law/catalogus/manfred-lachs-space-law-moot-court-competition-1

Continue reading »]]> The World Finals were held at the Paraninfo Enrique Diaz de León, University of Guadalajara, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 29 September 2016. Total participating universities numbered 58 in the four regions.

The 2016 Moot Court Problem, Case Concerning Space Debris, Commercial Spaceflight Services and Liability (Banche v. Rastalia) was written by Prof. Yun Zhao (China).

Winner of the World Final of Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition and recipient of the Lee Love Award:

National and Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece

Runner-Up

Obafemi Awolowo University, City of Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Semi-Finalists

McGill University, Institute of Air and Space Law, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Best Memorials, Eilene Galloway Award

McGill University, Institute of Air and Space Law, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Best Oralist, Sterns and Tennen Award

Ms Filareti Filaretou-Kouimtzi, National and Kapodistrian University

Semi-Final Judges

Orals: Dr Ulrike M. Bohlmann (Germany), Mr Dennis J. Burnett, Esq. (United States), Prof. Dr Sergio Marchisio (Italy), Prof. Dr Lesley-Jane Smith (UK), Dr Milton ‘Skip’ Smith, Esq. (United States), Prof. Yun Zhao (China).

Memorials: Dr. Michael Chatzipanagiotis (Greece), Dr. Philip De Man (Belgium), Ms. Icho Kealotswe (Botswana), Prof. Dr. Li Shouping (China), Mr. Maury J. Mechanick, Esq. (United States), Ms. Sherlene Monogamy (South Africa), Ms. Marcia Smith (United States), Dr. Yuri Takaya-Umehara (Japan) .

Final Judges

• H.E. Judge Peter Tomka, International Court of Justice
• H.E. Judge Xue Hanqin, International Court of Justice
• H.E. Judge Kirill Gevorgian, International Court of Justice

Brochure

Click here to download

Continue reading »]]>

The case involves a dispute between Perovsk and Titan, historically peaceful neighbours on Earth, who find themselves in an emotionally charged conflict on the Moon involving lunar facilities, liability for damage, and space mining. Several novel aspects are involved including a withdrawal from the Outer Space Treaty and an agreement by the parties to permit the Court to decide one set of issues ex aequo et bono.

2017 Lachs Moot problem

Continue reading »]]> The Lachs Moot competition World Finals were held at the Crowne Plaza Jerusalem Hotel at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Israel, on October 15, 2015. Total participating universities numbered 58 in the four regions. The 2015 Moot Court Problem, “Case Concerning Planetary Defense” (SPIDR v. URA)”, was written by Dr Frans G. von der Dunk (The Netherlands/United States) and Leslie I. Tennen (United States).

Winner of the World Final of Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition and recipient of the Lee Love Award:

University of Mississippi, School of Law, Oxford, Mississippi, United States

Runner-Up

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Semi-Finalists

Obafemi Awolowo University, City of Ile-Ife, Nigeria

NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, India

Best Memorials, Eilene Galloway Award

University of Mississippi, School of Law, Oxford, Mississippi, United States

Best Oralist, Sterns and Tennen Award

Mr Athanasios Plexidas, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

Semi-Final Judges

Orals: Prof. Dr Frans G. von der Dunk (The Netherlands/United States), Dr Ranjana Kaul (India) and Dr Kai-Uwe Schrogl (Germany), Prof. Dr Steven Freeland (Australia), Dr Diane Howard (United States) and Dr Marco Ferrazzani (Italy).

Memorials: Ms Marcia Smith (United States), Dr Ulrike M. Bohlmann (Germany), Dr Zeldine Niamh O’Brien (Ireland), Ms Icho Kealotswe (South Africa), Prof. Li Juqian (China), Mr Maury J. Mechanick (United States), Prof. Vernon Nase (Australia) and Mr Chris Okegbe (Nigeria)..

Final Judges

• H.E. Judge Peter Tomka, International Court of Justice
• H.E. Judge Dalveer Bhandari, International Court of Justice
• H.E. Judge Kirill Gevorgian, International Court of Justice

Brochure

 2015 Lachs Moot Brochure

Continue reading »]]> The names of the parties and their corresponding designation as Applicant and Respondent in the caption to the Compromis were inadvertently inverted from the order in which their submissions are made to the Court. To correct the error, the case is being re-captioned as SPIDR, Applicant, and URA, Respondent.

We sincerely regret any confusion which may have been caused by the original case title.

Manfred Lachs Moot Court Committee

Les Tennen, Co-Chair

Compromis 2015 corrected