Continue reading]]> Our newsletter for November and December 2020 is now available.

Highlights include:

• News and Announcements
• Concluding Remarks on the Results of the IISL General Assembly 2020
• IISL Election Results 2020 
• Remarks by K.R. Sridhara Murthi, outgoing Vice President, at the IISL Board of Directors Meeting
• IISL Annual Awards 2020
• Congratulations to the Elected ICJ Judges
• IISL New Website Launched 
• IISL Space Law Knowledge Constellation Launched
• Member News

To read the newsletter, please visit here.

If you have items for the newsletter, please contact the editorial team of the IISL.

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Continue reading]]> Over the last three days, from 8 to 10 December 2020, many IISL members contributed to and participated in the 3rd United Nations Conference on Space Law in Policy. The event was organised by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in cooperation with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and with the support of the African Union Commission (AUC).

Due to the current circumstances of the global pandemic, the conference was held virtually. It had a large number of participants representing space governance, industry and academia among which were many IISL members from all regions of the world.

The conference had an impressive list of speakers offering high quality presentations and active engagement from the audience. Many of the speakers currently hold or have held in the past a role at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

Among the IISL members presenting were, in chronological order:

• Peter Martinez, IISL director and past Chair of the STSC WG on LTS, with a presentation on “Overview of the COPUOS Long-term Sustainability (LTS) Guidelines”;
• Bernhard Schmidt-Tedd, IISL member and Chair of the LSC WG on status and application of the five UN treaties, with a presentation on “LTS and Regulatory Frameworks – the Role of the TP 2 Guidance Document for Emerging Space Nations”;
• Yukiko Okumura, IISL member and officer at UNOOSA, with a presentation on “Orientation of TAM for Space Law for New Space Actors in the African Region”;
• Tanja Masson-Zwaan, president emerita of IISL, with a presentation on “International Space Law and the Environment”;
• Steven Freeland, IISL director and Co-moderator at LSC, with a presentation on “Recent developments in Exploration, Exploitation and Utilization of Space Resources”;
• IISL president Kai-Uwe Schrogl, Chair of LSC 2014-2016 and Chair of the two LSC WGs on launching state and registration practice, with a presentation on “Perspectives of a Future Space Traffic Management Regime at the Global Level”;
• Setsuko Aoki, IISL vice president and current Chair of LSC, with a presentation on “International Frameworks for Cooperation in Space Activities”.

The event was moderated by IISL members Niklas Hedman and Yukiko Okumura (both UNOOSA).

During the conference, the developments and potential of the African continent in the field of space activities was discussed from various angles and it was observed that Africa’s high potential for growth in the sector could also be considered from an investment perspective. Among the conclusions of the conference stood also the invitation to the African group of countries to more actively engage in the work of COPUOS and to the African Union (AU) to join the Committee as a permanent observer.

The IISL/ECSL Symposium which is held annually during the COPUOS LSC was mentioned by speakers at several instances and considered a valuable addition to the discussions on space law.

The final programme of the conference is available here. The homepage of the Conference with further information is available on UNOOSA’s website here. The event was recorded and both the recording as well as the presenters’ slides will be available on the Conference webpage.

IISL would like to express its thanks to the organisers for a successful and inspirational event, in particular to Mr Niklas Hedman as the head of the UNOOSA organising team and Mr Andre Nonguierma of ECA as head of the African organisation team.

Scarlet Wagner

Continue reading]]> The IISL General Assembly, for the first time, took place in a virtual setting and completed its business in a smooth and successful way. It drew an even larger participation than usual during the meetings held physically at IACs. While everybody expected that this year’s IISL 60^th Anniversary would come with a lively party at IAC in Dubai, the opportunity to have an even wider cyber-participation was appreciated.

The IISL President, Kai-Uwe Schrogl, summarized this special year for IISL in the following way:

• All statutory meetings were held virtually.
• Uninterrupted information provision and communication was ensured via Website, Newsletter, and Social Media.
• IISL Board Elections were held as always online with results officially announced and communicated to the IISL membership at the General Assembly (Setsuko Aoki and Diane Howard are elected as Vice-Presidents, P.J. Blount is elected as Executive Secretary; Dennis Burnett is elected as Treasurer; and Frans von der Dunk, Olga Stelmakh-Drescher and Mahulena Hofmann are elected as Directors).
• New members, both full and perspective, were admitted to the IISL.
• Annual IISL Awards were presented (IISL Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Stephen Doyle, USA and José Monserrat Filho, Brazil; IISL Distinguished Service Award given to Mahulena Hofmann, Germany/Czech Republic; IISL Space Law Young Achiever’s Award given to Catherine Doldirina, Georgia; IISL Certificate of Gratitude given to Melissa de Zwart, Australia; H.Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor Award given to Tejas Bharadwaj, India).
• Proceedings 2019 were finalized and will be published soon. Preparation for the Proceedings 2020 already started.
• IISL showed a very good participation with presentations at the Cyber IAC2020 IISL Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space.
• Finals of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court were held virtually with the participation of three ICJ-Judges. A new Region ‘Latin America’ was added to the Competition starting next year.
• Symposium on Maintaining the Rule of Law in Outer Space in an Age of Rapid Innovation, jointly organized by IISL, Chinese Society of Astronautics (CSA), China Institute of Space Law (CISL) and Space Law Center of China National Space Administration, was held in hybrid format.
• Eilene Galloway Symposium on Critical Issues in Space Law will be held virtually mid-December.

The lessons-learned from COVID-19 for the management of the IISL will be discussed in detail at the spring meeting 2021 of the Board of Directors.

Sad news about the passing of two important members – Prof. Lubos Perek and Amb. Prof. Aldo Cocca – were communicated. Obituaries written by Board Members Mahulena Hofmann (for  Prof. Lubos Perek) and Maureen Williams (for Amb. Prof. Aldo Cocca) are available on the IISL website.

President noted with appreciation that IISL did not only continue with current activities, but managed to even set up a number of new initiatives:

• A 60^th Anniversary Booklet was prepared under the lead of Stephan Hobe. We hope it to be communicated to the membership electronically before Christmas season.
• IISL Space Law Knowledge Constellation project as a 21^st century cyber alternative to traditional encyclopaedias was launched at the 60^th Anniversary occasion lead by Olga Stelmakh-Drescher, enabled and supported by Laetitia CZ and Scarlet Wagner. The Knowledge Constellation will be based on principles of inclusivity and equality, open for participation and contribution by all IISL members.
• New Membership Welcome package was developed and soon be introduced by Elena Morozova.
• IAA/IAF/IISL Trilateral Group on Space Traffic Management was launched. The IISL lead on this project is Diane Howard.
• A new website was conceptualised, developed and now launched by Laetitia CZ and Scarlet Wagner.
• Many more activities were highlighted and presented in Committees’ reports.

With this in mind, the President with full confidence acknowledged that 2019 was a very special year with big ups and downs but it definitely showed a reinvigorated energy and vigorousness of the Institute.

The President wished all IISL Members and their families good health and all the best for year to come!

Continue reading]]> Our newsletter for September and October 2020 is now available.

Highlights include:

• News and Announcements
• In Memoriam 
• IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Virtual World Finals 2020 – Results
• IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Virtual Semi-Finals 2020 – Results
• A ‘Demonstration’ Virtual Round for the IISL Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition 
• IISL@China Space Conference 2020 and Joint Symposium on Maintaining the Rule of Law in Outer Space in an Age of Rapid Innovation
• IISL Members Elected to the International Academy of Astronautics
• Member News

To read the newsletter, please visit here.

If you have items for the newsletter, please contact the editorial team of the IISL.

Did you get our newsletter last month? If not, sign up to keep in touch with the IISL Community!

Continue reading]]> Ambassador (Professor) Aldo Armando COCCA:

A Space Law Pioneer beyond the skies (1924-2020)

In Memoriam.

We have the sad duty to announce the passing of Ambassador (Professor) ALDO ARMANDO COCCA on 13 August 2020, in Buenos Aires, at the grand age of 96. Ambassador Cocca was a member of the IISL Board of Directors for many years, and in 1996 he was elected Honorary Director. He published numerous papers in the IISL Proceedings. This outstanding space law expert from Argentina, so endeared to us all, shall be unforgettable for his kindness, excellent teachings and wit.

Professor Cocca was born in Córdoba, Argentina’s second most important city, on 3 September 1924. In 1948 he approached new grounds at the University of Buenos Aires leading to one of the first doctoral thesis on space law, and further developed by him in 1954 at the V International Astronautical Congress in Innsbruck. In his thesis he stated that outer space shall be ‘the conquest of and for Humanity’ (International Astronautical Congress, Innsbruck, 5-7 August 1954, p.289). During these early times he joined his country’s foreign service and was posted in Prague as a first destination where he met a young Vladimir Kopal and with whom he developed a solid friendship.

Back in his country Cocca held important teaching commitments on Air and Space Law at Argentine universities. He also taught at universities abroad, joined noteworthy international organisations, among others, IISL, COSPAR, the International Law Association (ILA), and the  Instituto Iberoamericano de Derecho Aeronáutico y del Espacio y de la Aviación Comercial, holding important positions such as – for many years – Permanent Representative of Argentina to COPUOS and Rapporteur. He also worked for UNHCR. Professor Cocca acted as Régisseur at the Buenos Aires Opera (Teatro Colón) and was head of the ‘Casa de la Cultura’ Foundation (Córdoba).

In 1965 Cocca received the IISL Andrew Haley Gold Medal Award for Space Law. Around that time he published ‘Interplanetary Law’ (‘Derecho Interplanetario’), one of his first books on space matters, followed by many more in Argentina and around the world. During the almost half century of his career Cocca was frequently invited to give talks on developments in space at primary schools in his country, to the delight of the young audiences, particularly at questions time.

Professor Aldo Armando Cocca always showed a commitment, worthy of note, to the development of the law of outer space. From the beginning of the sixties he had shown a special interest in the teaching of space law in Latin America and had taken an active part in the drafting of the five Outer Space Treaties in COPUOS as representative of his country.

December 1966 in Buenos Aires was indeed the right atmosphere for Professor Cocca to become involved in the setting up of the Planetarium and its inaugural scientific colloquium, reflected in ‘The Universe and Society’ (‘El Universo y La Sociedad’, Buenos Aires, 1966, pp.412), a noteworthy book with objectives and purposes valid today which went round the world.

Cocca highlighted that the Colloquium had decided to establish the state of the art of topics based on the teaching of the scientists and the supervision of the legal experts which had, in those days, been in the limelight. Then, viva voce, an exchange of opinions followed by the ‘Conclusions’, in the form of results and achievements addressing, inter alia, questions on the Moon and Celestial Bodies, space vehicles and laboratories in space, meteorites, debris and suggested definitions, and all legal material applicable at that date. The information in the referred book was mostly new, and of prime importance to Spanish-speaking communities around the globe.

Professor Cocca’s determination to making the Planetarium dream come true has rendered a precious service to the development of international law. The building, now over fifty years old, stands tantalising, fully lit up at night and firmly set in its green expanse, resembling a gigantic, irresistible ‘cérisette’, as referred to frequently by Cocca. Mars and Venus, for their part, take turns to shed their luminosity on this fascinating southern hemisphere scenario.

Among the many different contributions and legacies Ambassador Cocca left us over the years let us first pause in August 1968, when the space law feeling triggered by the Planetarium and first moon landing was still in the air.  The International Law Association (ILA) was holding its Fifty-Third Conference in Argentina, at the Buenos Aires University, a setting where space matters were taking pride of place. Professor Cocca, as a local, was invited to host the occasion, together with two other Argentine space law experts and well known IISL members, namely Professors Manuel A.  Ferrer and Oscar Fernández Brital. Professors F. Videla Escalada and E. Basualdo Moine, both of them Argentine Air Law experts, also attended the meeting. 

The ILA Space Law Committee and its world renown specialists, among others, Professors Daan Goedhuis, Eugène Pépin, Bin Cheng, R.H. Mankiewicz and Nicholas Mateesco Matte teamed up with Professor Cocca for nearly two weeks to exhaustively analyse the delimitation issue which, in those days, already appeared unsolvable.

In the meantime, there was agreement on the possibility of some kind of guideline whereby the term ‘outer space’ as mentioned in the 1967 Space Treaty, should be interpreted so as to include all space at and above the lowest perigee achieved by 27 January 1967.

Ambassador Cocca often recalled the vivid image, during the closing session of the 1968 Buenos Aires Conference, of all the specialists sitting round the University classroom deeply concentrated in pushing forward, as best they could, the progressive development of international law. This, he always remarked, had been a gala day for international law.

Professor Cocca’s agenda included frequent academic visits from colleagues abroad, mostly in the sixties and seventies. He was the general rapporteur when in 1972 Professor Eugène Pépin was invited as guest of honour to a Seminar on the Teaching of International Law as Applied to Outer Space and Space Communications (UNESCO/Argentina). Both of them impressed the audience with the clarity of their ideas and the acuteness of their thinking. In later years, and by Professor Cocca’s initiative, Professor Pépin resumed his teaching of international law and air and space law in various Argentine institutions.

Another most welcome visiting scholar in Buenos Aires was Professor Karl-Heinz Böckstiegel. Among the many books published by Cocca’s Foundation is ‘Settlement of Space Law Disputes’ (‘Solución de Controversias en Derecho Espacial’, Córdoba,1981) based on the Round Table opened by Professor Böckstiegel who addressed impeccably the need to encourage compulsory procedures on dispute settlement.

Apart from Air and Space Law Professor Cocca revealed, for many years, a special interest in Spanish history dating from the time of Discovery. One of his Buenos Aires apartments displayed a most interesting collection of armours which he acquired during his diplomatic postings in Eastern Europe.  Cocca very much admired Francisco de Vitoria and wrote books and essays on the topic and got excellent reviews, especially on “V Centenario de los Derechos del Hombre, de los Pueblos, de las Naciones y de la Humanidad”  (Buenos Aires, 1992).

More recently, in November 2012, on the occasion of a Regional Workshop in Buenos Aires organised by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and Argentina, the officers from the Foreign Ministry of Argentina, the Head of the National Committee of Space Activities (CONAE) and Niklas Hedman – in representation of UNOOSA – all made moving speeches expressing their appreciation for Ambassador Cocca’s important legacy in the field of Space Law.

Even more recently, on 8 October 2018, Buenos Aires was celebrating the launch of the first satellite of the SAOCOM Mission, a most challenging and technologically advanced bilateral project between Italy and Argentina, in the initial stages of which Professor Cocca participated. The Mission, a prodigious example of international cooperation between emerging and major space nations, is operating smoothly and becomes a powerful sign of future progress where Ambassador Aldo Armando Cocca had an important part to play. A part which, throughout his career as space lawyer, he always played in the best of spirits.

Professor Dr Maureen Williams

United Kingdom/Argentina

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