The International Institute of Space Law (IISL) will be organising two upcoming symposia - the first to be held during the course of the 59th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2008) in Glasgow, Scotland in late September and early October 2008 and the second during the 60th IAC in Daejeon, South Korean one year later - from 12-16 October 2009.
The Glasgow symposium will address the following topics:
Session 1: Private international law regarding space activities
Tuesday 30 September - 10:00 (Room: Alsh 1)
Originally, space law was of a purely public nature, but today more and more matters of a private law character are involved even at the international level. For this session, the first devoted exclusively to private law issues, papers are invited to address theoretical and practical issues and present concrete cases where private international law has become relevant for space activities.
Session 2: The 40th anniversary of the Rescue Agreement: looking ahead
Tuesday 30 September - 15:00 (Room: Alsh 1)
The Rescue Agreement was drafted when the typical mission profile involved a single nation. Today's mission profile involves multiple nations. Papers are invited to address the legal aspects of applying the Agreement to international cooperative mission profiles.
Session 3: Weaponisation of outer space in the light of the Outer Space Treaty
Wednesday 1 October - 09:30 (Room: Alsh 1)
Papers are invited to address legal aspects of evolving national policies and military doctrines and international responses thereto.
Session 4: Legal aspects of natural Near Earth Objects (NEOs)
Wednesday 1 October - 15:00 (Room: Alsh 1)
NEOs are increasingly gathering international attention, from the perspective of exploration and exploitation of natural resources and from the perspective of potential deflection in case of a collision. Papers are invited to address the legal aspects of these activities.
Session 5: Other legal matters
Friday 3 October - 10:00 (Room: Alsh 1)
In this session, authors may address any other matters relating to the law of outer space, with special emphasis on recent developments.
Additionally, on Tuesday 30 September, the IISL will host a plenary at IAC 2008 entitled "Real Space, Real Law, Real Progress".
New economic activities have entered the space arena and their legal and regulatory needs could be seen to be in conflict with those of the existing space agencies and satellite markets. These new entrants pose both challenges and opportunities to the space law community and in turn the space industry in general. Their issues need to be understood to encourage this new growth, but also to negate any harmful impacts they may or may not have.
For your information, the provisional Daejeon agenda is also available.
- More information on the IISL 2008 Glasgow colloquia.
- More information on the IISL 2009 Daejeon colloquia.