As part of the celebrations of its fiftieth anniversary, the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) organised together with the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) (which also celebrates its fiftieth anniversary in 2010), the 1st IAA-IISL conference on �Space Law and Policy� in Washington, D.C., on 11 May 2010. The other partners in organising this high-level joint event were Arianespace Inc., Secure World Foundation (SWF) and the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) from Vienna. The event was held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Building, and attended by more than 100 persons.

The goal of this event was to highlight the relevance of current space law issues to US policymakers, and their impact on US civil, commercial, and government activities in space. Speakers at this event also addressed the development of the international legal regime for space, provided US as well as European and Trans-Atlantic perspectives and evaluated whether the current regime is sufficient in view of ongoing developments in the space sector.

The programme consisted of sessions on the Commercial Space Legal Perspective (�What are the top three biggest legal challenges for the US space Industry?�), International Aspects (�How do you view the development of the international legal regime for space and is it sufficient?�) and the US Government perspective (�Space Law in Government Daily Life � Successes and Failures�). Key-note speeches were given by Richard DalBello, Vice President, Legal and Government Affairs, Intelsat General; Ambassador Ciro Ar�valo, Chair, United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space; and Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator, NASA.

More information about the event can be obtained by visiting http://www.espi.or.at/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=493&Itemid=1.