Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition

Calendar for the 2021 Competition:

The 2021 Lachs Competition will be held based on the following schedule, which will be finalized with Memorial and oral argument dates determined for each Region by the Regional Organizers. The goal is to have oral arguments in each Region in-person, if possible, and virtually if needed due to public health issues.

The 2021 Problem will be released before August 15, 2020

Calendar for the 2021 Regional Competitions:

15 December 2020: Deadline for Submission of Requests for Clarification

31 January 2021: Deadline for Team Registration

31 January 2021: Deadline for Author to Respond to Requests for Clarification

March – April 2021: Deadline for Submission of Written Memorials as scheduled by each Region

April – June: Oral Rounds (in-person or virtual), as scheduled by each Region

Calendar for the 2021 World Finals:

31 July 2021: Deadline for Submission of Written Memorials for World Finals by Regional Winners

__ October 2021: Oral Rounds of Semi-Finals (in-person or virtual)

__ October 2021: Oral Round, World Finals (in-person or virtual)

COVID-19 Update, updated 27 July 2020:

The international semis-finals and Final oral arguments will be by video. Distinguished IISL Members will judge the semis and we anticipate ICJ judges will judge the Final. The 31 July 2020 deadline for Submission of written memorials for the world finals has been extended to August 7, 2020. Thereafter, the memorials of the Regional winning teams will be graded by distinguished scholars and the teams will be seeded for the semi-final arguments. Oral argument schedules will be arranged taking into account the schedules of the teams and judges. All of the usual awards (Best Team, Best Memorial, etc.) will be made.

Due to the public health situation world-wide, all Regional competitions have made changes to schedules and processes. It is important to check frequently the information on the website for your Regional competition.

Since its inception by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) in 1992, the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition has grown to cover five world regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa. More than 60 teams participate yearly in this competition. Registered teams get exclusive on-line access to papers of the IISL’s Colloquium Proceedings from 2005. Also many useful and interesting documents are freely accessible through the resources page of this website.

Regional winners receive financial support to attend the World Finals. The IISL’s Lachs competition is particularly distinguished by the tradition of judges of the International Court of Justice presiding over and judging the World Final. The World Finals competition takes place within the framework of the IISL’s annual Colloquium, which is a contained event in the International Astronautical Congress held on a different continent each year. The Lachs competition offers an unparalleled learning experience to all teams at all levels in a fair and cordial environment.

	LACHS MOOT CALENDAR The Lachs Moot Calendar for 2020 can be found here (updated 26 March 2020). Please note that some dates for Regional Competitions have been updated!
	LACHS MOOT PROBLEM The latest version of the 2020 Problem can be found here. See for the 2020 information on names here. See for the responses to the requests for clarification here.
	OFFICIAL RULES The latest version of the Lachs Moot rules can be found here (updated 2020). Please note that some Lachs Moot regions have their own rules.
	AFRICAN REGION COMPETITION About the African region of the Lachs Moot competition 2020 Registration Form for the African region.
	ASIA PACIFIC REGION COMPETITION About the Asia-Pacific region of the Lachs Moot competition 2020 Registration Form for the Asia-Pacific region Supplemental Rules of the Asia-Pacific regional round
	EUROPEAN REGION COMPETITION About the European region of the Lachs Moot competition 2020 Registration form for the European region
	LATIN AMERICAN REGION COMPETITION About the Latin American region of the Lachs Moot competition 2020 Manfred Lachs Latin America Registration
	NORTH AMERICAN REGION COMPETITION About the North American region of the Lachs Moot competition 2020 Manfred Lachs North America Registration 2018 Supplemental Rules for North America (2018 edition applies in 2020)