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.
