Event

Strategic Space Law Intensive Program

Monday, October 27, 2014toFriday, October 31, 2014
Chancellor Day Hall 3644 rue Peel, Montreal, QC, H3A 1W9, CA
Price: 
$500

An intensive, interdisciplinary and interactive program designed for lawyers and other professionals in the defence services, international relations, government, international organizations, law firms, consulting firms and industry interested in studying space law from a strategic perspective.

Deadline to apply: 15 September 2014. Fee: 500$.

Download the program brochure and registration info. [.docx]

What is it?

The McGill University Institute of, and Centre for Research in, Air and Space Law, in partnership with the University of Adelaide Law School, is pleased to present the first ever Strategic Space Law Program. The aim of the program is to provide a unique opportunity for lawyers and other professionals in the defence services, international relations, government, international organisations, law firms, consulting firms and industry around the world to study space law in a strategic context. The Montreal program will be run as a one-week intensive, interdisciplinary, interactive workshop (non-assessable) at the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University in October 2014. Thereafter, the program will be repeated in the form of a graduate course (assessable for academic credit) at the University of Adelaide Law School during the first semester of 2015. On both occasions, the substantive content of the program will be the same and will be delivered by world-class academics, legal and policy advisors and subject-matter experts drawn from government, civil society (including academia) and commerce.

Highlights

  • 23 core lectures from experts on the principles and concepts involved in the various disciplines that touch on Strategic Space Law.
  • Hands-on workshops and practical exercises linked to lectures, on topics such as space traffic management, military use of spectrum, space debris and simulated legal, policy and commercial problem-solving and debate.
  • Social and other networking activities.
  • Professional visits to relevant sites (may include the Canadian Space Agency and Woomera launch site in South Australia).

Why study Strategic Space Law?

Today there are approximately 1,100 active satellites in orbit and the number of States directly involved in launching or operating satellites has grown substantially since the dawn of the space age. Even States that have no direct involvement in launching or operating satellites rely heavily on space infrastructure: for television, radio, banking, communications, transport, agriculture, mining, and especially for modern military services. Yet, those satellites are under increasing threat from 100,000s of pieces of space debris and increasing harmful radio interference. Furthermore, some States already possess counter-space weapons and other means capable of destroying or disrupting satellites and other States have plans to develop those capabilities. There is also greater competition for use of the limited radio frequency spectrum and prime orbital slots that are indispensable for the operation of all satellites.

Outer space is becoming more contested, congested and competitive. Concurrently, the global security situation generally is less certain. Financial and other constraints have made global powers more inward-looking and less likely to deploy forces globally – except through the sort of ‘remote reach’ capabilities that rely on space infrastructure (such as uninhabited aerial vehicles and cyber warfare). Secure, ongoing access to fossil fuels is a growing concern, yet all States are wary of the nuclear energy option and its relationship to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ballistic missiles, as the means of delivery of nuclear weapons, involve space flight and ballistic missile defence also relies on space-based infrastructure. Thus, space is a key element in global security, yet it is also increasingly vulnerable.

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