Moot Court Air and Space Law in council chamber of Leiden Town Hall
On 15 May the Space Law Moot Court Competition was held in the council chamber of Leiden Town Hall, organised by the International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL).
As part of their studies, students of the LLM Advanced Studies in Air and Space Law are required to participate in the moot court on air and space law. Thirteen students took part, coming from Belgium, China, India, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and South Korea. They were coached by Dimitra Stefoudi of the IIASL.
The assignment was to defend a fictitious case before the International Court of Justice. The case concerned the commercial use of the moon and its resources, the protection of the moon’s natural environment and the compensation for damage under international space law.
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Alderman Paul Dirkse and coach Dimitra Stefoudi -
The moot court took place in the council chamber of Leiden Town Hall
The judges were Alexander Soucek of ESA-ESTEC in Noordwijk, Annemarieke Künzli of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tanja Masson-Zwaan of the IIASL. Best team performance was by Karan, Chaitali and Qi, three students from the UK, India and China. Karan was also chosen as best oralist of all participants.
Afterwards Alderman Paul Dirkse gave a speech to the students. He said that the municipality of Leiden attaches great importance to promoting space activities in the region, also in the field of education, and he expressed the hope that the students, after graduating, will maintain their ties with Leiden. After the event, a reception was hosted by the Town Hall.