Best Memorials and European runner-up at the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court
The Leiden student team representing the International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) won the Best Memorials Award and took second place in the European finals of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition.
The Leiden Team was composed of Aniela Barug, Arthur Van Den Bossche and Scott Schneider, students of the Advanced LLM in Air and Space Law. The team was coached by Thea Dethlefsen, IIASL alumna currently working at the European Space Agency, and Dimitra Stefoudi (for the written memorials), IIASL PhD candidate. Leiden University competed against the University of Vienna in the European finals, which were judged by distinguished space law professors and practitioners. This year's case concerned jurisdiction and control in outer space, space situational awareness and orbital debris and paid tribute to female astronauts.
The Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition has been organised by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) since 1992. The European rounds take place under the auspices of the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL) and were hosted this year by the University of Vienna. Due to COVID-19, the European rounds took place online with the four teams that scored highest in their written submissions, from among twenty teams competing.
Leiden participated in the virtual European semi-finals on 9 June 2020 and progressed to the European finals held on 10 June 2020. The University of Vienna will represent the European region in the virtual World Finals in October 2020. The IIASL is extremely proud of its students and congratulates them warmly on this excellent result.