SPACE LAW SESSION AT ABILA’s INTERNATIONAL LAW WEEKEND, Oct 20, 2018, New York, NY, 1:45 pm ET

The American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) will hold its International Law Weekend in New York City from October 18-20, 2018.

On October 20 at 1:45 pm ET, a panel will take place at Fordham University on the following topic:

Free Form Treaty Interpretations’ Last Stand: Why Vienna Convention Treaty Interpretation Rules Matter More than Ever in the Outer Space Domain

In a new era of expanded commercial space activities, debates in space law are too frequently taking place with use of free form treaty interpretation, and rare citation to or acknowledgement of VCLT rules.  Outer Space Treaty obligations are broad principles yielding flexible results in many instances but still must be interpreted under the VCLT.  This roundtable will explore current debates regarding asteroid mining, space debris removal, and authorization of new commercial space activities and the role of treaty interpretation in these debates, along with a comparison to prominence of the VCLT in other international law regimes, particularly the global trade and investment law regimes.

 Chair: Matthew Schaefer, Haggart & Work Professor of International Trade Law & Co-Director – Space, Cyber and Telecom Law Program, University of Nebraska College of Law

Panelists

Gabriel Swinney, Attorney-Advisor, US State Dept. Legal Advisor’s Office

Henry Hertzfeld, Research Professor of Space Policy, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

Margaret Vernal, Content Manager  -Lexis/Nexis

Barry Appleton, Appleton & Associates, Toronto Canada.