Prof. Dr Frans G. von der Dunk (Netherlands)

Director
Current term: 2020-2023

Professor Dr. Frans G. von der Dunk holds the Harvey and Susan Perlman Alumni / Othmer Chair of Space Law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s LL.M. Programme on Space, Cyber and Telecommunication Law (for more information on the programme: see here) since January 2008. He also is Director of the Black Holes consultancy company in space law and policy, based in Leiden (for more information: see here). Previously, he was Co-Director, then Director of Space Law Research at the International Institute of Air and Space Law at Leiden University since 1990.

Prof. Von der Dunk was awarded the Distinguished Service Award of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) in Vancouver, in October 2004, and the Social Science Award of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) in Valencia, in October 2006. In the summer of 2008, he was nominated, as the first lawyer ever, Member of the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) of the European Space Foundation (ESF). Also, he was the sole lawyer on the Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation established by the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) in 2007. In October 2015, the Handbook of Space Law which he edited and contributed six chapters to, was awarded the Social Science Book Award of the IAA in Jerusalem.

He defended his dissertation entitled Private Enterprise and Public Interest in the European ‘Spacescape’ in 1998. He has written more than 180 articles and published papers, many of which can be accessed here, giving rise to hundreds of full-text downloads monthly. He has given more than 150 presentations at international meetings and was visiting professor at over 30 universities and other academic institutions across the world on subjects of international and national space law and policy, international air law and public international law. He has (co-)organised some 20 international symposia, workshops and other events, and has been (co-)editor of a number of publications and proceedings. As of 2006, he is the Series Editor of ‘Studies in Space Law’, published by Brill.

He has given many interviews to the international media on issues of space law and policy, including a 2016 Dutch TV documentary  and the 2017 Asteroid Day Luxembourg TV marathon. (Watch here and here). He has presented at TEDx and  PINC conferences (Watch here and here).

Prof. Von der Dunk has served as adviser to the Dutch Government, a number of foreign Governments, the European Commission, the European Space Agency (ESA), the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a number of space agencies, and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), as well as a number of companies, and was member of the Advisory Group to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the drafting of Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes relating to Outer Space.

Such advisory work dealt with a broad area of issues related to space activities, such as space policy, international cooperation in space, national space law, privatisation of space activities, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) (in particular Galileo), satellite communications, radio astronomy, and earth observation. Also, he has acted as the Legal Task Manager in a number of studies undertaken in particular within the context of leading European Commission projects, such as on European space policy, Galileo and GNSS, satellite communications, the Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security (GMES) project and earth observation. Much of his recent work furthermore focused on such topical issues as space tourism, the legal status of the Moon and other celestial bodies such as asteroids and the ‘sale-of-lunar-estate hoax’, and planetary protection.

He is Director Public Relations of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Member of the Board of the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL), and Member for the Netherlands in the International Law Association’s (ILA) Committee on Space Law. He is also Member of the International Editorial Board of ‘Space Policy’. Further memberships include: International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA), International Bar Association’s (IBA) Section on Business Law (SBL), Committee Z on Outer Space Law, International Policy Advisory Committee (IPAC) of the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA; Senior Member), and Centro de Investigacion y Difusion Aeronautico-Espacial (CIDA-E; Corresponding Member).

Prof. Marco Ferrazzani (Italy)

Director
Current term: 2021-2024

Since 2010, Marco Ferrazzani has been the Legal Counsel and Head of the Legal Services Department at the European Space Agency (ESA).

In this capacity, he provides legal advice on questions of both public and private law to the Agency and to its Council of Member States in order to achieve the objectives laid out in the ESA Convention. This function ranges from advisory services on multilateral discussions, space programmes, ESA policy and negotiations of international agreements to normative services such as the drafting of proposals, agreements, rules and procedures.

As the ESA Legal Counsel, Dr. Ferrazzani leads the Legal Services Department and its team of lawyers across the various areas of law relevant to the work of the Agency including: legal counselling services in relation to space programmes, institutional and financial law, intellectual property matters and dispute resolution, international and EU law, export control, and any law applicable to space activities.

Dr. Ferrazzani has represented ESA at a number of international conferences and at the UNCOPUOS Legal Subcommittee. He is frequently invited as a guest lecturer at universities and policy institutions, and has regularly published articles in several law and policy books and journals.

Before joining ESA, Dr. Ferrazzani worked as an attorney in the Milan offices of Baker & McKenzie, representing clients in the fields of corporate law, international transactions, foreign investments and litigation.

A graduate cum laude in law from the University of Naples, Italy, Dr. Ferrazzani received his university’s prize for best doctoral thesis for his research on international and comparative law. Thereafter, he undertook postgraduate study in the United States at Georgetown University and Harvard Law School, as well as at the University of Salzburg, Austria focusing on international and comparative law.

Dr. Ferrazzani sits on the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), and is a Board member of the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL). He is also a member of the French Society of International Law (Société française pour le droit international) and the International Institute of Common Goods Research (Institut International pour la Recherche sur les Biens Communs).

Prof. Steven Freeland (Australia)

Director
Current term: 2021-2024

Steven Freeland is Professor of International Law at the University of Western Sydney, Visiting Professor in International Law at the University of Copenhagen, and a Member of Faculty of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law. He has also been a Visiting Professional within the Appeals Chamber at the International Criminal Court, The Hague, a member of the Australian delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and a Special Advisor to the Danish Foreign Ministry in matters related to the International Criminal Court.

Among other appointments, he is a Director and a member of the Directorate of Studies of the International Institute of Space Law, a member of the Space Law Committee of the International Law Association, a member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law and a Fellow of the Tim Fischer Centre for Global Trade and Finance.

He sits on the Editorial Board of the Australian Journal of Human Rights, the Australian International Law Journal and the China-based Space Law Review, as well as a series of books entitled Studies in Space Law. He is also actively involved in the publication of a series of casebooks annotating the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in East Timor.

He has published extensively on various aspects of International Law and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, having been invited to present conference papers and keynote speeches in Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.

Prof. Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz (United States)

Director
Current term: 2021-2024

Prof. Gabrynowicz is Professor Emerita of space law, Director Emerita of the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air, and Space Law, Univ. of the Mississippi Law Center and the Editor-in-Chief Emerita, Journal of Space Law. Prof. Gabrynowicz was a founding faculty member of the Space Studies Department at the University of North Dakota, where she also served as its Director of Graduate Studies.

She has taught space law since 1987 and currently lectures at various universities including the University of Vienna, the University of Warsaw, the Beijing Institute of Technology School, the China University of Political Science and Law, and the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In 2014 and 2015 she was invited by the Subcommittee on Space of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology to testify regarding the legality of asteroid mining and remote sensing law. She is currently a member of two U.S. Federal Advisory Committees, and one advisory committee for the National Academy of Science.

Prof. Gabrynowicz briefed former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gayle Norton as part of the Secretary’s preparation for the Earth Observation Summit. Prof. Gabrynowicz briefed Frank A. Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Space and Defense Policy, U.S. Department of State on legal aspects of orbital debris. She was the organizer and chair of the U.S. Federal Advisory Committee for the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive.

She was a member of the Advisory Board for the Permanent Court of Arbitration for the Draft Arbitration Rules on Disputes Relating to Outer Space Activities and has presented to the UN Institute for Disarmament Research. The UN Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) invited Prof. Gabrynowicz to lecture on space law at all of its space law capacity building workshops for government officials and policymakers and she is the lead author for UNOOSA’s remote sensing law curriculum. In 1999, the IISL invited Prof. Gabrynowicz to write and present the remote sensing law position paper at UNISPACE III. In 2001 she was awarded the Women in Aerospace Outstanding International Award. In 2011 she was awarded the IISL Distinguished Service Award. In 2014, Prof. Gabrynowicz received the China Institute of Space Law 1st International Service Award. In 2016, she was awarded the IISL Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017, her work was recognized by the International Astronomical Union by naming an asteroid “(9002) Gabrynowicz”

Ranjana Kaul  

Director

Current term: 2021-2024

Ranjana Kaul is partner, Dua Associates, a leading law firm in India. Her law practice focuses on
corporate advisory, including cross border transactions , commercial arbitration and litigation. Dr
Kaul also provides advisory and inputs to assist policy makers demystify interconnections between
international space law within context to national policies and normative laws in India.
In particular, Ranjana advises space start-ups on the regulatory ecosystem in India, including policy,
regulatory, procedures, IPR, Transfer of Technology and Funding.
Ranjana Kaul has been an affiliate of the International Institute of Space Law, Paris since 2006. In
2017 she was awarded the IISL Distinguished Service Award at the IAC, Adelaide, Australia. She has
served as Chair of the Membership Committee until 2018. She has actively contributed to the
Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Competition, in various capacity from evaluating memorials to
judging the final selection round in India, the Asia – Pacific regional rounds and semi-final rounds
during the World Finals. She has served several years on the IISL Awards Committee; the Committee
in charge of abstract selection and coordination of IISL sessions at the annual IAC; and contributed
to the IISL Working Group on Cyber Law (legal aspects of cyber security for space assets).
Dr Kaul is member of Space & Satellite Professional International ( India), Women in Aviation
International (India) and Spaceport SARABHAI (S2), India’s first independent think tank dedicated
to ‘outer space’.
Dr. Kaul holds an LLM from the Institute of Air & Space Law, Faculty of Law, McGill University,
Canada; Doctorate from University of Poona and Bachelors in Law degree from the University of
Delhi in India.
ranjanakaul@duaassociates.com

Prof. Peter Martinez (South Africa)

Director
Current term: 2022-2025

Prof Peter Martinez is the Executive Director of the Secure World Foundation. He has extensive experience in multilateral space diplomacy, space policy formulation and space regulation. He also has extensive experience in capacity building in space science and technology and in workforce development. Prior to joining SWF, Dr Martinez held the post of Professor of Space Studies at the University of Cape Town.

Before this he acquired fifteen years of executive level management experience and associated general management skills gained in the research and development environment of the South African Astronomical Observatory, a National Facility under the South African National Research Foundation, where he served as Acting Director for two extended terms and for shorter periods on numerous other occasions. From 2010 – 2015 he was the Chairman of the South African Council for Space Affairs, the national regulatory authority for space activities in South Africa.

From February 2011 to June 2018, he served as the Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) Scientific and Technical Subcommittee’s Working Group on the Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities. From 2012-2013 he was South Africa’s representative on the United Nations Group of Government Experts on transparency and confidence building measures for space activities. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, the International Institute of Space Law and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He has authored or co-authored over 200 publications on topics in astronomy, space research, space law and space policy.

Dr Martha Mejia-Kaiser (Mexico/Germany)

Director
Current term: 2022-2025

Born in Mexico City in 1957 and living in Germany since 1989. Received a Licentiate’s degree in International Relations, a Master’s degree in International Law and a Doctorate in Political and Social Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Diploma in Air and Space Law from McGill University and an International Space University graduate (89’ Summer Session). Worked in the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Geophysics Institute (UNAM). Acting judge in the IISL Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition and Telders (International Law) Moot Court Competition. Co-Chair of the IISL Manfred Lachs Moot Court Committee. Papers presented and lectures held at UNAM, IISL Colloquia, McGill University (Canada), NASA-Darpa, Leiden University (The Netherlads), Atma Jaya Catholic University (Indonesia), Keio University (Japan), etc.

SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS:

• La Órbita Geoestacionaria (The Geostationary Orbit), Comunicaciones Técnicas, Docencia y Divulgación, Instituto de Geofísica, UNAM (1987).
• Doctoral Thesis: Imágenes Satelitarias de la Tierra y Derechos de Autor (Remote Sensing Images of the Earth and Copyrights), UNAM, 2003.
• “Taking Garbage Outside: The Geostationary Orbit and Graveyard Orbits”, in Proceedings of the 49th Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, IAC Valencia, Spain (2006).
• “Informal Regulations and Practices in the Field of Space Debris Mitigation”, in Air and Space Law, Kluwer (2009).
• “Collision Course: The 2009 Iridium-Cosmos Crash”, in 52nd Proceedings Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space of Outer Space, IAC, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
• “Removal of Hazardous Space Debris”, in Space Safety Regulations and Standards, Pelton J., Jakhu R. (eds.), Elsevier/Butterworth-Heineman (2010), Chapter 27, 371-382.
  “ESA’s Choice of Futures: Envisat Removal or First Liability Case”, in Proc. 55th Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, IAC, Naples, Italy (2012), available at https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7O2eHT8riH8elNXQ0FkS0tQQ0k/edit
• “Space Law and Unauthorised Cyber Activities”, in Peacetime Regime for State Activities in Cyberspace, Katharina Ziolkowski (ed.),. NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence Publication, Tallinn, Estonia (2013). Free upload: http://www.ccdcoe.org/427.html

Dr Olga Stelmakh-Drescher (Ukraine/Germany)

Director
Current term: 2020-2023

Dr Olga Stelmakh-Drescher is a NewSpace advocate, international space lawyer and space environmentalist – shaper of the Space Sustainability Goals and social responsibility for space activities concepts. She holds the position of a Chief Policy and Government Relations Officer at Exolaunch, a global leader in rideshare launch services and deployment technologies for small satellites. Dr. Olga has an extensive background in space matters, having worked in the space sector for more than 15 years, including seven years of governmental and parliamentarian engagement. She has become noted as a lawyer with strong business, diplomacy and policy background, working around the globe, combining public service with academic work and legal practice. In her personal capacity she acted as a space strategy development and implementation adviser to several governments and was involved in the Sea Launch, Antares and Alcantara Cyclone Space projects. Academically, an alumna of Paris-11 University Institute of Space and Telecommunication Law and International Space University, Dr. Stelmakh-Drescher holds a Doctorate in International Law specializing in Space Sustainability and Security, two Master of Laws (LLM) degrees and two Master in Business Administration degrees. She pursued her Postdoctoral degree at McGill Institute of Air and Space Law where she coordinated an International Study on the Global Space Governance and was one of its lead drafters. Additionally, she was a visiting scholar and research associate with the Space Policy Institute, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University.

She has also completed a number of professional development and leadership programs, including the Legislative Fellowship Program (U.S. Department of State), Public International Law Course (The Hague Academy of International Law), Training for International Diplomats (German Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Intellectual Property Law Course (WIPO Academy) and International Arbitration Course (ICC Paris Arbitration). She was honored with the IAF Emerging Space Leader award (2013), Secure World Foundation IAC award (2015), Space Generation Leadership award (2017) and IAF Young Space Leader award (2019).

Dr. Olga is a member of many high-profile professional groups, sits on several boards and committees, including WEF Global Future Council on Space Technologies, IAF Space Economy Committee and Entrepreneurship & Investment Committee, International Institute of Space Law. In 2020 she was elected a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics. For the past several years she was a judge of the regional rounds of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition. Dr. Stelmakh-Drescher is a frequent speaker at many international space fora (United States, Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific), chaired and moderated number of panel discussions. She places a lot of emphasis on leadership, knowledge-based society, inclusiveness and empowerment of the next generation, serves as mentor to many and is an often lecturer on issues of space sustainability and security, NewSpace and global space governance. Dr. Olga publishes extensively on space-related topics.

Jenni Tapio

Director

Current term: 2021-2024

Ms Jenni Tapio works as a Chief Specialist, Head of Space Office at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland, where she leads the space team responsible for the Finnish space law and policy, national coordination, international representation, licensing and supervision of national space activities, and communications. She acts as the executive secretary of the Finnish Space Committee and as the chair of the Committee’s division on space situational awareness (SSA). She is a delegate to the European Space Agency (ESA) Council and is currently the vice-chair of the International Relations Commit- tee. Ms Tapio is a delegate in the European Union’s (EU) Space Programme Committee’s Horizontal and SSA Configurations. Ms Tapio represents Finland at the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). She has been nominated as the first vice-chair of COPUOS for 2022-2023. Prior to joining the Ministry, she worked for 15 years in the private sector, where she specialized in technology, telecommunications, satellites and space law. Ms Tapio holds degrees in law with specializations in space law, public international law, business law and EU law. She is currently in the final stages of her doctoral degree in space law, and has passed the Finnish Bar examination. Ms. Tapio participated in the making of the Finnish Act on Space Activities, and is now involved in the practical and legal questions arising from its implementation and further development. Ms Tapio is a member of the board of the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL) and a director of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL). She has authored various publications in the field of space law and policy, and lectures frequently on these topics. She has been involved in the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition, first serving as a faculty advisor and then as a judge for the European and World rounds.

Helen Tung is a trained and practising barrister with over 18 years in the legal profession specialising in dispute resolution withover 500 cases over the course of my career up to the Court of Appeal in England and Wales. Throughout her international commercial law experience she has worked with clients across all sectors and also various jurisdictions. Since 2015 Helen Tung started working with startups and focusing on space with experience co-founding a satellite propulsion startup and currently working with a startup to IPO. Moreover, she has spent 3 months at NASA Ames working with startups and with colleagues at Singularity University and attending the International Space University as well as advising startups, Governments on building theirn newspace ecosystem, including Japan, UAE, USA, ESA.  

Guoyu Wang

Director

2021-2024

Guoyu WANG, Doctoral degree in Law and Economics, Associate Professor, Law School of BIT; Deputy Director, CNSA Space Law Center (2017-), Legal Counsellor in Space Law, CNSA Lunar Exploration and Space Project Center (2016-), Board Member of the Advisory Committee of SWF (2020-), Space Security Consultant of UNIDIR (2015), Academy Senior Fellow of Chatham House, U.K. (2014); Visiting Scholar, National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law, Mississippi University, US(2011-2012). Dr. Wang has been severed as a Chinese delegate to UNCOPUOS, (2012-), IADC, (2014-2016) meetings, as well as a Chinese expert in the Long-term Sustainability for Outer Space Activities Working Group (2012-2019). He is an editorial member and expert of McGill Manual for the International Law Applicable for Military Use of Outer Space (MILAMOS) since 2018, an expert of The Hague International Working Group on Space Resources Governance (2015-2019) and a member of Global Experts Group for Sustainable Lunar Activities (GEGSLA, 2021-). Dr. Wang’s researches focus on international and national space law, international space politics. Dr. Wang's expertise includes legal and political analysis on space security issues, inter alia, arms control in outer space and space debris mitigation and remediation; space natural resources use and exploration; China space legislation.