Held Virtually, Judges at the CSIR from the 12-13 May 2022

This year’s competition, which was hosted virtually by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) from the 12-13 May. The following 8 universities across the Continent participated; namely Makerere University (Uganda), University of Pretoria, University of Fort Hare, both from SA; the following from Nigeria; Obafemi Awolowo, University of Babcock, Ibadan University and University of Zimbabwe Midlands State University (MSU) both of Zimbabwe.

Important to mention is that Nigerian Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) and Learnspace of Nigeria organised the inaugural national rounds for 20 universities, of which the three universities won, nationally. The Africa Region Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot competition is an annual space moot competition organised by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) and hosted locally by the dtic. The competition is hosted at regional stages; with four regions; namely Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North. The African Regional rounds usually takes place in Pretoria, where student teams from universities across Africa compete to represent the continent at the world finals. Due to the pandemic, the African regional round was held virtually with Judges stationed at the CSIR. During this time, eight schools participated, with Midlands State University (MSU) came first. Nigeria’s Babcock University and the University of Pretoria were first and second runners-up respectively. In addition to the primary awards, the University of Pretoria emerged as the institution with the Best Memorials, and MSU’s Namatai Katsande clinched the Best Oralist award. MSU, which was a new comer in this competition impressed the judges with knowledge of law and applicable legal practices and articulate analysis as well as impeccable presentation of the points as well as logical and reasoning.

The 2022 problem concerns questions related to a “Case Concerning Registration and Damages Involving Objects Manufactured in Space”. For more detail about the problem, please refer to http://www.iislweb.org/docs/2022problem.pdf. The case is based on a hypothetical space law dispute brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Memorials for the Competition were judged by private Counsels Ms Vivianne Muthoni, Mr Ikho Tshweza, Ms Asangire Oprong, and Dr Maria Nonyana-Mokabane of the dtic. The Judges for the Orals for the Competition were Mr. Ikho Tshweza, Adv. Icho Kealotswe, and Dr Maria Nonyana-Mokabane of the dtic. The Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition offers an exposure platform for students, academics, legal professionals and space community to legal debates on matters of international space law. It particularly presents a unique opportunity for university law and science students from different parts of the world to engage in legal matters related to outer space, telecoms, earth observation and aerospace. The winner of the Africa Region will compete at the 73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC) to be held from 18-22 September 2022 in Paris, France, the world’s largest convention for the space industry, in order to partake in the World Finals.

The world finals are traditionally judged by three members of the International Court of Justice. The Competition is a simulation of a fictional dispute between countries before the International Court of Justice, the judicial organ of the United Nations. The Competition aims to promote the interest, involvement and knowledge of Space Law amongst students by providing a fair and competitive environment for the exchange of thoughts and the deepening of understanding of Space Law. The Competition encourages further development on the subject matter of Space Law in the curriculum of academic institutions and assists participating countries in developing technical legal capacity by preparing the next generation of space lawyers. South Africa and the dtic in particular, takes great interest in this particular area of Space Law because all industries should be regulated for orderliness, safety, and environmental concerns and above all peaceful use of outer space as South Africa is an active member of the United Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outerspace. Warm congratulations are sent to the Midlands State University (MSU) of Zimbabwe, which was participating for the first time, for taking the Africa Region Round of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition and to the Babcock University of Nigeria, which took second place.