Steven Freeland

Steven Freeland is Emeritus Professor of International Law at Western Sydney University, where he was previously the Dean of the School of Law, and Professorial Fellow at Bond University. He also holds Visiting or Adjunct positions at various other Universities/Institutes in Copenhagen, Vienna, Toulouse, Hong Kong, Montreal, Kuala Lumpur, Vancouver, Mumbai and London. Prior to becoming an academic, he had a 20-year career as an international commercial lawyer and an investment banker. He is a government-appointed Member of the Australian Space Agency Advisory Board and has been an advisor to the Australian, New Zealand, Norwegian and several other Governments on issues relating to national space legislative frameworks and policy. He represents the Australian Government at Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) meetings and, in June 2021, was appointed by UNCOPUOS as Vice-Chair of a 5-year ‘Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities’. He has also been a Visiting Professional within the Appeals Chamber at the International Criminal Court, and a Special Advisor to the Danish Foreign Ministry in matters related to the International Criminal Court. He is a co-Principal of specialised space law firm Azimuth Advisory and is also a Director of the International Institute of Space Law, a Member of the Space Law Committee of the International Law Association and a past Member of the Space Law and War Crimes Committees of the International Bar Association. In 2022, he was presented with a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by the International Institute of Space Law, the highest accolade awarded by that institution. In addition to co-Editing the Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals book series, he also sits on the Editorial Board / Advisory Board of several internationally recognised academic journals.

Setsuko Aoki

Dr. Setsuko AOKI is Professor of Law at Keio University Law School, Japan since April 2016. Previous positions include: Professor of Law (2004-2016) and Associate Professor of Law (1999-2004), Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University, Japan; Associate Professor (1995-1999) and Assistant Professor (1994-1995), School of Social Science, National Defense Academy, Japan (1994-1999); and Assistant, Faculty of Law, Rikkyo University, Japan (1991-1993).

She specializes in public international law especially space law and arms control. She obtained Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) from McGill University, Montreal, Canada in June 1993. She has B.C.L. (1983) and LL.M. (1985) from Faculty of Law and Graduate School of Law, Keio University, Japan.

She is a vice-president of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) (since October 2017). She is also a vice-president of Japan Association of Disarmament Studies (since May 2021) and a director of the Japanese Society of International Law (since July 2022). She is the Chair of the Experts Committee for the Economic Security Promotion Act and its Implementation Plans, Cabinet Secretariat of Japan (since November 2021). Previously, she was the Chair of the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) (2020-2021 session); and she was also a member of the Committee on the National Space Policy (CNSP), Cabinet Office of Japan (July 2012 – July 2022).

Her main English articles published since 2021 include: “Nationality of the Space Object as an Indispensable Device for the Exploitation of the Moon and Mars, Proceedings of the International Institute of Space Law 2021 (Eleven, 2022), pp. 67-78; “The Implications of the Registration of Space Objects in the 2020s: Possibility of the UK and Dutch Practice in Enhancing Registering Space Objects”, in Comitato Promotore, (eds.), Liber Amicorum Sergio Marchisio, vol. II (Editoriale Scientifica, 2022), pp. 943-957; “The Use of Force and Planetary Defense”, in Irmgard Marboe, (ed.), Legal Aspects of Planetary Defense (Brill/Nijhoff, 2021), pp. 209-225; and “State Responsibility Facing the Growing Diversity of Space Projects and Actors: The Case of Satellite Deployment from an International Space Station”, in Maritetta Benkö and Kai-Uwe Schrogl (eds.), Outer Space Future for Humankind (Eleven, 2021), pp. 393-411.

Bayar Goswami is an Arsenault Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University. Prior to advancing his research career as a doctoral fellow, Bayar finished his LL.M. in Air and Space Law at McGill University and his first law degree at Nirma University, India. Among other honors and awards, Bayar is a recipient of Erin J.C. Arsenault Fellowship for both his Doctorate and Masters research and notably was also awarded the Assad Kotaite Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowship by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization. Presently, as the Principal Researcher and Associate Editor, Bayar is involved in the project to curate the McGill Encyclopedia of International Space Law at SpaceLawPedia.com and is also playing a key role, as the Research Coordinator, in the research and publication of the now published McGill Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space (McGill Manual: Volume I – Rules), and the Co-Editor for McGill Manual: Volume II – Rules with Commentaries. Bayar has made significant contributions to leading research undertaken at McGill, like the International Study on Global Space Governance and the Space Security Index, 2016 and 2017 (SSI) and has also made notable presentations at numerous international forums including the UN COPUOS and the UN/Germany High-Level Forum. Bayar has been a TEDx Speaker and is continuously working for the development and promotion of space law and is passionate about fueling discussions about the social sciences of outer space.

Kuan-Wei Chen         

kuan-wei.chen@mcgill.ca

Mr. Kuan-Wei (David) Chen is the Managing Editor of the McGill Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space (McGill Manual, https://www.mcgill.ca/milamos/).

Kuan-Wei was formerly the Executive Director of the McGill Centre for Research in Air and Space Law (2017-2022), the Editor of the Annals of Air and Space Law (2012-2015), and a Sessional Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of McGill University. He served as the Co-Chair of the Ad-Hoc Remote Sensing Space Systems Act Advisory Committee, and has been an invited speaker at various international workshops and conferences, including ones organised by United Nations.

He holds an undergraduate degree in Law and Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, an LLM (cum laude) in Public International Law from Leiden University and an LLM in Air and Space Law from the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University. He is currently the recipient of an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship and is pursuing a PhD in Space Law and Human Rights at Bond University.