The 18th CASC Cup Manfred Lachs International Space Law Moot Court Competition came to an end on December 12, 2021. Thirty teams from our university and other 21 universities, including Peking University, Beijing University of Technology, China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China University of Political Science and Law, and Wuhan University, participated. The moot court competition was conducted in the form of the online court trial.
The Manfred Lachs International Space Law Moot Court Competition is a global annual moot court competition founded by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) in 1992. The competition is recognized as one of the most professional and influential moot court competitions in the international community today, as its annual global finals are held in the presence of three sitting Justices of the International Court of Justice. The China competition is an important part of the IISL Moot Court global competition system. The competition is also supported by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those who were invited to be the presiding judges included: Xu Yu, First Secretary of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Zhao Yun, Head of the Department of Law of the University of Hong Kong, and Zhang Zhenjun, Vice Chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the China Democratic League.
Our teachers Jiang He and Lei Yidan jointly served as the coach of our team in this competition, and Meng Hongchen, a 2018 undergraduate student, was the assistant coach. 2018 undergraduate students Guo Zhixuan and Chen Chen and 2021 graduate student Zhou Fangyuan were the contestants. 2021 graduate student Zhao Rixue, 2018 undergraduate student Zhu Chen and 2020 undergraduate student Li Zihan were the research team members. After a fierce competition, our university won the second prize in the country. Among them, Guo Zhixuan was awarded the honorary title of “Best Oralist”, and Jiang He and Lei Yidan were awarded the “Best Guidance”.
This year’s competition focused on the frontier issues of space law such as giant constellations, the International Space Station, 3D printing space objects in outer space, space intersection and proximity operations, autonomous weapons, outer space traffic management, and space debris. In the nearly 4 months of preparation, our team members have made great efforts to promote learning through the competition, and have made great progress in legal information retrieval, English literature reading, pleading writing and English oral debate, etc. They have consolidated the basic knowledge of international law theory, expanded their international vision, and gradually enhanced their professional ability to apply the rules of international law to solve international legal disputes, with a view to become the reserve force of high-end legal talents in China.
During the preparation, the Space Law team members also received assistance and guidance from Zhang Yuanyuan, a 2019 graduate student of the International Moot Court Team, and Tan Shiyu, a 2017 undergraduate student of the Law School. Our Moot Court Debate Team is a collaborative and collegial family, providing students with an opportunity to practice their English expression and improve their international law research skills. We welcome all aspiring students to join our Moot Court Debate Team and breathe new life into the team to achieve further success!
