Space Court Foundation and UNIDROIT enter joint agreement to partner on space law research projects

SHARON, Pa. - June 20, 2022 - PRLog -- The Space Court Foundation and UNIDROIT (The International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday at UNIDROIT's headquarters in Rome, agreeing to joint collaboration in areas of space law, with a focus on the financing of space assets. Under the five-year agreement, the organizations will further facilitate work on the Space Court Foundation's Space Law Library Projects, including an International Yearbook of Space Activities, the Space Law Dictionary Online, Space Court Law Library Website, and Space Law Archive Project.

"We are excited to be collaborating with UNIDROIT, the preeminent intergovernmental institution for private international law with a strong history of developing and prompting rules for peaceful dispute resolution," said Christopher Hearsey, SCF co-founder and Board of Directors chair. "Commercial space activities continue to proliferate and the types of disputes that are likely to arise in the future will require rules for peaceful dispute resolution. UNIDROIT has been on the forefront of rules that could provide much-needed relief for future space users. Our agreement today will enable our organizations to work together, share knowledge, leverage mutual experience in space law, and collaborate on legal and policy areas that promote and strengthen the rule of law. Furthermore, this joint collaboration strengthens our legal internship program and taps into UNIDROIT's expertise for academic work such as moot court activities and enhances future programming."

The agreement includes promotion of UNIDROIT Research and Internship Programme and collaboration on academic activities. The organizations previously jointly organized a July 30, 2021 panel on the Space Protocol to the Cape Town Convention.

"We'll also be drawing on UNIDROIT's experience with the Space Protocol of the Cape Town Convention for financing and fundraising around our key programming and research projects," said Nathan Johnson, SCF co-founder and Board of Directors executive director. "As international companies and governments look to space for commercialization and further exploration, the work we're doing to help focus discussions on space law will become increasingly more important to the settling of future disputes that arise from space activities."

"UNIDROIT looks forward to furthering its collaboration with the Space Court Foundation in an effort to further the understanding of international private law and secured transactions law in the space sector. In particular, we hope to conduct several activities with SCF which will focus on the Space Protocol of the Cape Town Convention," said UNIDROIT Secretary-General Ignacio Tirado. "We are confident that with joint initiatives to promote further research and scholarship in areas of space law and finance, this partnership will bear fruit for both parties."

Fore more information, visit the Space Court Foundation at https://www.spacecourtfoundation.org/ and UNIDROIT at https://www.unidroit.org/