LCIL Friday Lecture: Space resource acquisition and space debris - two challenges for the future order for human uses of outer space - Prof Stephan Hobe, University of Cologne

Lecture summary: There are currently two important issues confronting the international space community. Does international space legislation permit the digging of resources from celestial bodies? And: how to get rid of the enormous amount of space junk that currently populates at interesting orbit and threaten space activities? The lecture will try to give answers to these problems by highlighting the current state of affairs with regard to space legislation which is a mix of international treaty law and what some people call “soft” law. Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Stephan Hobe is Director of the Institute of Air Law, Space Law and Cyber Law and Professor at the University of Cologne. He is author and editor of more than 300 books and articles including “Introduction to Public International Law”, 10th edition 2014, “European Law”, 9th edition 2018 and Space Law (2019). He is member of the board of several scientific associations: International Institute of Space Law, European Centre for Space Law, membre titulaire of the Académie Française de l’Air et de l’Espace and of the International Academy of Astronautics and Vice-president of the German Society of International Law. Professor Hobe is a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law for the Lent Term 2020.