The organizers of the Global Lunar Conference, to be held 30 May - 3 June 2010 in Beijing, China, invite abstracts and papers related to space law, particularly the legal issues of continued peaceful uses of the Moon. The Conference is jointly organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the Chinese Society of Astronautics (CSA), and the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG). The Conference will offer plenary and concurrent sessions. The final day will consist solely of technical visits in Beijing. Young professionals and law students are encouraged to participate. The deadline for abstracts is 15 January 2010.

Topics

The conference organizers have not defined any specific legal topics. Here, are a few of my suggestions:

• What are the gaps in space law in light of current and emergent lunar explorations?
• Should a new legally binding treaty be established to govern an International Lunar Base? What should the convention address? What enforcement mechanisms should there be? Alternately, or in addition to a convention, should guidelines be established? Who should establish the guidelines? What key topics should be addressed?
• What legal instruments should govern commercial, peaceful uses of the moon? What are the risks of having existing international space law / trade agreements / environmental treaties, etc. prevail?
• Should the moon be used for commercial purposes? i.e. communications, media, movie production, mining, tourism, private research, etc. Are there commercial purposes that should be prohibited? What are the pros and cons of an inclusionary list versus an exclusionary list of activities?
• What are the legal consequences of robotic exploration versus human habitation?
• What legal rules should govern consumptive use of lunar natural resources?
• What legal rules should govern liability for possible or actual environmental contamination on the moon, in transit to the moon, or discharged/vented into space?
• How should international law address possible space or lunar "junk"?
• Can there ever be peaceful nuclear uses on the moon?
• Does there need to be a better definition of what constitutes "peaceful uses" of the moon and lunar exploration?

Guidelines and Submissions

Abstracts are to be submitted online through the IAF website. For detailed information on how to upload an abstract, see Uploading IAF Abstracts.

The deadline for abstracts is 15 January 2010.

• Global Lunar Conference, 31 May - 3 June 2010