McGill University Law Faculty Building - Montreal, Quebec 

One Month Away from the Annual Meeting!

The Forum has put together a top-notch slate of speakers, including Roberto Kobeh Gonzales, the president of ICAO. 

The Annual Meeting is always top-notch in international aviation' s backyard - Montreal, Quebec, home of our gracious hosts McGill University and headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Download the Brochure for the meeting Below and please attend if possible.

An excellent networking opportunity and learning experience for all, especially our law student members!

Please Join us in Montreal on September 18-19, 2008 at the Marriott Chateau Champlain Hotel.

Annual Meeting Brochure, Click here: AS_FINAL_Montreal.pdf (546.52 kb)

This is the first discussion topic in a series of Air & Space Law issues based on current events.

On January 11, 2007, the Chinese Government used an anti-satellite missile to shoot down a Chinese Feng Yun 1C weather satellite.¹  This action was formally protested by numerous governments including the United States, Canada, and Australia who proclaimed that this was a test of military might aimed at the United States.²

On February 21, 2008, the United States Navy engaged and destroyed USA-193, an errant spy satellite, with it's own anti-satellite missile system - the SM-3 Aegis.³  The US claimed that the shoot-down was necessary to protect Earth's inhabitants from the risk of possible hydrazine contamination if the satellite's fuel tank entered Earth's atmosphere intact. The Russians called the action a thinly veiled flexing of US anti-satellite muscle⁴; the Chinese response was muted and asked for data pertaining to the shoot-down.⁵

Discussion: What is the effect of these two actions on international space law, including the peaceful uses of outer space?

Register and Join the discussion at the Air & Space Law Committee's Online Forum: http://www.airandspacelawonline.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=4

Sources:
¹ U.S. official: Chinese test missile obliterates satellite, CNN.com, Jan. 19, 2007, http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/01/18/china.missile/index.html (last accessed Jul. 24, 2008).
² Id.
³ Eric Hagt, The U.S. satellite shootdown: China's response, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Mar. 5, 2008, http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/the-us-satellite-shootdown-chinas-response (last accessed Jul. 24, 2008).
⁴ US missile hits 'toxic satellite', BBCNews.com, Feb. 21, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7254540.stm (last accessed Jul. 24, 2008).
⁵ Hagt, supra note 3.

Jeremy Juenger
ABA National Law Student Division Liaison to the Forum Committee on Air & Space Law
Saint Louis University School of Law 

1. A Congratulations and Thank You to ALL Students who submitted a paper for the Law Student Writing Competition sponsored by Rolls-Royce. 

2. Forum on Air & Space Law will be sponsoring a reception during the ABA's Annual Meeting in August.  An E-Vite will be sent in the near future.

Date: Thursday, August 7
Time: 5:45 - 7:30 p.m.
Place: New York Hilton Hotel
          1335 Avenue of the Americas
          Course A
          New York, NY

3. It's coming up fast!  The Forum's Annual Meeting at McGill University in Montreal, QC is only 10 weeks away.  Join us September 18-19, 2008 at the Marriott Chateau Champlain.

Annual Meeting Details and Registration: Montreal Brochure.pdf (545.74 kb)