From December 17 to 18, the 19th CASC Cup Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition (all in English) sponsored by China Institute of Space Law was held online under the guidance of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 48 teams from 28 colleges and universities across China participated in this year’s competition, including Peking University, Beihang University, Beijing Institute of Technology, China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, East China University of Political Science and Law, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, and Wuhan University. After tight races, Team No.1 of Beihang University advanced to the final with a leading score and won the national championship over Team No. 2 of China University of Political Science and Law. Chen Shengyi and Ni Xinran won the Best Debater Award and Excellent Debater Award respectively, and Gao Qi won the Best Guidance Award.

For this competition, Gao Qi, associate professor from the School of Law served as the instructor of Beihang teams. Specifically, Team No.1 is consisted of Ni Xinran, Wang Chongyu and Chen Shengyi; Team No.2 is consisted of Wang Yang, Zhou Yi and Ling Lin; moreover, Cui Shuhan, Liu Yiwei and Shao Ziheng, former members of the team, served as team leaders. During the preparation period, Xia Chunli, Gao Guozhu, Bo ShouXing and Ji Guanhao, all teachers from the School of Law, as well as 2022 Beihang Criminal Moot Court team members also provided extra guidance.

With the theme “Laser Activities and the Use of Anti-Satellite Weapons in Outer Space”, this year’s competition covered many cutting-edge issues in the field of space law, such as blinding laser weapons, the illegality of peacetime espionage and compensation for damage caused by helicopter-based anti-satellite missile strikes. After three months of preparation, the team members analysed these issues in detail and they will go on representing Beihang for international events in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition is an annual, world-class event founded by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) in 1992, and it is one of the highest and most influential moot court competitions in the world. With the development of China’s aerospace strength, the construction of soft power is also essential. The Space Law Moot Court provides a good platform for more young people to understand and apply the rules of international space law and participate in international space governance.

Reported by Cui Shuhan

Reviewed by Long Weiqiu

Edited by Jia Aiping

Translated by Lu Meili