NUS Law Tops IASLA Space Law Moot Court Competition

From left: Manfred Lum, Kiu Yan Yu, Ephraim Tan, and Ong Chee Yeow.

NUS have once again emerged victorious in the recent International Air and Space Law Academy (IASLA) Space Law Moot Court Competition! The team of Year 2 students - Kiu Yan Yu ’18, Ong Chee Yeow ’18, Ephraim Tan ’18 and Manfred Lum ’18 have done the faculty proud by winning the competition! Dr Ricky Lee, the Principal Administrator of the IASLA Space Law Moot, presented the trophy to NUS Law on 23 June 2016.


From left: Dr Ricky Lee, Ephraim Tan, Ong Chee Yeow, Kiu Yan Yu and Assoc Prof Robert Beckman (Director of Centre for International Law) and Assoc Prof Eleanor Wong (Vice Dean for Student Affairs).

Earlier this year, the team had won the Asia-Pacific round of the competition which was held in Sydney, Australia. At the regional rounds, the team successfully defended the Regional Championship title amid fierce competition from regional teams, including Australian National University, Gujarat National Law University and Hong Kong University.

This year’s IASLA moot problem at the regional rounds involved issues of astronomical proportions – first, the legality of mining rare metals from asteroids, and second, the liability of a State for its nationals who have conducted terrorist attacks on another State’s persons and property in outer space. It was a challenging yet rewarding journey for the team, who had no prior experience with Space Law or Public International Law.

Sincere gratitude goes towards the following individuals for their invaluable guidance and advice, which made every difference in the team’s performance in Sydney: Coaches Associate Professor Lim Lei Theng, Mr Bryan Chan and Ms Elaine Chew; and the Space Moot Alumni: Mr Adam Maniam, Mr Jackson Eng, Ms Joan Lim Casanova, Mr Rakesh Kirpalani, Lecturer Sonita Jeyapathy, Ms Vanita Jegathesan.