Jack Wright 
NELSON

 

Jack is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Centre for Banking and Finance Law (CBFL), the Editor of the Annals of Air and Space Law, produced by the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University, and a Doctoral Candidate at the Faculty of Law, McGill University. He was formerly a Research Associate at CBFL (2020-2021). Jack practiced law with King & Wood Mallesons in Hong Kong (2015 – 2018) and in Singapore (2019 – 2020). While in practice, he was seconded to the Securities & Futures Commission, where he worked on both policy and enforcement matters.

FULL BIOGRAPHY

Contact

Education

BA, JD (University of Melbourne)
LLM (Chinese Law) (CUHK)
LLM (Air and Space Law) (McGill University)

In Residence

1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023

Jack is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Centre for Banking and Finance Law (CBFL), the Editor of the Annals of Air and Space Law, produced by the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University, and a Doctoral Candidate at the Faculty of Law, McGill University. He was formerly a Research Associate at CBFL (2020-2021). Jack practiced law with King & Wood Mallesons in Hong Kong (2015 – 2018) and in Singapore (2019 – 2020). While in practice, he was seconded to the Securities & Futures Commission, where he worked on both policy and enforcement matters.

He is admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of Victoria, the High Court of Australia, and the High Court of Hong Kong.

His articles, reviews and notes have been published by the American Society of International Law, the Asian Journal of International Law, the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, the German Journal of Air & Space Law, the European Journal of Legal Studies, the Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, the Cambridge International Law Journal, the Journal of Space Law, and in edited collections.

His work has been cited in publications from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the United States Institute of Peace, the European Parliament, the United States Congressional Research Service and in amicus curiae submissions before the United States Supreme Court

Publications

Journal articles

Book chapters

  • “Securing Europe’s Spaceports: A Legal Perspective” (2021) in Studies in Space Policy: Spaceports in Europe, Annette Froehlich (ed.) (Springer)
  • “Liability for Design” (2015) (with Richard Lyons) in Emden’s Construction Law Hong Kong, Arthur McInnis (ed.) (LexisNexis)

Book reviews

Online publications

Presentations

  • “New Frontiers for the Conflict of Laws: Lex Situs Across Sea, Air, Space and Cyberspace” (August 2021), organized by the Centre for Banking & Finance Law, NUS
  • “Reimagining the Space Protocol: Examining the Cape Town Convention Amid Emerging Space Activities” (July 2021), organized by the Institut international pour l’unification du droit privé (UNIDROIT), Rome
  • “NewSpace, Old Problems: Asset-Based Satellite Financing in the Asia-Pacific” (April 2021), organized by the Centre for Banking & Finance Law, NUS
  • Commercial Space Law in Practice: The Regulation and Financing of Satellites in Singapore” (March 2021), organized by the Centre for Banking & Finance Law, NUS.
  • “Satellites: Market Trends, Regulation Insights from Asia-Pacific and Europe” Financing” (December 2020), organized by KWM, Sydney
  • Asia-Pacific Legal Systems
  • Space Law
  • Air Law
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Financial Regulation
  • Public International Law
  • Private International Law

Research Projects

Aviation Financing after ‘Grand Theft Aero’: Paths Through and Beyond the Cape Town Convention

Aircraft lessors have long felt confident in their ability to recover aircraft following lessee default. This confidence was primarily based on the international legal framework provided by the Cape Town Convention (“CTC”). But this confidence has now been shaken: in March 2022, Russia – a party to the CTC – de-registered over 500 foreign-owned aircraft and re-registered them as Russian aircraft. This effective nationalization of over USD10 billion worth of aircraft was memorably described by Paul Jebely, head of asset finance at law firm Withers, as “Grand Theft Aero.”

The immediate economic impact is severe and ongoing: Russia’s actions force offshore lessors to write off their aircraft. These lessors will naturally try and get their insurers to foot the bill, who will naturally resist these claims. There are also downstream risks for the many bondholders whose security lies in these nationalized aircraft. But more long-term and systemic risks also arise. Russia’s actions have severely dented the CTC’s previously sound reputation. As such, leasing aircraft to airlines located in jurisdictions that do not have a strong rule of law has become exponentially riskier, regardless of CTC status. So how can lessors continue to serve airlines in these jurisdictions, post-Grand Theft Aero? This research question will respond to this question, looking at legal paths both through and beyond the CTC.

 

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