Report from the 2019 ECSL Summer Course on Space Law and Policy

The 28th edition of the Summer Course had 45 participants and 4 tutors, representing 22 countries from all over Europe and beyond. The Course was organised in collaboration with the University of Messina, and partners included the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and the European Space Agency. The ECSL is very grateful to all our partners for allowing us to visit their sites, learn from their experts and for helping us organise the course.

An intense Course: 44 lectures – 40 lecturers

The theme for this year’s course was “Disaster Management and Outer Space”. With its numerous active volcanos, Sicily was definitely the appropriate location to be addressing issues regarding natural disasters. From hurricanes to wildfires, the frequency and intensity of natural disasters has increased. As such, space-based technologies and services can offer concrete and efficient solutions. The benefits of space for managing natural disasters are tremendous, as they allow a reliable measuring, anticipating, and even recovering after a disaster.

The course took place at the University of Messina, and we had one day of technical lectures organised with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). On this day, participants had the chance to visit and discover technical equipment and instruments used to monitor Mount Etna activities at 2800 meters high above sea level. The excursion was followed by an afternoon of lectures at INGV HQ in Catania.

The programme also allowed the participants to dive into a wide range of space law and policy topics, from insurance practices in space, and common contracts for space, to space policies in ESA, the EU and the UK. In addition, we also had classes more oriented to international law in general, which included; international organisation and international law.

This year the ECSL also introduced a Professional Forum to allow participants to discuss with the experts about professional opportunities in the field and to exchange on their experiences.

The ECSL would like to thank all the lecturers who came to Messina to exchange and discuss on various topics. Over the two-weeks, we welcomed 40 lecturers from all over Europe and from different backgrounds, representing the industry (ArianeGroup, AVIO), the academia (Sapienza University, Paris-Sud University etc…), international organizations (UNOOSA, ESA, ITU), governments (MEAE of Finland), space agencies (ASI) as well as law firms (Bird&Bird, Cecile Gaubert).

Of course, You can find the full 2019 program here:
http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/ECSL/ECSL_Summer_Course_Program_Final.pdf

A Day Trip to Mount Etna

For this year’s edition, the ECSL offered participants to discover and visit on of Sicily's active volcanos. 

At 2800 meters high above sea level, on Mount Etna, participants got the unique opportunity to dive in the world of monitoring and management of volcanos activities, using space data in particular. Space is indeed more relevant than ever when it comes to protecting our environment on Earth, and the news we hear every day only confirm that the dependency on space-based assets is growing. As to remind us of its unpredictability, the day before our excursion, Mount Etna exploded for the second time in less than 3 weeks. 

After exploring a moon-like environment, the day continued with an afternoon of technical lectures at INGV HQ in downtown Catania, where participants got to learn about the use of satellite systems in monitoring volcanos activities.

Experts from INGV explained how lava flow and ash cloud dispersion could be tracked from space as well as their scientific implications. To conclude this day, participants received an eye-opening lecture on the possibility of predicting earthquakes by tracking increased localised greenhouse gas emissions via satellite by Pr.Barbara Orecchio from the University of Messina.

Social Activities
This year, the annual Summer Course scavenger hunt took the participants around Messina in small groups. From Messina's historical harbour to its well-known astronomic tower clock, participants discovered Messina and got to know each other better. The scavenger hunt ended in a restaurant of the city centre to share pizzas. The wining team was offered several ESA/ECSL goodies as a reward for their great team work !

During the week-end, participants also took a train to discover the beautiful Taormina and its ancient Greco-Roman remnants as well as its beautiful beaches. 

The Project
As every year, the Summer Course features a Group Project which purpose is for participant to master relevant issues of space law and policy using a dynamic and realistic simulation. This year, the ECSL organised the simulation of an International Call for Tenders, where teams represented a legal firm advising ESA on the use of space applications to manage natural disasters, identifying policy, legal and economic issues in order to develop an appropriate advice.

After several days of brainstorming, discussions and team work, the groups had to pitch their projects to a jury consisting of Prof. Philippe Achilleas (University of Paris-Sud), Prof. Salvatore Cuzzocrea (University of Messina), Prof. Lina Panella (University of Messina).

The jury really much appreciated to hear about the very creative and interesting space applications presented by the different groups but also to see all the legal considerations addressed in relation to international, national and private law. 

The winners were announced in three categories: 

• Best overall project: Team Blight
  Ballarin Davide (Italy) - Kucharsky Denis (Slovakia) - Kucher Lisa (Finland) - Francesco  Manti (Italy) - Persoz Giulia (Switzerland) - Tomin Michal (Slovakia)
• Best oral project: Team Blight
  Ballarin Davide (Italy) - Kucharsky Denis (Slovakia) - Kucher Lisa (Finland) - Francesco  Manti (Italy) - Persoz Giulia (Switzerland) - Tomin Michal (Slovakia)

• Best written project: Team Typhoon
  Alvila Inka (Finland) – Azam Furqan (UK) - Bourgeat Pierre  (France) - De Castro Silveira Paula (Portugal) - Ramus Cvetkovic Iva (Slovenia) - Sidiropoulou Alexandra (Greece)

If you are interested in participating to the 2020 ECSL Summer Course, as a participant or tutor, more information about where, when and the application procedures will be announced in spring 2020. More about the general selection criteria can be found here: https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ECSL_European_Centre_for_Space_Law/ECSL_Summer_Course_on_Space_Law_and_Policy