BRIEFING

GW Space Law Moot Court Team Wins Third International Trophy

On September 28, 2007, the GW team of David Western (LL.M.'07) and Magin Puig-Monsen (J.D.'06, LL.M.'07)—coached by Henry Hertzfeld, research professor of space policy and international affairs—won the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition world championship in Hyderabad, India. The mock-trial competition is sponsored by the International Institute of Space Law and is held with the annual International Astronautical Federation Congress. Under Hertzfeld, GW has won two trophies at international contests in the past three years.

The Elliott School's Space Policy Institute and its Center for International Science and Technology Policy have a worldwide reputation for excellence. Hertzfeld says he is both surprised and pleased with the speed with which the combined efforts of the Space Policy Institute and GW's Law School have moved the university to the forefront of the space law field. Hertzfeld came to GW in the early 1990s after serving as a senior economist in the NASA administrator's office. He introduced a course in Space Law five years ago in response to a growing commercial space enterprise and a strong student demand for a space law course."

The GW team was part of a larger Elliott School presence at the 58th International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad. All three of the Elliott School's faculty members associated with the Space Policy Institute, two recent graduates, and three current students attended the Congress. In addition to Hertzfeld, who coached the Moot Court team, Professors John Logsdon and Ray Williamson presented papers. Current students also contributed papers and ideas; Emma Hinds represented GW at a meeting of the Space Generation Advisory Council, while Jason Hay and Angela Puera presented a joint paper. Alumni Audrey Schaffer and Ian Christensen each presented papers as well.