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Dispute Resolution in the Space Industry Conference Programme

Please note the programme may be subject to change.


Day 1: Tuesday 13 May 2025

Time Agenda
9.30–10.00 Registration, tea and coffee
10.00–10.30 Welcome from Colin Bain, Pro Vice Chancellor for Research, Durham University, and Can Eken, Durham Law School, Co-Director of Durham International Dispute Resolution Institute
10.30–11.30 Keynote + Q&A from Anu Ojha OBE
11.30–13.00

Panel 1: Emerging Technology and Future Challenges
As space activity accelerates, emerging technologies bring new challenges to the governance of outer space. This panel will explore recent and expected advancements in space situational awareness and their implications for legal frameworks and dispute resolution.

Talks:

  • James Osborn – Over the Horizon: The Technology Behind Space Situational Awareness
  • Martin Ward – Future Risk Scenarios:  A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall…
  • PJ Blount – Now Trending: Do we need a Special Mechanism for Space Disputes?
  • Martin Elvis – Triggers for disputes over space resources: a quantitative look

Moderator: Professor Petra Minnerop

13.00–14.00 Lunch
14.00–15.30

Panel 2: The Nature of Space Disputes
As space becomes increasingly contested and commercialized, disputes are inevitable. Resolving these disputes requires a blend of legal, diplomatic and technological solutions. This panel will examine the types of disputes emerging in the space sector and the mechanisms available to address them.

Talks

  • Mahulena Hofman – Dispute Settlement for Space
  • Oliver Grazebrook – Typical Disputes Seen in the Satellite Industry: An In-House Lawyer’s View
  • Berna Akcali Gur – Data Gathering in Lunar Conflict: Exploring the Potential of Neutral Surveillance Systems
  • Ata Türkfiliz – Resolution of Space Tort Disputes: Challenges and Mechanisms in the New Space Age

Moderator: Can Eken

15.30–16.00 Tea & Coffee
16.00–17.30

Panel 3: Mitigating Risk in Space Interactions
Managing risk in space goes beyond technical failures—financial, political, and reputational challenges all play a role. This panel will explore issues related to insurance and how forward-thinking public relations strategies can mitigate fallout from disputes or accidents.

Talks:

  • Onur Durak – Satellite Insurance: Current Developments and Challenges
  • Neil Stevens and Yuk Chi Chan – The Future Challenges of Insuring Space Assets

Moderator: Ronan Feehilly

   

Day 2: Wednesday 14 May 2025

Time Agenda
9.30–10.00 Tea & Coffee
10.00–10.30 Welcome from Professor Volker Roeben, Dean of Durham Law School
10.30–12.00

Panel 4: Alternative Dispute Resolution in Space
As space commerce and cooperation expand, so do legal conflicts—raising the question of how best to resolve them. This panel will explore the role of ADR in settling space disputes. With no clear court for space conflicts, could arbitration or mediation be the key to maintaining stability beyond Earth?

Talks:

  • Jonathan Fernandes – Trends in the arbitration of satellite-related disputes: an evidence-led analysis
  • Yun Zhao – The PCA Arbitration Rules for Space Disputes: Retrospect and Prospect
  • David Sixsmith and Chris Newman – Space Mediation in the New World Order

Moderator: Ayten Dogan

12.00–13.00 Keynote + Q&A  - TBC
13.00–14.00 Lunch
14.00–15.30

Panel 5: Key Issues in Future Governance
As space activity accelerates, governance frameworks must evolve to address emerging challenges. This panel will explore key issues touching on resource rights, security concerns, regulatory gaps, and international cooperation.

Talks:

  • Gunes Unuvar – Governing Foreign Investment Beyond Earth: International Investment Law and Outer Space Activities
  • David Eagleson – Understanding the Immunities of the European Space Agency in the Context of Space Sector Disputes
  • Ralph Dinsley – Access to and Sustainable Management of Northern European Airspace

Moderator: Joanna Berry

15.30–16.00 Closing Remarks

 

Calman Building

Registrations now open

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Durham University Space Research Centre

For a sustainable future in space

Durham University Space Research Centre

Durham University Space Research Centre
Department of Physics
Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics (West)
South Road
Durham, DH1 3LE

E: sparc@durham.ac.uk