THE ECSL SUMMER COURSE ON SPACE LAW AND POLICY - AN EXAMPLE OF ESAS ROLE IN-SPACE LAW TEACHING

Space law is often thought to be a discipline for dreamers and lawyers whose heads are full of stars and comets and who are sometimes far fr om reality. This may have been true in the beginning of the space ear but, with the advances of space technology and the development of comm ercial space activities, lawyers are very rapidly being faced with mor e and more practical issues. In the past, lawyers could follow these d evelopments and study space law as a complement to their daily activit ies. This is not true anymore: young lawyers have to be trained adequa tely in order to be able to adapt to the growing needs of space activi ties, and to foresee the legal challenges to the future. The European Centre for Space Law has developed a specific training programme on sp ace law, which has become far more successful than its founders could have expected.