Rückblick: Workshop on Air Law and Space Law

Suborbital flights are flights that reach very high altitudes but do not enter into an Earth orbit. From a legal perspective it is not clear whether they are “space activities” to which international space law is applicable, or whether they are “aviation activities” that should be regulated by air law. A workshop at the Juridicum, organised in the framework of the International Law Association (ILA) in cooperation with the Austrian National Point of Contact (NPOC) for Space Law at the University of Vienna, brought together a number of international experts in space law and air law to discuss pertinent legal questions relevant in this context. Suborbital flights are currently in public focus as private companies are developing and testing commercial applications, such as transportation services and flights with crews and passengers.

Professor Irmgard Marboe, head of the Austrian NPOC for Space Law, and Professor Stephan Hobe (University of Cologne), chair of the ILA’s Space Law Committee co-hosted a workshop titled "The Legal Framework of Suborbital Flights – Perspectives from Air Law and Space Law" on 19 and 20 October 2023. The first day of the workshop took place at the premises of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), the second day in the Juridicum’s Josef-Hupka-room.

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