The School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment and the School of Law are jointly hosting a lecture and networking event including the screening of a short film Moonrise 2021 in celebration of Moon Day (man landing on the Moon, July 1969).

This event will take place at the PEIH Amphitheatre on the 30th July at 6PM.

Tickets are limited. Please RSVP by 5PM 25/07/2025 if you would like to attend this event.

“Star Laws: A New Hope for Space Governance” will be presented by our guest speaker Prof Steven Freeland.

Steven Freeland (PhD, LLM, LLB, BCom) is Emeritus Professor of International Law at Western Sydney University, where he was previously the Dean of the School of Law, and Professorial Fellow at Bond University. He also holds Visiting or Adjunct positions at various other Universities/Institutes in Copenhagen, Vienna, Toulouse, Hong Kong, Montreal, Kuala Lumpur, Vancouver, Mumbai and London. Prior to becoming an academic, he had a 20-year career as an international commercial lawyer and an investment banker. He was a Member of the Australian Space Agency Advisory Board (2020-2024) and has been an advisor to the Australian, New Zealand, Norwegian, Malaysian and several other Governments on issues relating to national space legislative frameworks and policy. He represents the Australian Government at Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) meetings and, has been appointed by UNCOPUOS as Chair of a 5-year ‘Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities’. He has also been a Visiting Professional within the Appeals Chamber at the International Criminal Court, and a Special Advisor to the Danish Foreign Ministry in matters related to the International Criminal Court. Among other appointments, he is a co-Principal of specialised space law firm Azimuth Advisory, a Member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Future Council on the Future of Space, a Member of the Abu Dhabi Space Debate Strategy Council, an Honorary Director of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), a Member of the Advisory Board of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), a Member of the Advisory Board of the Karman Foundation and a Member of the Space Law Committee of the International Law Association. In 2022, he was presented with a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by the International Institute of Space Law, the highest accolade awarded by that institution. In addition to co-Editing the Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals book series, he also sits on the Editorial Board / Advisory Board of several internationally recognised academic journals.

Program:

Welcome drink (6.00pm – 6.30pm)

Acknowledgement of Country and introduction to Moon Day and Speaker (6.30pm – 6.40pm) – Brian Falzon

Screening of ‘Moonrise’ (6.40pm – 7.00 pm)

Lecture by invited Speaker, Emeritus Professor of International Law, Steven Freeland:

"Star Laws: A New Hope for Space Governance" (7.00-7.45pm)

Vote of thanks & Q & A (7.45pm – 8.00 pm) – Catherine Renshaw

Drinks/canapes/networking (8.00pm – 9.00pm)

Carriages (9.00pm).

We look forward to seeing you there.