THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Law : Law

Postgraduate Course: Space Law (LAWS11449)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Law CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThe course will explore the five main UN treaties relating to space (Outer Space 1967, Rescue Agreement 1968, Liability Convention 1972, Registration Agreement 1975 and Moon Agreement 1979) and their continuing relevance to recent developments in the field of space exploration and use. In addition, each seminar will address a specific development or challenge in regulating space such as the regulation of small satellites, space debris, human space flight and remote sensing.
Course description The course will be delivered in five seminars which may cover the following:

1. Sources of Space Law and the Outer Space Treaty
2. The Registration Convention and Small Satellites
3. The Liability Convention, managing space traffic and space debris
4. The Moon and Rescue Agreements - the dawn of human space flight
5. Space and Remote Sensing: military and civil applications
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2020/21, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  25
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 88 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Formative Assessment:

As a formative assessment, students will submit a 1,500-word essay that provides an outline of their summative essay. The course organiser will provide comments on the essay by the end of the course, which will guide the students in writing their summative essay.

Summative Assessment:

The course will be assessed by a summative essay of 3,000 words (100%).
Feedback Feedback on the formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The course organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.

Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.

Feedback on the summative assessment will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of the international law relating to space and the main sources of space laws, and actors at international, regional and national level engaged in its regulation.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the inter-relationship between international and national law in the field; the impact of technological developments; and how private as well as public activity in the field is now being regulated.
  3. Identify relevant legal resources and develop a critical awareness of how ethical and technological challenges are being addressed against a background of finite resources and in a field where there is scope for activities that enhance human well-being but also threaten it.
Reading List
Indicative Bibliography:

Two core texts on space law are:
Masson-Zwaan and Hofmann, Introduction to Space Law(Wolters Kluwer, 2019);
Von der Dunk and Tronchetti, Handbook of Space Law (Elgar, 2015).
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Skills and Abilities in Research and Enquiry
Students will be able to identify relevant legal resources and develop a critical awareness of how ethical and technological challenges are being addressed against a background of finite resources and in a field where there is scope for activities that enhance human well being but also threaten it.

Skills and Abilities in Communication
Students will explore key concepts and theories and, in particular, the role of international law in this area both orally in seminars and in writing on the forum.

Skills and Abilities in Personal Effectiveness
Students will be required to explain and evaluate key principles, the effectiveness of existing law and regulation and ongoing challenges through assigned readings. Clarity, focus and precision will in particular be an important. Students will take responsibility for the effectiveness of this component of the course.
KeywordsSpace,Level 11,Postgraduate,Law,Innovation,Technology
Contacts
Course organiserDr Rachael Craufurd-Smith
Tel: (0131 6)50 2061
Email: r.c.smith@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Ruth Johnston
Tel: (0131 6)50 9094
Email: Ruth.Johnston@ed.ac.uk
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