Will enhance laws and policies that promote peaceful uses of outer space

The rapid growth of the private space industry has increased the demand for lawyers trained in the complex international and domestic aspects of space law and policy. Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law is at the cutting edge of this growing field and is expanding its space policy initiatives through the creation of the Global Space Law Center. It is the first law school research center in the United States dedicated exclusively to the study of the law of outer space.

The Center will seek to train the next generation of space lawyers, to promote the development of laws and policies that promote the peaceful use of outer space, and to facilitate the growth of the commercial space industry.

C|M|LAW Professor Mark J. Sundahl will serve as director of the Global Space Law Center. Sundahl, the Charles R. Emrick Jr.- Calfee, Halter & Griswold Professor of Law, is an international expert on space law and currently serves as chair of the International Space Policy Working Group of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Committee. He is also an advisor to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and previously served as the assistant executive secretary of the International Institute of Space Law.

“Professor Sundahl is one of the premier experts on space law in the country and there is no one better equipped to develop the Global Space Law Center and prepare students in this rapidly growing field,” said C|M|LAW Dean Lee Fisher.

The Center will partner with domestic and international organizations to develop internship and employment opportunities for students and graduates of the Center.

“The creation of this Center reflects the determination of C|M|LAW to find opportunities for its students as business and industry evolves,” according to Sundahl. “The space industry is undergoing a drastic transformation with the development of reusable rockets and other new technologies that will reduce the cost of accessing space and, in turn, spur the growth of new companies. C|M|LAW is determined to open these opportunities to our students through education and experiences in the field.”

The Center will launch its first course, Space Law: A Global View, this summer. The three-hour online course will be open to C|M|LAW students as well as law students, practitioners and space industry executives around the world. The course will be taught by Professor Sundahl and will feature guest lectures and interviews with thought leaders from government and the space industry. Details on enrollment in the course will be available this spring.

GSLC is also creating an online space law research guide, establishing a research council with the goal of positively influencing the development of space law and establishing a weekly blog that will become a must-read for current issues in the field.

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