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• English

Organisation

The International Institute of Air and Space Law

The programme is offered by the International Institute of Air and Space Law of the Faculty of Law at Leiden University. The Institute was founded in 1986 and, building upon the chair created for Air Law in 1938, is one of the leading international academic research and teaching institutes in the world, specialising in legal and policy issues regarding aviation and space activities in the broadest sense of the word. The relevance and topicality of the academic work of the institute is guaranteed by an extensive exchange of information with the air transport and space industry. The Institute organises numerous courses and conferences on all aspects of aviation law, space law and policy. It forms an integral part of the Leiden Law School and co-operates with many world-class academic institutions. It maintains close contacts with national and international organisations and institutions, within and outside Europe.

Currently the academic staff of the Institute consists of:

• Professor Dr. Pablo Mendes de Leon, Director
• Tanja Masson-Zwaan, Deputy Director
• Axelle Cartier, Senior Lecturer

Rich in education, embedded in a research-driven university

Leiden University is a research-driven University and a member of the League of European Research Universities. The Institute itself is engaged in high-quality research in all its areas of teaching. Recently, all research activities of the Leiden Law School were reviewed by an international assessment committee. The Law School’s scholarly output received the highest qualification.

International Advisory Board

The programme enjoys the guidance of a prestigious International Advisory Board, chaired by Professor Laurens Jan Brinkhorst. Brinkhorst, a Leiden alumnus, has enjoyed a longstanding political career. He has held various Minister posts for the Dutch government (including Minister for Economic Affairs and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs), and served the European Commission as EU Ambassador in Japan and Director-General for the Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection. Other members of the board are:

• Michiel van der Zee, (Vice-Chairman), Slot Co-ordinator, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
• Andre Auer, CEO, Joint Aviation Authorities
• John Balfour, Senior Partner, Beaumont and Son, London
• Jeroen Fukken, Deputy Head of the Civil Aviation Department, Ministry of Transport and Public Works, The Hague
• Roderick van Dam, Head Legal Bureau, Eurocontrol, Brussels
• Jan Ernst de Groot, Vice-President International and Legal Affairs, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
• Brian Havel, Professor of Law, DePaul University, Chicago
• Jan van Heest, Transport Officer, Dutch Delegation to the European Community, Brussels
• Stephan Hobe, Professor of Air and Space Law, and Director of the Institute of Air and Space Law at the University of Cologne, Germany
• Mazlan Othman, Director, Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations, Vienna
• Carel Stolker, Dean, Faculty of Law, Leiden University
• Peter Tomka, Judge, International Court of Justice, The Hague
• George Tompkins, Partner, Schnader c.s., New York

Student Facilities

The Law School is housed in the monumental Kamerlingh Onnes Building, a fully equipped and beautifully restored landmark building in the heart of historic Leiden. From the accreditation report:
The programme is taught in Leiden (Kamerlingh Onnes Building). The building environment as well as the materials supplied for students are more than sufficient to carry out adequate study for the duration of the programme.

Libraries available for students

The Institute has an extensive library, containing both traditional and electronic sources of international air and space law, including studies on specific themes, handbooks dealing with law and policy, as well as the world’s most reputable journals. In addition, the Peace Palace in The Hague, which hosts the International Court of Justice, has one of the world’s largest collections in the field of international public and private law, national law and an impressive collection on the international political and diplomatic history and the history of peace movements. This library also houses the Grotius Collection, the collection on the eminent 17th century Dutchman Hugo de Groot, founder of international law.

Student counseling

Student counseling is an important feature of our programme. The 2007 accreditation panel:
[…] feels positive about the very personal way in which deficiencies are handled. The fact that most teachers have a great deal of international experience is expected to have a positive contribution to the way in which the students (from many different backgrounds) are counseled. All relevant information about the programme is communicated via Email and Blackboard. The panel thinks this is an adequate way to communicate with the students.

Activities

Excursions to airlines/library/airports, including for example:

• KLM
• Martin Air
• Transavia
• Peace Palace/ICJ and PCA
• Eindhoven Airport
• Schiphol Airport
• Military ATM
• Eurocontrol
• ESA/Estec, including ‘Space expo’

Graduation

Students who have successfully completed the examinations and whose thesis has been approved will be awarded the Master of Advanced Studies in Air and Space Law diploma during a graduation ceremony held at the very end of August.

Alumni

The programme was launched in September 2000, with twelve candidates graduating after the first year, in September 2001. By the present day, students from literally all over the world have obtained their LL.M. (Adv.) degree in International Air and Space Law at the Institute. Leiden University has an alumni website. New students can register and contact fellow alumni. In addition, alumni groups exist on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Programme’s network: institutional, academic and professional environment

Students of the programme will be fully embedded in the Leiden Law School. They will meet Dutch bachelor’s and master’s students on a daily basis, as well as other international students from our other international programmes. An important distinction of the programme is its proximity to relevant European and international organisations and institutions such as the EU, the International Court of Justice, the European Space Agency (ESA, ESTEC), Eurocontrol, the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) and the UN COPUOS. From its network in these and in other specialised institutions, the Institute engages guest lecturers who are experienced professionals working in industry and government. Students also frequently visit European and international organisations and institutions with a view to closely following the work done there and expanding their own personal network. In addition, the members of the International Advisory Board, some of whom teach on the programme, will be of great help to build up an international air and space law network.