Law Professor to Speak on Space Law at International Conference in China

OXFORD, Miss. – A University of Mississippi expert in space law is an invited distinguished speaker at the International Conference on Air Transport and Space Activities, set for Sunday through Wednesday (June 24-27) in Beijing.

Joanne Gabrynowicz, law research professor and director of the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law at the UM law school, plans to discuss United States laws on commercial remote sensing. This area of space law deals with declassified satellite technology from private companies that provide images, data and information on a commercial basis.

“Technology continues to develop and evolve,” Gabrynowicz said. “The law regarding the technology doesn’t always keep up with it.”

Hosted by the Institute of Air and Space Law, Faculty of International Law and the China University of Political Science and Law, the conference has as its goal the promotion of teaching and researching international space law in Asia, specifically in China.

“These conferences allow nations to learn from one another about what the law has addressed in the past, what worked and what didn’t,” Gabrynowicz said.

Gabrynowicz added that she feels “honored and excited” to beable to share her knowledge with Chinese space professionals.

She is often called on to share her expertise at home as the U.S. works to create a space power theory. She recently spoke at a gathering of the Army Space Professionals Association relating some conceptual foundations for creating such a theory.

For more information about the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law at the UM law school, visit http://www.law.olemiss.edu/programs/space_law_center.html.