ESA/ECSL Practitioners' Forum

The 2026 Practitioners' Forum

The 2026 edition of the ESA/ECSL Practitioners’ Forum aims to examine the growing prominence of technical standards in the governance of outer space and to consider how such developments may be understood within the broader framework of public international law, and international space law more specifically. As binding multilateral treaty-making in this field has largely stalled, technical standards have assumed increasing practical relevance in shaping operational practices, regulatory approaches, and institutional coordination.

By bringing together participants from diverse disciplinary perspectives, the 2026 edition seeks to foster a dialogue between legal and technical communities. It will explore both the current operational realities in which standards are applied and the broader institutional dynamics through which they are developed and integrated into governance frameworks.

Programme overview

• Welcome and opening remarks
• Keynote address: Normativity beyond treaties? - Professor Alain Pellet

The keynote address is intended to engage with the notion of "normativity beyond treaties", addressing contemporary debates on soft law and other non-legally binding instruments, and to situate these within the traditional architecture of public international law, its sources, authority, and how it sets legal obligations. The address would provide an orientation for the discussions that will follow, considering how evolving forms of coordination, expertise, and standard-setting may be understood in relation to the classical structure of public international law.

• Panel I: Technical standards in congested orbits: Operational coordination and legal implications

This panel will explore how technical standards structure operational coordination and increasingly intersect with legal frameworks. Using orbital congestion and collision avoidance as a concrete context, it will explore how standards might move from practical tools of coordination to reference points in law, for example within licensing, supervision, and legal interpretation.

• Panel II: Between expertise and authority: Technical standards and the shaping of space governance

This panel will explore how technical standards are developed, by whom, and with what implications for governance in outer space. It will examine the interaction between expert communities, industry actors, and public authorities in shaping standards that increasingly structure space activities. Moving beyond operational application, the discussion will consider how standard-setting processes influence regulatory approaches and the broader architecture of space governance.

• Concluding reflections
• Networking cocktail

What is the Practitioners' Forum

The ECSL has been organising an annual Practitioners’ Forum since 1992. The Forum is designed to give professionals working in all areas of the space sector an opportunity to network and exchange views on current legal and policy issues relevant to the industry.

During the Forum, experts present the latest developments affecting the space sector, such as EU law, contracts and procurement, telecommunications, liability, and insurance. Each presentation is followed by a Q&A session and an open discussion.

The Forum encourages open and free exchange. Participants speak in their personal capacity under the Chatham House Rules, meaning comments may be used, but not attributed to the individual who made them. In general, papers, presentations, and statements are neither collected nor published.

Examples of Previous Practitioners’ Forum

17 October 2023: tackling emerging problems in the space sector: the domino effect of non-legally binding instruments (ESA, ESTEC Netherlands)

19 September 2022: the role of law and policy in fostering a sustainable space sector (IAC, Paris, France)

14 October 2021: Future Satellite Applications: legal and regulatory aspects (online)

25 April 2019: The Moon Village Concept: Practical, Business and Legal Challenges (ESA ESTEC, Netherlands)

23 March 2018: Cyber Issues in Space: Legal Tools (ESA HQ, Paris)

17 March 2017: The Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Mega-Constellations  (ESA HQ, Paris)

18 March 2016: Exploitation of Natural Resources in Outer Space (ESA HQ, Paris)

27 March 2015: Space Governance in Europe: Regulation of Space Activities (ESA HQ, Paris) 

14 March 2014: Recent Developments in Export Control Regulations on Space Technology (ESA HQ, Paris)

15 March 2013: The Registration of Satellites –Legal Aspects and Practice (ESA HQ, Paris)

16 March 2012: Insurance of Satellite Activities from the Cradle to the Grave – Legal Aspects (ESA HQ, Paris)

18 March 2011: Manned Spaceflight Safety Issues: Legal & Policy Aspects (ESA HQ, Paris)

19 March 2010: Galileo: Current Legal Issues (ESA HQ, Paris)

15 December 2008: National space legislation in Europe - Issues of authorisation in the light of developments in European space cooperation (ESA HQ, Paris)

27 April 2007: Recent developments within the European space industry: legal aspects (ESA HQ, Paris)

17 March 2006: Space Tourism – Legal and Policy Aspects (ESA HQ, Paris)

4 March 2005: New Developments in the Field of (Satellite) Telecommunications (ESA HQ, Paris)

12 March 2004: New Issues in Earth Observation and Data Policy (ESA HQ, Paris)