Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition

Pre-registration (now open until 14 December 2025, 23.59 CET)

Teams wishing to participate in the MLMC 2026 European Rounds can pre-register by completing the following form here.

Pre-registration is intended to estimate the approximate number of participating teams and does not constitute a firm commitment to participate. The deadline for pre-registration is 14 December 2025 23.59 CET. 

Registration and submission of memorials (now open until 20 February 2026, 23.59 CET)

In order to confirm your registration for the competition, please complete the following steps by 20 February 2026, 23.59 CET:

1)      Register online using the following form here (when all documents are ready and even if you did a pre-registration).

2)      Fill out the IISL License (also found at the bottom of the page). 

3)      Submit the registration fee of 200 Euros to the ECSL bank account in accordance with the instructions listed below and on the registration form.

4)      Obtain a proof of payment by your bank (a screenshot will suffice).

5)      Send your registration form, the IISL licence and proof of payment in PDF format to ecsl@esa.int by 20 February 2026 23.59 CET. 

Each team must have one faculty advisor. In addition, a team may have one assistant advisor. Only team members will be allowed to participate in the competition, attend social events, and observe the closed pleadings for their team.

Registration fee

The 200 Euro (TWO HUNDRED EURO) registration fee per team can be made to the ECSL via bank transfer.

Please mark your transfer with the name of the team member making the payment, and university name. For example: First name Last name – University of XXX.

Extensions or exemptions for fee payment may be granted, but any request for an extension must be submitted and approved via email before the registration deadline of 20 February 2026. Please send an email to ecsl@esa.int at your earliest convenience and voice your request.

Submission of Written Memorials for Regional Rounds 

Please send your memorials as outlined in the IISL rules to ecsl@esa.int along with the AI Disclosure Form (PDF format only) as outlined in the IISL AI Policy, before the 20 February 2026 23.59 CET:

• Teams are informed that hard copies of their memorials will not be accepted.
• Send both PDF and Word format otherwise a penalty will be applied.
• Files must be named as follows: TEAMNUMBER_APPLICANT_MOOT_COURT for the Applicant and TEAMNUMBER_RESPONDENT_MOOT_COURT for the Respondent.  
• When submitting your memorials, please ensure they are anonymised, including removing any author information from the file properties.

For a summary of the registration procedure and ECSL bank details, please refer to the document here: Rules on Registration.

You can also consult our FAQ by clicking here or on the link at the bottom of the page. 

The 2026 MLMC European Rounds: Host and Case

The ECSL is happy to announce the location and dates of the 2026 European Rounds of the MLMC:

Location: Faculty of Law and Administration of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland

Date: 8-10 April 2026

Case: click here. 
Summary of facts: click here.
For more information on previous editions: click here & resources: click here. 

Timeline for the 2026 European Rounds

Please note that requests for clarifications are optional for all teams. They provide an opportunity to ask the problem authors questions related to the case. The authors may choose not to answer. All questions from all MLMC regions (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America) will be anonymised, and both questions and answers will be publicly shared by IISL.

You can submit your requests for clarification (max. 2 per team) per email to ecsl@esa.int.

If you have any questions regarding the competition please refer to the FAQ found here and at the bottom of the page. If you still have a question regarding the Moot court you can contact the ECSL Executive Office at ecsl@esa.int

IISL and ECSL Rules and Policies

We remind all teams to carefully read both sets of rules applicable to the European Rounds:

• IISL Official Rules (Updated 2022)
• European Supplemental Rules (Updated 2025)

Please note that Article 3(1) and 3(2) of the MLMC Official Rules issued by IISL were changed in 2022 as follows:

“(1) The Competition is open to teams composed of students enrolled in law schools, law faculties or law departments. In addition, the Competition is open to teams composed of students enrolled in schools other than law where it can be demonstrated in writing to the Regional Organizer concerned, if requested, that space law or public international law forms a part of the teaching program. The Competition is open only to teams from educational institutions such as universities and law schools offering a degree such as an LL.B, LL.M, J.D. or equivalent degree, in law or in a field related to space or public international law. The Competition is not open to teams from professional or educational organizations or institutions that do not offer such degrees. All determinations on eligibility are in the discretion of the Regional Organizer.

(2) The teams shall consist of no less than two (2) and no more than three (3) students who are registered students within six (6) months prior to the date of their relevant Regional Rounds. Students eligible to compete include, but are not limited to, candidates for an LL.B, LL.M, J.D. or equivalent degree, but shall exclude S.J.D., Ph.D. or equivalent degree students, and students who received their first law degree, whether an LL.B, LL.M, J.D. or equivalent degree, five or more years prior to January 1 of the competition year. Faculty Advisors should seek fairness in team composition and evaluate each eligible team applicant to ensure they have not engaged in activities that would give the student an undue advantage in the competition over other students; questions should be directed to the applicable Regional Organizer.”

Please note that Art 2.3 of the European Supplemental Rules has been changed in 2022 as follows: 

"2.3 The submission of hard copies of printed memorials to the Regional Organizer is neither required nor allowed. Teams are requested to submit their memorials electronically in line with the Official Rules Art. 5."

Please also note that the IISL released in 2025 an AI Policy: 

• IISL AI Policy (Released 2025)

Resources

When working on your memorials, consult the works of previous finalists in the competition by clicking here. As a registered team, you will also receive access to the IISL Proceedings, a collection of volumes depicting decades of space law research and academic articles. 

European Regional Rounds of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court facts

• The Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition (MLMC) was establishhed in 1992 by H.E. Manfred Lachs, a former judge and president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
• The MLMC provides students with an opportunity to engage with and delve into public international law and the law of outer space. It is the most prestigious moot of its kind.
• Participants will compete against teams from across Europe, and the annual European champion will compete against other regional champions in the World Rounds. The European regional champions' travel, accommodation and IAC registration will be sponsored by ECSL.
• The student awarded best oralist in the European Rounds will be awarded a unique prize. In previous years, the best oralist was awarded with an internship at the Legal Services Department of the European Space Agency (ESA).
• Competing in the moot will boost employability, expose the students to a professional network of international lawyers and improve their advocacy skills.
• Former European champions have come from many countries including Luxembourg, Greece, Germany, Slovenia, Belarus, Austria, United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands.
• Finalists of the World Rounds will have an opportunity to moot in front of a bench comprised of three sitting judges of the ICJ. Former judges include: H.E. Peter Tomka (former president of the ICJ), H.E. Kirill Gevorgian, H.E. Joan Donoghue (current president of the ICJ), H.E. Hanqin Xue (former vice-president of the ICJ), H.E. James Crawford, H.E. Georg Nolte, H.E. Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant, and H.E. Yuji Iwasawa.

Watch a video from the Spacecourt Foundation in which Professor Steven Freeland, Chair of the Moot Court Committee, introduces the competition - Here. 

30 year anniversary - Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition

Judge Manfred Lachs (Poland), Judge Stephen Schwebel (United States), Judge Gilbert Guillaume (France) and Milton Smith, founder of the moot court competition, at its first edition in 1992
Access the video

Reports of previous editions of the European Rounds of the MLMC

The most recent European Rounds have taken place in:

2025: European Space Agency HQ, Paris, France

2024: University of Vienna, Austria

2023: University of Jaén, Spain

2022: Virtual Rounds, ECSL & University of Vienna, Austria

2021: Virtual Rounds, ECSL

2020: Virtual Rounds, ECSL & University of Vienna, Austria

2019: University of Paris-Sud, Paris, France 

2018: NOVA Law School, Lisbon, Portugal 

2017: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

2016: University of Strathclyde Law School, UK

2015: Belgrade Union University, Serbia

2014: University of Wroclaw, Poland

2013: Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

2012: University of Bucharest, Romania

2011: State University of St. Petersburg, Russia

2010: University of Szechenyi Istvan, Hungary

2009: Faculty of Law of the University of Athens, Greece