The Netherlands

The Dutch NPOC of ECSL was established with the International Institute of Air and Space Law at Leiden University in the course of 1990.

The Co-Director of the Institute, Mr. F.G. von der Dunk, functioned as Coordinator. For further reference, see ECSL Biennial Report 1989-91 (page 6) and ECSL Biennial Report 1991-93 (pages 19-20).

The Dutch NPOC was established in a low-key fashion, since there were already a number of Dutch institutions involved in the study of space law. It basically consists of three pillars:

• The first pillar consists of the regularly updated mailing list of the Dutch NPOC members, which are either Dutch nationals or non-Dutch nationals working in the Netherlands. They comprise academics as well as practitioners in the field of space activities, whether from industry, government, service providers or related entities, or from law firms. At present, the number of Dutch NPOC members is 45. In consequence of a decision taken at the Annual Meeting in January 1994, these members pay a small fee of 10 Dfl per year.

• The second pillar consists of the General Meetings, which take place annually in January or February. At the General Meetings a guest lecture is presented on a topical subject of space law or space activities, followed by discussions; an update is provided of current and prospective activities within ECSL, NPOC or other relevant bodies; and drinks are offered by the Leiden Institute and Faculty of Law. The minutes of the Meetings are sent to the members.

• The third pillar consists of regular Workshops, usually organised in close cooperation with the ECSL Secretary, and taking place at the ESTEC facilities in Noordwijk. The Workshops are open not only to Dutch NPOC or other ECSL members, but basically to all interested persons. Participation is free. Generally some 30 to 40 persons participate in these Workshops. The Proceedings of the Workshop are usually published, once more in close cooperation between the Coordinator of the Dutch NPOC and the Secretary of ECSL.

From Autumn 1994, a Newsletter is issued at irregular intervals, giving information on the Dutch NPOC's, ECSL's and other NPOC's activities and other events of interest. An update is also provided on activities of the Institute, such as availability of copies of presentations made at conferences attended by the Coordinator, exchange of E-mail addresses, and availability of a summary 'Index of Launches and Launched Space Objects', in print as well as on floppy disk, courtesy of the US-edited Spacewarn Bulletin.

For activities prior to 1993, see previous ECSL Biennial Reports.

1993
The Third General Meeting took place on 15 January during which Mr. F. Lijnkamp, then of PTT Telecom, made an interesting exposé on 'The Liberalisation of Telecommunications Markets in Europe'. with special emphasis on the Dutch situation and special regard to the practical consequences of the European Community's relevant measures.

On 26 March the Second Dutch NPOC/ECSL Workshop took place at ESTEC, Noordwijk, on 'New Opportunities for Cooperation in European Space Activities'. Main issues in this respect were the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, and the increasing role of the European Community in space activities in general. The topicality of the theme was especially illustrated by the presentation of Mr. T. Beer, who had just returned from Russia where he had negotiated on behalf of ESA on cooperation projects. The Workshop Proceedings have been published.

1994
The year started off with the Fourth General Meeting, held on 21 January. Guest speaker was Mr. S. Kahn, of ESTEC's Contracts Department, who spoke on the issue of public procurement as it pertained to space-related activities, especially industrial ones within Europe. The Meeting ended with an interesting discussion on ESA procurement practice.

The Third Dutch NPOC/ECSL Workshop was held on 15 April, again at ESTEC. The theme was 'Recent Developments in the Field of Protection and Distribution of Remote Sensing Data', with particular emphasis on Europe.

Under the chairmanship of Professor P. Malanczuk of Amsterdam, the topic was discussed from various angles, for instance that of the European Space Agency by Mr. M. Ferrazzani, or that of the developing countries by Prof. J.L. van Genderen of ITC.

1995
The Fifth General Meeting took place on 3 February. It was preceded by a double presentation: Mr. G. Freriks, Managing Director of INTRAX, talked on practical problems encountered by his company in providing uplink and downlink facilities with communication satellites on an instant basis, whereas Prof. Malanczuk provided the background to these practical problems by briefly analysing the current state of the European Union's legislation on the matter.

The Fourth Dutch/ECSL Workshop, to be organised in cooperation with ECSL, is scheduled for end November/early December 1995. Its preliminary theme is National Space Legislation and/or Regulation, with special emphasis on the need and desirability for such legal regulation from the private enterprise's point of view.

Finally, since it has been decided that the Fifth ECSL Basic Course on Space Law and Policy will be organised in Leiden in August 1996, the Dutch NPOC envisages to use this opportunity to generate further interest within the Dutch space community on the particular issues of space law.

Address:
Mr. F.G. von der Dunk
Dutch NPOC Coordinator
c/o International Institute of Air and Space Law Faculty of Law
Leiden University
P.O. Box 9520
2300 RA Leiden
The Netherlands

Tel: (31) 71-277.724/25
Fax: (31) 71-277.600
Q-mail address: vonderdu
E-mail address: jflrfd@ruljur.leidenuniv.nl.