The University of Athens in Greece has announced that the team representing Europe in the final of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition, which was comprised of students from the Athens School of Law, was ranked second in the world. Additionally, Chrysi Vorloou, a member of the aforementioned team and thus a Greek law student, was named the best oralist in the world.
This year’s case addressed legal matters pertaining to the freedom of scientific research in space and collisions of space objects. Over 70 universities from around the globe participated in the competition. The first-place award was presented to the team from Singapore Management University, which had previously secured the regional victory in the Asia competition.
Members of the Greek team
This year’s Greek team was comprised of Chrysi Vorloou, Evangelos Gazis, and Regina Kourtidis, who were supervised by Georgios Kyriakopoulos, an associate professor of the law school and deputy dean. The team was assisted in its preparation by trainee attorney George Hadjicharalambous and the student Vera Palialexis, who were members of the 2022 team.
It is worth noting that the Athens School of Law team was the overall winner of the European round of the competition, held in Vienna. The Greek team was the recipient of all the competition’s awards, including the prize for the best written submissions and the prize for the best oralist, which was awarded to Chrysi Vorloou.
“Participation gives you the experience to win a trial”
“From the moment I chose the International Law course, I was fascinated. I like the field, [and] as for space law, none of us knew about it. It’s a very specialized field, but also very interesting,” Chrysi Vorloou told Kathimerini.
She added, “When I searched the school’s website, I [found out] about students participating in mock trials, and that appealed to me. By participating, you gain experience, discipline, and an understanding of the method to win a trial.”
About space law
In speaking to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, Kyriakopoulos said that space law has made great strides since its more infantile beginnings in the 1960s. This was a time when the US competed against the Soviet Union to gain the upper hand in space. The space race has continued to this day, and there are now practically countless satellites which orbit our planet Earth.
According to Kyriakopoulos, “These provide important information for mapping, telecommunications and other areas where there is a lot of commercial activity.”
The announcement of the Law School of the University of Athens
The following announcement was published on the law school’s official website:
“With this highest distinction, the Law School of the University of Athens is consistently at the highest level of this virtual trial competition (which is an extremely arduous academic process requiring exhaustive study and immersion in both public international law and space law).
This demonstrates the exceptional potential of Greek students (as the above-mentioned awards have been won by different groups of students each year), their passion for academic research and knowledge, and the particularly high comparative position they occupy among their peers around the world. It also demonstrates the depth and high quality of the academic education that Athens School of Law provides to its students.”
