At the occasion of the celebration of its 50th anniversary at the International Astronautical Congress in Prague, the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) presented several awards to distinguished members of the space law community during the Annual IISL Dinner on 30 September 2010.

Firstly, Prof. V. Kopal (Czech Republic) received the IISL Lifetime Achievement Award. Prof. Kopal has a long and outstanding career in space law amongst others as Chief of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, Chairman of the Legal Subcommittee of COPUOS and General Counsel for IAF and IAA. In addition, he has taught space law for many years first at the Charles University of Prague, then at the University of Plzen. Prof. Kopal also is a longstanding Director and Vice-President of the Institute, and has published widely on many issues of space law.

Secondly, Dr S. Ospina (Colombia, United States) was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for her many contributions to the work of IISL, including the UN Highlights in Space Reports and the Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition. Dr Ospina is also a Director of the Institute, and a well-known author of many articles in the field.

Thirdly, Dr J.M. Contant (France) received the Certificate of Appreciation. Dr Contant serves as Secretary-General of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), and in that capacity has contributed greatly to the successful cooperation of IAA and IISL as implemented in particular through a number of joint IAA/IISL conferences and the IAA/IISL Scientific /Legal Roundtables at the annual International Astronautical Congresses. Dr Contant also guided and supported UN recognition of the IISL as UNCOPUOS observer.

Finally, the Dr I.H.Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor Award for the best paper by a young author paper at the IISL Colloquium was awarded to Mr Philip De Man (University of Leuven, Belgium), for his paper entitled "The Commercial Exploitation of Outer Space and Celestial Bodies - A Functional Solution to the Natural Resource Challenge".

More information about IISL can be obtained by visiting the IISL website at http://www.iislweb.org/.