The Co-Editors of the McGill Manual have the ultimate responsibility for directing the drafting of the Rules and Commentaries and the compilation of the Rules and Commentaries into the final text of the Manual. The Co-Editors chair and lead the Editorial Committee, and together have the final say on the text of the Manual through consensus.
The Co-Editors of the Manual are:
- Dr. Ram Jakhu (Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, Canada)
- Prof. Steven Freeland (Western Sydney University, Australia)
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The Managing Editor of the Manual is:
- Mr. Kuan-Wei Chen (Ï㽶ÊÓƵ)
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Ram Jakhu
Dr. Ram Jakhu holds a tenured position of Full Professor at the Institute of Air and Space Law, Faculty of Law, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. He is also the Director of the Institute of Air and Space Law and of the Centre for Research in Air and Space Law of Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. He teaches and conducts research in international space law, law of space applications, law of space commercialization, space safety and security, national regulation of space activities, law of telecommunications, and public international law.
He has taught Space Law and Policy in several countries; made presentations to the United Nations Committee of Peaceful Uses of Outer Space; participated in the drafting of Space Law Curriculum for the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs; advised several countries in the preparation of national laws and policies, including National Space Law and Policy for South Africa and India; convened and participated numerous international interdisciplinary space law and policy related conferences and workshops around the world; and currently heads a multi-million dollars research and outreach program for space law and policy.
Professor Jakhu is a Member of the Global Agenda Council on Space of the World Economic Forum; the Governance Group of the Space Security Index; and Fellow as well as the Chairman of the Legal and Regulatory Committee of the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety. He is Managing Editor of the Space Regulatory Series, member of the Editorial Boards of Space and Evolution, Annals of Air & Space Law, Astropolitics, and German Journal of Air & Space Law. He has co-authored two books, over 80 articles and 20 research reports and edited 6 books.
He was member of the Advisor Group of Legal Experts on Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Outer Space within the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and the Board of Directors of International Institute of Space Law for 14 years. In 2007, he received a "Distinguished Service Award" from the International Institute of Space Law for significant contribution to the development of space law.
Ram Jakhu holds Doctor of Civil Law (Dean's Honors List) and Master of Law (LL.M.) degrees from Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, Canada as well as LL.M., LL.B., and B.A. degrees from Panjab University, India.
Steven Freeland
Steven Freeland is Emeritus Professor of International Law at Western Sydney University, where he was previously the Dean of the School of Law, and Professorial Fellow at Bond University. He also holds Visiting or Adjunct positions at various other Universities/Institutes in Copenhagen, Vienna, Toulouse, Hong Kong, Montreal, Kuala Lumpur, Vancouver, Mumbai and London.
Prior to becoming an academic, he had a 20-year career as an international commercial lawyer and an investment banker. He is a government-appointed Member of the Australian Space Agency Advisory Board and has been an advisor to the Australian, New Zealand, Norwegian and several other Governments on issues relating to national space legislative frameworks and policy. He represents the Australian Government at Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) meetings and, in June 2021, was appointed by UNCOPUOS as Vice-Chair of a 5-year ‘Working Group on Legal Aspects of Space Resource Activities’. He has also been a Visiting Professional within the Appeals Chamber at the International Criminal Court, and a Special Advisor to the Danish Foreign Ministry in matters related to the International Criminal Court.
He is a co-Principal of specialised space law firm Azimuth Advisory and is also a Director of the International Institute of Space Law, a Member of the Space Law Committee of the International Law Association and a Member of the Space Law and War Crimes Committees of the International Bar Association. In addition to co-Editing the Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals book series, he also sits on the Editorial Board / Advisory Board of several internationally recognised academic journals.
Kuan-Wei Chen
Kuan-Wei (David) is the Managing Editor of the McGill Manual. He was formerly the Executive Director of the McGill Centre for Research in Air and Space Law (2017-2022), the Editor of the (2012-2015), and a Sessional Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. He served as the Co-Chair of Canada’s Ad-Hoc Remote Sensing Space Systems Act Advisory Committee, and has been an invited speaker at various international workshops and conferences, including ones organised by United Nations.
He holds an undergraduate degree in Law and Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, an LLM (cum laude) in Public International Law from Leiden University and an LLM in Air and Space Law from the Institute of Air and Space Law of Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. He is currently the recipient of an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship and pursuing a PhD in Space Law and Human Rights at Bond University.