Prof Dr Frans von der Dunk

Professor Dr. Frans G. von der Dunk holds the Harvey and Susan Perlman Alumni / Othmer Chair of Space Law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s LL.M. Programme on Space and Telecommunication Law since January 2008. He also is Director of Black Holes BV, Consultancy in space law and policy, based in Leiden.

Von der Dunk was awarded the Distinguished Service Award of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) in Vancouver, in October 2004, the Social Science Award of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) in Valencia, in October 2006 and the Social Science Book Award of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) in Jerusalem, in October 2015. He was a signatory, together with various Nobel Prize winners, dozens of astronauts and cosmonauts and other luminaries from the global science and entertainment community, of the ‘Asteroid 100x Declaration’, December 2014.

Following his studies in Modern History and International Law he defended his dissertation on “Private Enterprise and Public Interest in the European ‘Spacescape’” in 1998, published the first comprehensive Handbook on Space Law, with a foreword by Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, in 2015, and Advanced Introduction to Space Law in 2020. As of 2006, he is the Series Editor of ‘Studies in Space Law’, published by Brill.

Von der Dunk has written more than 200 articles and published papers, many of which can be accessed here, giving rise to hundreds of full-text downloads monthly. He has given more than 400 presentations at international meetings and was visiting professor at over 50 universities and other academic institutions across the world on subjects of international and national space law and policy, international air law and public international law. He has (co-)organised some 20 international symposia, workshops and other events, and has been (co-)editor of a number of publications and proceedings.

Von der Dunk has acted as legal advisor or legal task manager in more than 150 projects, advising various government agencies and international organizations as well as a number of non-governmental organizations and industrial stakeholders on matters of space law and policy, including major space applications such as satellite navigation, remote sensing and private commercial spaceflight.

Articles of War Posts