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34 Proc. on L. Outer Space 187 (1991)
Space Law in Military Academics in North America

handle is hein.space/pininsl0034 and id is 203 raw text is: SPACE LAW IN MILITARY ACADEMIES IN NORTH AMERICA Dr. Louis Haeck* Military lecturer at the Department of Strategic Studies Royal Military College of Saint-Jean Province of Quebec, Canada Abstract In this essay, Major Haeck, a Canadian officer, describes the typical choice of education for an officer on a military or civilian campus. He explains the small difference in the teaching staff between the United States of America and Canada. He insists on the officer cadets study- ing at the undergraduate level in military academies. He then stresses the benefit of space education in NORAD and underlines the success of their space wing crew in the recent Middle East conflict where the allied forces utilized avail- able space technology. He congratulates the leadership of military lawyers of the USAF (JAG) to promote space law. Further on he analyses the space law courses available in Canadian Military Colleges with a multi-disciplinary approach as being part of a strategic studies or space science programme. He stipulates the vital importance of a clear national space policy for any military operations in outer space and suggests that a an optional course in space law (minimum 45 hours) be offered to interested officers in the Univ- ersity curriculum. Finally he hopes that NATO forces will publish a common manual for their officers on space law and concludes with a note of eternity by a prayer for peace in space. Five years ago in the neutral country of Austria, the International Institute of Space Law held its 29th Annual meeting in Innsbruck from October 4 to October 11, 1986. In the Proceedings of the twenty-ninth Colloq- uium on the Law of Outer Space published by The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics you can read many scholarly articles on space law teaching and the history of space law. The authors are jurists from the North and South. Some lawyers are from member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and others from the old Warsaw Pact countries, while still others are legal experts from the Third World or are international public servants. From that 1986 Colloquium you can find several excellent articles; in three of the four sessions are articles from military officers on space law. Typical university teachers and students in space law are civilians working on public or private campuses open to the general public. My topic is space law in military academies in North America. *Member of IISL and Senior Researcher at the McGill University Centre of Air and Space Law. This paper is strictly my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of National Defence. Copyrighte 1991 by L. Haeck. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission. 187 However, in many countries you will find some students in space law and professors who must be in uniform while on duty in their university. On a military campus these students are most often officer cadets of the armed forces. Their teachers could only be military scholars as at the United States Air Force Academy and West Point or as in the three Royal Military Colleges in Canada, a mix of post-graduate scholars both in civilian clothes and military uniform, acting as professors. (1). One thing common to these military academies or de facto military universities is the dedication of the academic staff and the excellent facilities. The high caliber in the selection of officers for these campuses is guaranteed by a national competition among the best. Most of the academic staff has post graduate studies and extensive experience in research. They are selected carefully to continue the high instruction standards required to form the future elite of the officer corps of their respective country. Most generals or admirals are chosen from these military universities. The officer cadets to be accepted must pass a rigorous series of examinations and tests. (2) It is a very challenging national competitTon among the interested graduates of all the High Schools of the country (private and public). Many students would like to attend these military academies but each campus can only accept a very limited number of officer cadets. In the United States each branch of the service, the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard have their own academy. While in Canada, irrespective of which branch of the military service you will serve, you can attend any one of our three military academies offering different academic specialisation to our officers. I choose to limit my remarks to the undergraduate levels only where space law is one popular subject among topics that an officer cadet can choose in his academic curriculum. Our senior officers (above the rank of Major) can also receive some further limited space law education at various military institutions for their post graduate military qualification. However, if they wish to obtain a university law degree with a specialisation in space law they will have to attend a civilian university.

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