Countries around the world are keen on promoting innovation to achieve sustainable human development. In this context, they compete to benefit from space exploration. Currently, the space contains thousands of satellites of which 700 satellites are owned by sixty countries.

However, the States active in space exploration do not exceed thirty.

Space law has been a subject of debate since the entry into force of the United Nations Outer Space Treaty in 1967, which 107 States have already joined, to which 103 States have joined and which was followed by four United Nations conventions between 1968 and 1979. There are also a number of international organizations dealing with space laws, such as the International Telecommunications Union, in addition to a number of regional organizations, such as the European Center for Space Law.  Although a large number of laws, law proposals and non-binding instruments exist, States still need to enforce and harmonize the laws of space.

Space laws are of special nature because they are multifaceted: they touch upon issues of political, military, civil, environmental and commercial nature. Space laws are also related to other fields of law, such as: public international law, law of the sea, maritime law and air law, and communications laws.

Despite the sovereign aspect of space laws, the private sector and companies have expressed their desire to explore the space and take advantage of its available commercial opportunities, especially with respect to satellites, although their activities are governed by national laws.

Based on those considerations, and since the Government of the United Arab Emirates places significant attention on its space programs, based on a long-term vision for undertaking various activities in outer space, the UAEU College of Law has devoted its twenty-sixth Annual International Conference to this subject. The primary goal of the Conference is to discuss the legal system that governs space activities, at both the national and international law levels, and to tackle the legal issues arising from these activities.