Prof Christopher Newman

Professor

Department: Northumbria Law School

Christopher J. Newman, BA(Hons), PhD is Professor of Space Law and Policy at Northumbria University at Newcastle in the United Kingdom. He is active in the teaching and research of space law and has published extensively on the legal and ethical underpinnings of space governance. Christopher is regularly invited to lecture in universities and at specialist conferences on space law and policy across the UK and internationally.

Christopher graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in History with English and American Studies. After working in the Metropolitan Police, he studied at Northumbria University for his Postgraduate Diploma in Law (CPE) and his Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC) and secured a training contract in a small high street firm of Solicitors in Hartlepool. Christopher left legal practice in 2004 and joined the University of Sunderland where he obtained his PhD in Cross-Comparative Public Order Law in 2011, becoming Reader in Law in 2013.

Christopher is a member of the International Institute of Space Law and spoke at the 2017 UK Space Conference in Manchester. He was one of a panel of three judges in the final of the European round of the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot held in Glasgow in 2016. He is a member of the British Interplanetary Society and contributed to their celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty.

Christopher has also acted as a consultant on space law matters to commercial law firms and has been lead academic on a successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). He is keen to collaborate across traditional academic disciplinary boundaries having worked with closely with members of the military, ethicists, astrophysicists and space technologists.

Christopher has made numerous TV and radio appearances in the UK speaking as an expert on space law and policy issues. He has appeared on Sky News at 1 with Adam Boulton, BBC Radio 4 Today, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC World Service TV. Christopher is available for media comment on all matters in respect of space law and policy.

Campus Address

CCE1-343
Northumbria Law School, Northumbria University

NE1 8ST

Email Christopher

@chrisnewman1972

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Barriers and Gateways to Cleaning Up Earth Orbit: The Legal, Economic, and Political dimensions of Debris Remediation, Newman, C., Cheney, T. 1 Mar 2023, In: Air and Space Law
Only a paper moon: The Artemis Accords and future human settlements, Newman, C., Ralston, W. 24 Jan 2023, The Institutions of Extraterrestrial Liberty, Oxford, Oxford University Press
Space Law & Policy: The U.K. Approach to the Regulation of Space Activities, Newman, C. 23 Mar 2022, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science, Oxford, Oxford University Press
Introducing the law games: predicting legal liability and fault in satellite operations, Newman, C., Dinsley, R., Ralston, W. 1 Jun 2021, In: Advances in Space Research
Legal and Policy Dimension of UK Spaceports, Newman, C. 24 Nov 2021, Studies in Space Policy, Cham, Switzerland, Springer
Applying lessons learned from decommissioning in non-space sectors to active debris removal, Brettle, H., Newman, C., Ziadlourad, A., Riesbeck, L. 12 Oct 2020, In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC
Outlaws of the Moon? Crime and punishment for a spacefaring civilisation?, Newman, C. 12 Oct 2020, In: Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC
Planetary Protection in the New Space Era: Science and Governance, Cheney, T., Newman, C., Olsson-francis, K., Steele, S., Pearson, V., Lee, S. 13 Nov 2020, In: Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
The Space Law Games: Establishing fault in orbital operations, Newman, C., Dinsley, R., Evirgen, S. 20 May 2020, In: JBIS - Journal of the British Interplanetary Society

PGR Supervision

Thomas Cheney Sovereignty, Jurisdiction, and Property in Outer Space: Space Resources, the Outer Space Treaty, and National Legislation Start Date: 01/04/2018 End Date: 23/04/2020
Selcuk Evirgen Identifying the evidential gaps in Space through a legal lens to define what evidence can be within the legal contours of fault in outer space and how it may answers issues of liability, litigation and fault within Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) Start Date: 01/10/2019 End Date: 18/06/2023
Sara Cavagnero Supporting effective sustainability transitions in the fashion industry: from global to local governance through Intellectual Property Rights Start Date: 01/03/2020
Siobhan McConnell An exploration of the role of commercial awareness in the law student journey to graduate employment Start Date: 24/07/2023
Bethany A'Court Youth Justice and the Police: Identifying Areas for Improvement Start Date: 26/07/2021
Caroline Mantl Viewing earth from space - Legal issues, particularly data protection, in geographical information systems downstream applications using artificial intelligence Start Date: 14/09/2021 End Date: 14/06/2023
Alexandra Taylor 'Here Be Dragons: The potential research implications of criminal activity in outer space' Start Date: 01/03/2018

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