Jonathan Lim
Project Co-Lead
EJ Wise
Project Co-Lead
The Jus Ad Astra Team is comprised of several research directors focused on analyzing and expanding upon the core areas of the law which exist in the intersection between human rights and outer space. This includes:
1. Economic, Social and Cultural Law
2. Environmental Law
3. Law of War/Conflict
4. Rule of Law
5. Property Law
6. Health Law
Please feel free to reach out to our advisors or subject matter experts should you have any questions.
Jonathan Lim is an Australian lawyer, geopolitical analyst, and cyber security analyst. He holds a Juris Doctor, Master of Legal Practice, Bachelor of Arts, and Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity from Monash University, the Australian National University, and RMIT. His specialization spans cyberwarfare, cyber security, Chinese foreign policy, Australian foreign policy, and international space law.
He is a Young Leader with Pacific Forum, prior East Asia Fellow with Young Australians in International Affairs, Research Advisor with Tod'Aers, Member on the Legal Council with For All Moonkind, and serves as Special Advisor to the SGAC Space & Cybersecurity Project Group.
As a space lawyer he has contributed his perspectives on space legal and policy affairs with the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Room - The Space Journal, and to the Australian government under Australia's 2020 Cyber Security Strategy.
EJ is Principal at Wise Law in Melbourne, providing specific and assured cyber law advice to law firms and legal professionals. Specialising in cyber law, privacy, technology, cyber stocktake, cyber risk assessment and cyber education.
Prior to working in private practice, EJ had 25 years legal experience in Australian Federal and State Government, specialising in cyber law, policy, advice, international law, administrative & criminal law and is an internationally recognised cyber law expert. EJ’s passion for cyber began in 1987 studying computer programming as part of an undergraduate Applied Science degree.
Having lectured on space law issues at McGill University, and with years working as in-house cyber legal counsel to the Royal Australian Air Force’s cyber squadron and the United States Air Force’s "Operational, International & Cyber Law" in the Pentagon, EJ is an internationally renowned speaker in cyber law, international space law, and the law of technology.
AJ Link studied law at The George Washington University Law School. His studies focused extensively on disability law, international human rights, and space law. AJ has been actively involved with disability advocacy in the Washington, DC area and nationally within the United States.
While at GW, he chaired the Diversity and Inclusion Assembly for the Student Association. He also founded the Atypical Student Society and currently serve as its inaugural president.
AJ was also the president of the GW Law Space Law Society. He helped form the Law School Disability Advocacy Coalition and serves on several advisory boards that focus on disability advocacy and justice.
Hugh has undertaken studies in mechanical engineering and physics, software engineering, in addition to breadth subjects in commerce.
Hugh has professional experience as an electronics technician assembling and soldering PCBs for use in mining, railway and off-road vehicle applications. He possesses several years experience working as a laboratory technician at Agribio, the Centre for AgriBioscience undertaking diagnostic tests on plant and animal samples. He currently sits on the board of advisors of a newly formed foundation working within the mental health space.
Hugh possesses a high degree of interest in space, technology, and space-technology; especially in the fields of decentralisation, open-source initiatives and futurology.
Dr Rowena Christiansen is dual-qualified in both medicine and law. She teaches in the University of Melbourne Medical School and practises as a critical care educator and pre-hospital emergency doctor.
Her diverse qualifications include an MBA and BA Honours, with post-graduate studies in aviation medicine, space studies (ISU-SHSSP16), disaster health and emergency management, paediatrics, obstetrics, and education. She is passionate about space medicine, and in early 2020 founded the “ad astra vita” project and space health consultancy.
Rowena holds a number of pro bono senior positions within space and aerospace associations and other community organisations. She is a strong human rights advocate, particularly in the area of public health.
Lauren received a Bachelor of Arts in history and art history from Whitman College, and a Master of Science in education from Johns Hopkins University. She studied law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law. Her studies have focused on space policy and international law.
Lauren is currently completing a Master of Arts in history with a focus on US space policy and an LLM in air and space law from the University of Mississippi, as well as a certificate in Russian language.
Andrew is a Canadian Barrister and Solicitor, Australian Lawyer and Australian Registered Migration Agent. His research focus is the forthcoming intersection of international migration law and international space law governing the future human settlement of outer space. His recent publication, 'Freedom of Movement in Outer Space as an Individual Human Right', can be found in volume 42 of the Annals of Air and Space Law.
He has completed a Master of Research from Macquarie University examining the Outer Space Treaty from an international migration law perspective, as well as the Strategic Space Law Program at McGill University. In addition to his Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne, he also holds two Master of Laws degrees and Graduate Certificates in both Migration Law and Space Studies.
As an alumnus of the International Space University's (ISU) Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program (SHSSP), Andrew has served as academic staff on multiple ISU programs. These include as Associate Chair (SSP19 Strasbourg, SHSSP18 Adelaide) and as a Teaching Associate (SSP17 Cork).
Cristian van Eijk is an international lawyer based in the United Kingdom. He holds a BA cum laude in International Justice and an LLM from Leiden University, and is in the final stages of a graduate entry BA in Law from the University of Cambridge.
Cristian considers himself a generalist international lawyer interested in space, and has worked previously at the T.M.C. Asser Institute and the International Commission on Missing Persons on issues like the legal governance of history, enforced disappearances, and EU anti-discrimination law. He is currently interested in Global South histories of space and environmental rights in orbit.
Justin Diamond studies international affairs, economics, and philosophy at the George Washington University.
As an undergraduate student, Justin has prepared for a future in the field of international law, and takes a particular interest in the jurisprudence of space.
Justin hopes to contribute to mankind by laying the legal groundwork for positive human development in Outer Space.
Perpetua has over eight years of experience in Kenya and South Africa, where she worked on a variety of issues such as human rights, rule of law, elections, transitional justice, international criminal justice, governance and accountability. Her work included research and monitoring of electoral integrity as well as coordinating the pursuit of electoral justice. She also engaged in advocacy for the adoption and implementation of a legal framework for reparations for victims of human rights and historical injustice in Kenya.
Perpetua holds a Bachelor of Arts(BA) in Political Science and International Relations from Rhodes University and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from University of South Africa. She is currently pursuing a Master of Laws (LLM) specialising in Human Rights, Conflict and Justice at SOAS University of London.
Perpetua has an interest in bringing Global South perspectives to the development of International Human Rights Law in key areas of International Law, specifically, Space Law and Cyber Law.
Dr. Heather Allansdottir is a Faculty Member of the Law and Social Sciences Department at Bifröst University and a researcher of constitutional law and human rights law. She has a doctorate from Oxford University in comparative constitutional law and an MA in human rights law from the University of Bologna and University of Sarajevo.
She has worked as a journalist and a researcher of human rights in the Balkans, former Soviet Union, Middle East and Australia. She published a book on freedom of expression in 2013 and her books on polar law, and comparative constitutional law, are both forthcoming
Gnanavi Gummadi earned her degree in BA LLB from Jindal Global Law School in 2021. She has worked as a Teaching Assistant and a Research Assistant for various professors on Outer Space Law issues, with a special focus on earth applications of space technology and benefit-sharing. She is, currently, researching the intersection of TWAIL and Space law with respect to India and China.
Her interests lie in studying and writing on the intersection of critical theory and space law. Through her research, she hopes to make outer space accessible for all humankind.
