CYIL 2014

MAHULENA HOFMANN CYIL 5 ȍ2014Ȏ International Council of Environmental Law, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and many other national and international bodies. Notwithstanding his main interest in the law of outer space, Professor Kopal also participated in the codification of the law of the sea in the framework of the United Nations. In this field, he concentrated mostly on the regime of the deep sea, as a space – similar to outer space – not subordinated to any State sovereignty. This area was the subject of his qualification thesis for obtaining the academic title DrSc. ( Doctor Scientiarum ) – “Problems of the New Codification of the Law of Sea with Regard to the Interests of Land-Locked States”, which appeared in the publishing house Academia in 1983. However, the publications of Vladimír Kopal started from studies devoted to the general questions of public international law: In 1957, he published a study “The Question of Revision of the UN Charter”, which received a prize of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Later followed the publication “The Question of UN Armed Forces”. In the 1980s he published in Czech and in Russian the book “International Law in the Service of Peace and of Cooperation of States”, followed by the already mentioned study on the issues of the law of the sea. With his long-time Dutch colleague, Isabella Diederiks-Verschoor, he wrote a favorite, “An introduction to Space Law”, which was published in 2008 by Kluwer. Definite structures, strict logic and a clear overview also characterized his pedagogical activities: He lectured in international law at Charles University in Prague and at the Western Bohemian University in Pilsen. His legal positivism was an excellent instrument for analyzing the lex lata and served as an important corrective for those who saw or still see in space law a part of mere science fiction – despite the existence of satellite navigation and direct TV broadcasting and their legal frameworks. Vladimír Kopal was highly respected at home and was indispensable abroad. He tried to help others and had a close circle of long-time and reliable friends. He was ironical but also self-ironical. He loved classical music and played piano excellently. He was not scared of problems and mastered with grace the troubles of everyday life. Vladimír Kopal passed away on 27 January 2014, aged 85, shortly after the death of his beloved wife and best friend Vlasta, whom he missed immensely. He combatted his sorrow with work and planned further research publications, including the second edition of his and Diederiks’ “Introduction to Space Law”. Is it then symptomatic that the last significant research publication of Vladimír Kopal was devoted to the heritage of one of the important “pioneers” of the law of outer space, Vladimír Mandl. Kopal concluded this study with the following words: “It must be regretted that, due to his premature passing away, Vladimír Mandl could not witness and comment on the accomplishment of the first space flights, the landing on the Moon, the establishment of the first space stations and the development of the international cooperation in space activities…” Similarly, it must be regretted that Vladimír Kopal will not witness the presence of a human being on the Mars or the

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