Professor Christopher Newman

Professor

School: Northumbria School of Law

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
Point-to-point rocket transportation systems: Jurisdiction, regulation and liability for high-altitude transportation, Newman, C. 1 Feb 2026, In: Acta Astronautica
Regulating Satellite Constellations, Newman, C., Napier, J. 3 Jan 2026, The Business of Outer Space, Singapore, Springer
Hostage to Fortunes: The Legal and Political Future of the Planetary Protection Guidelines, Newman, C. 17 Apr 2024, In: Space Research Today
The circular space economy: paving the way for sustainable extraterrestrial ventures, Dinsley, R., Newman, C. 1 Jul 2024
The Never-Ending Problem of Demarcation: Addressing the Air/Space Boundary Issue in International and Domestic Law, Newman, C. 16 May 2024, International Space Law in the New Space Era, Oxford, United Kingdom, Oxford University Press
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
Regulation of artificial satellites, Napier, L., Newman, C. 6 Apr 2022, Outer Space Law, Globe Law and Business
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

PGR Supervision

Emily Barber The Attainment of True Circularity in Space: A Critical Evaluation and Proposed Optimisation of the Governance of Cislunar Active Debris Removal Start Date: 01/10/2025
Molly Doyle Mapping the Orbital Environment: Unifying Stakeholder Interest to Enhance Space Sustainability through the Global Governance of Space Traffic Coordination. Start Date: 01/10/2024
Sara Cavagnero Supporting effective sustainability transitions in the fashion industry: from global to local governance through Intellectual Property Rights Start Date: 01/03/2020
Alexandra Taylor Here Be Dragons: Ethics, illegality and research implications of human space activity Start Date: 01/03/2018