Biography
Marco Ferrazzani is Senior Legal Counsel, having served as attorney-advisor for 35 years at the European Space Agency, based at its headquarters in Paris, France.
His broad policy and advisory work cover European public institutional matters as well as legally structured instruments for the funding of European space programmes and in-space operations, providing a full range of advice in public, private and financial law.
He has been the ESA’s Chief Legal Counsel from 2010 until 2022, serving as the advisor to the ESA Director General and to the ESA Council for all institutional decisions and legal matters, managing a team of 20 international lawyers qualified in all areas relevant to space programmes, including the interpretation of ESA Convention, Regulations, national legislations, legal, policy and regulatory instruments to develop the European space sector.
Marco led ESA negotiations of international space agreements, advising on landmark space projects in cooperation with governments and institutions, such as NASA and other space agencies and operators, preparing and submitting decisions for the approval of space programmes and related international agreements. For leading the ESA team to successful conclusion of the Lunar Gateway agreements, contributing to the Artemis programme, he was awarded the 2020 ESA Teamwork Excellence Award.
Marco has been acting in space advocacy, representing European sector interests at international conferences such as ITU, IAC, UNIDROIT or the UNCOPUOS.
Marco Ferrazzani holds a law doctor degree from University of Naples and attended post graduate law courses at Harvard Law School and Georgetown University Law Center.
He authored and presented over 100 conference and journal publications and is regularly invited to panel discussions and academic lectures on the functioning of European space institutions and on laws applicable to Outer space.
He is a graduate of the Italian military school Nunziatella and completed a one-year fellowship with the French Institute of Defence studies (IHEDN) in 2006.
Fellow of the Athens Public International Law Center. Board Member of European Centre for Space Law (ECSL) and of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL). Member of the Editorial Board of the series Studies in Space Law and for the German Journal of Air and Space Law. As ESA representative in ECSL he received in 2017 the IISL Certificate of recognition for services rendered to the development of international space law.
Editor of the Legal Commentary to the ESA Convention to be published in 2023.
In 2021 Marco Ferrazzani has been awarded the honorific title of Cavaliere (Knight) by the President of the Italian Republic.