Dr Alexander Simmonds

Following the completion of a degree in Law from the University of Sheffield and post-graduate study at Nottingham Law School, Alex was called to the bar of England and Wales in 2008 at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Alex received two Attorney General's Commendations and was nominated for the 2008 Bar Pro Bono Award in respect of a project he began as a student whilst studying the Bar Vocational Course at Nottingham Law School. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and holds a PhD in Employment Law from Coventry University.

Within Dundee Law School, Alex is the module lead for Space Law, Employment Law, English Law of Contract and English Law of Tort.

His two main research interests are Space Law and Employment Law. He is the author of a book on Space Law, ‘The Space Legislation of the United Kingdom’ which was published by Brill in 2025 and has published articles on Space Law in several peer-reviewed international journals.

He has presented on Space Law at various conferences both within the UK and internationally, including the 2023 International Space Development Conference in Frisco, Texas on the topic of how communications latency (time delay) associated with deep-space operations could potentially impact legal proceedings. Alex also speaks regularly on matters of sustainability in Space Law and matters of domestic space regulation.

His interest in Employment Law comes from time spent working on behalf of Trade Union members and representing them at a range of hearings, which led to his PhD thesis on workplace disciplinary proceedings. Alex submitted evidence to Parliament in respect of the potential Employment Law aspects of COVID-19 during the pandemic, and is seeking to publish a monograph on disciplinary proceedings in the workplace over the coming years.

Before coming to academia, Alex amassed a wide range of industry experience having worked in, amongst other areas, the Prison Service, Warehousing/Logistics and Distribution, the Children and Family Courts Advisory and Support Services and within aspects of Industrial Disease litigation for a large firm of solicitors in England. Prior to working at Dundee, Alex was the Course Director for the Sino-UK Joint Commercial Law program at Coventry University in collaboration with the South West University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing, China.

Publications

Book

Alexander Simmonds, The Space Legislation of the United Kingdom, Brill-Nijhoff, August 2025

Book Chapter

Alex Simmonds, Dangerous Circumstances, Discipline and Dismissal: Some Employment Law Impacts of COVID-19, 29 Dec 2021, Global Pandemic, Technology and Business: Comparative Explorations of COVID-19 and the Law. Li, L., Foster, S., Stanford, B. & Berdud, C. E. (eds.). Routledge

Articles

‘The Space Industry Act 2018: a giant leap? 15 Jan 2020, Coventry Law Journal. 24, 2, 95 -104

‘Clowning around? Expanding the right to being accompanied in workplace disciplinary proceedings in English law’ 1 Dec 2020, Coventry Law Journal. 25, 2, 33-4

‘The UK Perspective on Informed Consent in Commercial Space Travel’
1 Sep 2020, Air & Space Law. 45, 4/5, 367-390

Steve Foster and Alex Simmonds, ‘Mercer v Alternative Future Group Ltd’ case comment
Simmonds, A. & Foster, S., 31 Jul 2021, In: Coventry Law Journal. 26, 1,
‘The Space Industry Regulations 2021: another giant leap?’ Coventry Law Journal 2021, 26(2), 69-89

‘For all (Hu)mankind? The intersection of mental capacity, informed consent and contract law with U.K. space law’, The International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, May 2023

‘In space, the other side should have the right to be heard’ Coventry Law Journal, Cov. L.J. 2023, 28(1), 23-37

'Is the Speed of Law faster than the Speed of Light: Considerations of the impact of Special Relativity on the Operation of Law in the context of deep space missions' Journal of Space Law, Volume 47 1 Number 2, 2023, 346. – Michelle Hanlon – ‘Highly recommend! Peer reviewers and I really enjoyed the analysis and the thought provocations it induced’

‘A Study of the Legal Implications of Time Dilation in Accordance with Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity’ (2024) 9(1) Cambridge Law Review 1–27

Steve Foster and Alex Simmonds, Case Comment: Trade unions - Trade union activities - Industrial action- Detriment - Right of Association - Declarations of incompatibility, Dr Alex Simmonds and Dr Steve Foster Cov. L.J. 2024, 29(1), 75-78.

IN SPACE, NOBODY CAN HEAR YOU ARGUE; But Both Sides Deserve to Be Heard, ‘Ad Astra’, the official magazine of the National Space Society, United States, 2023 -2.

Conference Presentations, Webinars and Panels

September 5, 2025: Invited to present on panel at third Edinburgh International Arbitration Festival (ArbFest2025) hosted by the Scottish Arbitration Centre: From Earth to Orbit: The Role of Arbitration in the New Space Economy

May 22, 2025, 3rd Niparo Summit on Space Sustainability, ‘Next Steps in Sustainable Space: In-orbit Insurance and Innovation’, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, ‘Insurance (but not as we know it…); Insurance and Liability in UK Space Law’

May 16, 2025, (Un-)Natural Rights in Outer Space (webinar), Roma Tre University, Italy, (organisers Mario Ricca and Sirio Zolea)’Laws at the Speed of Light’

May 8 2025, Biznesa vadības koledža, Riga, Latvia, ‘Law (but not as we know it…) A brief introduction to Space Law- Past, Present and Future…’

April 22, 2025 ‘Social Justice in Space Law’, organised as part of the Justice and Power Steering Committee at the University of Dundee

April 15 2025, Society of Socio Legal Studies 2025, University of Liverpool, - The Law(S) Of The Future: Alternative Futures: Law Spacetime – ‘Laws at the Speed of Light: A Study of the Legal Implications of Time Dilation in Accordance with Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity’

March 22 2025 – Space Generation Advisory Council, Space Law & Policy Project - Research & Writing Workshop

December 10 2025, University of Nottingham Space Law and Policy Seminar Series Event 3 - Regulating Outer Space: A Domestic Perspective; 10th December 2024, 14.00-16.00 (UK time) ‘Regulation of the UK Space Sector’

June 1 2024, Niparo June 1st Summit 2024, Higgs Centre, Edinburgh Royal Observatory, ‘Legal Aspects of Rocket Launch from Scotland’

February 10 2024, ‘Innovative Approaches to Space Law’, Roma Tre University, Italy, ‘Is the Speed of Law Faster than the Speed of Light?’

January 10 – 11 2024 , European Space Agency workshop on Understanding the Atmospheric Effects of Spacecraft Re-entry, ESA ESTEC, ‘Sustainable Space: Legal and Regulatory Aspects from a Contemporary UK viewpoint’ (joint research presented by Dr Nic Ross of NIPARO)

June 1 2023, NIPARO June First Summit, Edinburgh, ‘Is Good Regulation Good Sustainability?’

May 27 2023, International Space Development Conference, Dallas, Texas, ‘In Space the Other Side Should Have the Right to be Heard’ , at the invitation of Dr Pascal Lee, NASA Ames Research Center and SETI

September 2021, Society of Legal Scholars, ‘The UK Perspective on Informed Consent in Commercial Space Travel’

September 2021, Coventry University 20 Year Anniversary of the Coventry Law Journal, Space Law

November 2010 - Student Pro Bono Conference, The College of Law, Birmingham,
“PLE/ Street Law Projects” / “Setting up your own Student Pro Bono Scheme”

November 2009 - Joint National Pro Bono Conference, Friends House, London
“Laying the foundations/Taking the first steps: Starting your own pro bono scheme”

November 2008 - Student Pro Bono Conference, Nottingham Law School
“Starting your own student pro bono scheme”

• Space Law