Nicolas M. Matte

BCF LLP, Montréal, CANADA

Nicolas Mateesco Matte holds a Doctor of law from the universities of Bucharest and Paris, and was a member of the Bar of Bucharest from 1939 to 1946. He lived in Paris until 1950. Through his legal research, extensive knowledge of law, publications and teachings, and scientific activities at large, with the dawning of the nuclear age, he has proposed legal norms based on a new international law, an evolving law and the co-habitation of States beyond visible and invisible boundaries' on land, in sea and in space. Nicolas Mateesco Matte arrived in Montreal in 1950, and created the first Chair of Space Law (1951) at Université de Montréal (Air and Space Law after 1957).

In 1952 he became a pioneer in the field of space law with an article published in La Revue du Barreau de Montréal entitled "À qui appartient le milieu aérien?" One year later, he received first prize from the Canadian Bar for his study on "Le parlement canadien a-t-il le droit de voter une loi sur les droits de l?homme?", in which he pleaded for the liberalization of international aeronautical traffic.

A member of the Bar of Montreal since 1955, Nicolas Mateesco Matte practised as an expert in law and international relations, aeronautical and aerospace law, and administrated civil and institutional investments. He practised his legal profession independently and, upon invitation from leading law firms in Montreal, as a consultant.

In 1995, Nicolas Mateesco Matte joined the legal office of BCF LLP, where he continues to practise law in the specialized domains for which he has received worldwide recognition. As a consultant for BCF, he has defended the economic interests of corporate and private Canadian clients in Romania. More recently, he collaborated in the settlement of a lawsuit stemming from a Cuban airplane crash causing the death of Canadian citizens.

Between 1976 and 1991, Nicolas Mateesco Matte acted as Director of the Institute for Air and Space Law at McGill University, creating a Research Centre in 1976 as well as founding the Annals of Air and Space Law / Annales de droit aérien et spatial, a periodical that has acquired global recognition and which he headed up for 15 years. He is currently President Emeritus of the Institute. He has published - in French and English - numerous treatises on air-aeronautical law and space law, 12 studies, 20 co-authored books, about 50 articles and given numerous conferences. Nicolas Mateesco Matte has founded and directed numerous organizations and associations devoted to the development of international law in all its facets. He has been invited to give conferences to many universities and world-renowned scientific foundations. He has been World President and is now Life Vice President of the reputed and venerable International Law Association, founded in 1875, and headquartered in London, England. In 1954, he founded the Canadian Branch of the International Law Association / Association du droit international, of which he is now Life Vice President.