Cheng was professor of Air and Space Law at UCL from 1967 to 1986, and was emeritus professor afterwards. From 1971 to 1973, he served as dean of the UCL Faculty of Laws.[3] In 2008, he was named honorary president of the London Institute of Space Policy and Law (ISPL).[4]
An authority on international air and space law, Cheng has been described as the "Father of International Air Law".[1][5] During the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, Cheng investigated the United Nations General Assembly's resolutions 1721 A (December 1961) and 1962 (December 1963) regarding legal principles governing the outer space. He invented the theory of instant customary international law, which states that opinio juris is the only necessary element for the creation of a new customary international law, which may be created "over night" as long as opinio juris about its existence is not rejected by member states of the international community.[6] This theory has gained support over time.[6][7]
According to the ISPL, Cheng's 1953 book, General Principles of Law as Applied by International Courts and Tribunals, is considered the most important treatment of the subject.[1][2][8] He also published the books The Law of International Air Transport (1962) and Studies in International Space Law (1997). The latter reprints his pioneering articles on international air and space law.[2]
In 2017, Cheng donated his collection of more than 3,000 books and legal documents to Northwest University of Politics and Law (NWUPL) in Xi'an, China, and NWUPL established the Bin Cheng Air and Space Law Library and the Cheng Tien-Hsi International Law Library in the memory of Cheng and his father.[1]
Cheng was married to Katherine (Chinese: 傅锦培; pinyin: Fu Jinpei), the eldest daughter of Foo Ping-sheung, who served as ambassador of the Republic of China to the Soviet Union. The couple had a son and a daughter.[1]
Cheng died on 16 October 2019 in London, aged 98.[3][4]
^ abcdefZhou Yaguang 周亚光 (19 May 2017). "著名国际法学家、英国伦敦大学终身名誉教授郑斌先生向我校捐赠图书" [Renowned scholar of international law, Professor Emeritus Bin Cheng of University College London donates books to our school] (in Chinese). Northwest University of Politics and Law. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
^ abcdefghijk"Professor Bin Cheng"(PDF). London Institute of Space Policy and Law. Archived(PDF) from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
