Lakhasly

Lecture 2, week 27

Aviation Law is the branch of law that concerns flight, air travel and associated legal and business concerns
• International (predominantly) and national
• Public and private
• Technical and commercial
• Often very detailed, like a checklist, quite difficult to understand (even for lawyers!)
• Inspired by legal solutions in other domains rather than innovative (pragmatic approach)

General Sources of Aviation Law
-International multilateral treaties (e.g. Chicago Convention)
-General principles of international law
-Bilateral/multilateral air services agreements
-International technical standards, recommended practices (SARPs) and procedures
-National laws and regulations in the field of civil aviation

Categories of International Aviation Law
1.Multilateral agreements - between 3 or more States.
2.Bilateral agreements - between 2 States.
3.National regulations - within a single State.

Public vs Private International Aviation Law
Public:
● the branch of international aviation law that determines the rules between contracting states and other international personalities (e.g. Paris Convention 1919, Chicago Convention 1944)
Private:
● the area of international aviation law that deals with private disputes in which one of the parties may be from another state, also referred to as conflict of laws (Warsaw Convention 1929, Montreal Convention 1999)
● Legal jurisdictional issues - that is the scope of the legal authority of a state or body - when conflicts or ambiguities arise between the laws of different states with respect to aviation activities.

The Development of Multilateral Aviation Regulation
1908 - at least 10 German balloons crossed the border and landed in France. 1910 - The International Air Navigation Conference in Paris.
● Attended by 19 European States.
● The first effort to diplomatically create multilateral legal principles related to air navigation.
● Discussions bloke down as States disagreed about the ownership of airspace World War I (1914-1918)
● Interrupted the progress of diplomatic negotiations on civil aviation.
● Rapid advancement in aircraft design and technology.
● Demonstrated both the potential and danger of aircraft and the need for regulation.

1919 Paris Convention Grew out of the Paris Peace Conference:
The Convention Relating to the Regulation of Aerial Navigations signed by 27 out of the 38 States on 13 October 1919
The first multilateral instrument of international aviation law
● defined the status of international airspace and gave authority to each individual operating an aircraft to act in accordance with the law of the state of registration 

● included 43 legal articles that outlined agreements on technical, operational, and 
organizational aspects of civil aviation. 

●The International Commission for Air Navigation (ICAN) was created with responsibility for managing and creating new aviation regulation as necessary.

World Wars I & II and Aviation
1919-1930s: The development of international aviation industry
●1919 - The first scheduled international passenger flight, KLM (Netherlands), Avianca (Columbia) 

●1920s - Qantas (Australia) 1920, Czech Airlines (Czechoslovakia) 1923, Lufthansa (Germany) 1926, Iberia (Spain), Pan American World Airways (USA) 1927
-1919: The International Air Traffic Association (the first private organization of air carriers with six European airlines)- the precursor to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which was created in 1945.
World War II: Significant advancements in technical and operational aspects of aircraft led to the development of the first jet engine at the end of the war. The need for international organization to regulate international aviation and to assist with its future growth and development. 

1944 Chicago Conference
USA called for an international conference, invited 53 countries in Chicago in November 1944 - of which 52 attended (except the USSR)
Goals
● make arrangements for the immediate establishment of provisional world air routes and services 

● set up an interim council to collect, record and study data concerning international aviation +recommendations for its improvement 

● discuss the principles and methods to be followed in the adoption of a new aviation convention.