Air Law:

Air law, the body of law directly or indirectly concerned with civil aviation. Aviation in
this context extends to both heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air aircraft.The earliest
legislation in air law was a 1784 decree of the Paris police forbidding balloon flights
without a special permit.

Because of the essentially international character of aviation, a large part of air law is
either international law or international uniform law (rules of national law that have by
agreement been made internationally uniform). Insofar as international air law is
concerned, it need hardly be mentioned that an international agreement or an
amendment thereto is binding only on states that are parties to it.

Law of Air Space

The Geneva Convention on the High Seas (1958) as well as under international
customary law, the freedom of the high seas applies to aerial navigation as well as to
maritime navigation. Vertically, airspace ends where outer space begins.

The law of air space deals with the states of the airspace above states and territorial
waters.
1919 Paris Convention for the Regulation of Aerial Navigation, recognised the full
sovereignty of states over the airspace above their land and territorial sea.

Air space can be studies into two diverse zones

1. National Air Space
2. International Air Space

● National Air Space: the aerial zone above the entire terrestrial and fluvial
territories of a state.
● International Air Space: the aerial zone above the sea zones out of territorial
waters of states.
● Planes are allowed to fly over EEC and continental shelves of other states.
● In the national air space, the sovereignty of the states is fully valid- there are no
exceptions.
● The international airspace is subject to the principle of freedom.
- It is open for the benefit and usage of everybody.

Air and space law are new subjects of international law just like the law of sea.
1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation- this treaty establishes The
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
- ICAO is the most international Organization for Civil Aviation
- Its headquarters is in Canada
- It works in connection with the UN
- It is a specialization organization
- The Chicago Convention sets rules for civil aviation, the military planes are out of
this treaty.
- Planes are assessed under two categories in the law of air.

1. Commercial Planes
2. War Planes/ Fighter aircrafts.
1944 Chicago Convention assesses Commercial Planes under two categories
1. Scheduled(tarifeli) flights
2. Non- scheduled (tarifesiz) flights

Scheduled flight is a plane service that leaves at a regular time each day or week. We
know from where it takes off, where it heads. They carry cargo or passengers.
Scheduled Flights are authorized by sovereign states (can pass through after a
permission) if no permission=threats.

● States meet to decide upon air corridor

● Flight Information Region(FIR) are set.(pilots exchange info about birds, storms,
etc.)
● Planes go into the air corridor within FIR right after they leave national air
spaces.
● There is no right of innocent passage through the air space of a state.
● The national airspace is completely closed to the flight of warplanes of other
states. Without the permission of a state, a foreign fighter aircraft can never enter
into the airspace of another space.