AIR LAW

INTRODUCTION:

 Aviation law is simply the law of air. Well, don’t mingle it with the laws of physics, air laws here are
being addressed as the law that deals with flight and with all the legal issues that go along with it.
 The rationale and significance for aviation law stems from the globalisation and growing nature of
human contact as we travel from the seas to the skies and beyond. The corpus of regulations
controlling the use of airspace and its advantages for aviation, the general public, and governments
throughout the world is known as air law. Air law is concerned with the control of the world’s airways.
 Air law encompasses a wide variety of legal issues, ranging from liability for harm caused during air
carriage to tax and environmental legislation. The aviation industry is the only one that is not subject to
the WTO. In simple words, air law is “the system of regulations controlling the use of airspace and its
advantages for aviation, the general public, and states throughout the world.” Air law is concerned with
the control of the world’s airways.
AERIAL NAVIGATION:

 The basic principles of air navigation are identical to general navigation, which includes the process of
planning, recording, and controlling the movement of a craft from one place to another.
 Paris Convention of Aerial Navigation 1919-This convention framed certain rules regarding aerial
navigation during peace time. According to the convention each State exercises complete sovereignty
over its air space.
 Havana Convention- This convention was mainly adopted by the states of the American continent.
Several rules regarding aerial navigation were adopted under the convention.
 Warsaw convention 1929- is an international convention which regulates liability for international
carriage of persons, luggage, or goods performed by aircraft for reward.
CHICAGO CONVENTION 1944:

 What is the Chicago convention 1944?

 The Chicago Convention also known as the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
 established the (ICAD):
 a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating and regulating international air
travel.
 The Convention establishes:
 rules of airspace
 aircraft registration and safety details
 the rights of the signatories in relation to air travel
 exempts air fuels from tax.
FIVE FREEDOMS OF AIR:

 To fly across its territory without landing.

 To land for nontraffic purposes.
 To put down passengers, mail, and cargo taken on in the territory of the country whose nationality the
aircraft possesses.
 To take on passengers, mail, and cargo destined for the territory of the country whose nationality the
aircraft possesses.
 To take on passengers, mail, and cargo destined for the territory of another agreeing nation and to put
down passengers, mail, and cargo coming from any such territory.
 Chicago international air services transit agreement1944- this agreement incorporated
the first two freedoms
 Chicago international air transport agreement 1944- This agreement incorporated the
last three freedoms , very few countries signed this agreement.
MONTREAL CONVENTION, 1971:

 Conference- Montreal from 8th to 23rd September 1971, Montreal convention for the
suppression of unlawful Acts against the safety of civil aviation, 1971
 Article 1- further widened, state parties have undertaken that they will provide
deterrent punishment to the hijackers.
 Others-similar
 Parliament- the suppression of unlawful acts against safety of civil aviation act, 1982.
OTHER CONVENTIONS:
 Tokyo convention
 Hague convention
 Montreal convention
 Protocol for the suppression of unlawful act of violence at airports serving International civil
aviation.
 21st of December 1988-Pan am flight 103- Lockerbie was blowen by a plastic bomb, resulted in
death of 270 passengers.
 1991- conference was held at montreal, representatives of 79 countries adopted convention on the
marking of plastic explosives for the purpose of detection, 1991.
 Parties to the convention- prevent the manufacture and going outside their territories plastic
explosives without commercial markings, not necessary for army or police to be destroyed within
3 years.
 Destroyed within 15 years, Establishment of international explosives technical commission.
 SC and general assembly approved this convention.
 Force- 21st June 1998 after having been ratified by 35 signatory countries.
 2015- ratified by 152 countries.
HIJACKING OF INDIAN AIRCRAFT AND ICAO:

 Indian aircraft hijacked and taken to Lahore, the government of Pakistan did not punish the hijackers.
 Hijackers burnt the aircraft, violation of Tokyo convention and against the resolution of security council in
which states were asked to take all steps to prevent the interference of hijackers in international civil
aviation.
 India suspended the overflight of all Pakistan aircrafts, demanded extradition of hijackers.
 Pakistan- rejected and complained to the international civil aviation organization- suspension of flights by
India was violation of international and bilateral commitments and requested ICAO to declare that India’s
decision was illegal.
 India’s objections were rejected and overruled, appealed to the ICJ.
 ICJ- rejected Pakistan’s objection, ICAO had jurisdiction, the case again went to ICAO.
 Simla agreement- bilateral negotiations and peaceful means.
 Delhi agreement 1973 and Delhi tripatite agreement 1974- repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war.
 In 1976, one more Indian aircraft was hijacked and was taken to Lahore.
 Pakistan- arrested hijackers and returned the aircraft and passengers, assured India that they would be
punished but released them
 Two cases of hijacking-1981 and 1984 and one case-1986, four armed terrorists seized pan America
jumbo jet with 399 passengers and cabin crew at Karachi airport.
 Terrible shoot out ensured- 18 persons killed and several injured
HIJACKING OF AN INDIAN AIRLINES PLANE:

 Hijacking of an Indian airlines, airbus IC 814- Lucknow on 1999, flight was from Kathmandu to new delhi with
187 passengers.
 Before landing at kandhar, the next day aircraft flew from Kathmandu to Amritsar, Lahore to Dubai.
 Dubai- hijackers released 27 hostages and loaded off the body of victim, Ripon Katyal who was killed on board
the hijacked Indian airlines airbus
 Problem faced by Indian government- hijacked plane landed at kandhar because India has not recognized the
Taliban government of Afghanistan and India has no diplomatic relations with Taliban government.
 India- help of Taliban government to rescue the passengers and secure the release of aircraft, no option except
seek Taliban for help.
 Beginning- Taliban officials expressed resentment with Indian government for not initiating negotiations with the
negotiations with the hijackers rather they compelled Indian government to start negotiations otherwise they
would force the hijackers to leave kandhar.
 Ended- crew reached Delhi after being freed by 5 hijackers in exchange of 3 dreaded militants, no option but
release the militants to save 155 passengers.
 But Taliban did not punish the hijackers.
 2000- joint working group on counter terrorism by India and America, agreed to intensify joint cooperation to
ensure the perpetrators get punished.
UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION:

 Crime of piracy and war crimes

 Hijacking- aerial piracy, universal jurisdiction
 Against the interest of international community, all states can exercise jurisdiction
 Montreal convention 1971 and hague convention 1970
EVALUATION:

 “By its very nature Extradition is not a matter regulated in International Law… The duty to surrender cannot
arise except under A treaty.”
 Article 8 of the Hague Convention Provided that offences shall be deemed to be extraditable offences under
the common extradition treaty existing between contracting states.
 The Hague Convention and Montreal Convention have enhanced the jurisdiction of state parties with respect
to hijackers.
 Despite these Conventions, incidents have not decreased.
 These Conventions have not been ratified by a number of countries.
 Have not ended the Criminal jurisdiction of the states [Article 5(iii) of Montreal Convention].
 Have not fixed a punishment for the crime [Article 3 of Montreal Convention].
 The need is to establish an International Criminal Court which may punish international offenses such
as hijacking.
 Extradition of Alleged offenders is obligatory only when there is a treaty to that effect and hijacking is
not included as an Extradition offence, in some treaties.
 Extradition treaties often provide that states are under no obligation to extradite their own nationals, or
persons who have committed crimes of a political nature.
 Montreal and Hague Conventions stopped short of requiring states to prosecute hijackers who are not
extradited.
 An ammendment to the Chicago Convention that empowered the council of I.C.A.O
to order the suspension of all services to and from member states of I.C.A.O which
refused to prosecute or extradite hijackers would override air service treaties
previously concluded between member states.
 But when such an ammendment was presented to the I.C.A.O Assembly in 1973, it
could not be adopted as it failed to secure the requisite 67 votes.