Air and Space Law Report

I. Definition of Terms

II. International Instruments/Agreements and Institutional Mechanisms on Matters of Airspace

III. International Instruments/Agreements and Institutional Mechanisms on Matters of Outer Space

I. Definition of Terms

Airspace is the part of the atmosphere that is above a particular geographical area and is subject to the laws of a particular country or
controlling authority

Outer space refers to the area that lies beyond the airspace of the Earth.

II. International Instruments/Agreements and Institutional Mechanisms on Matters of Airspace and its Highlights

• Paris Convention, Convention Relating to the Regulation of Aerial Navigation signed at Paris on October 13, 1919.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

o complete and exclusive sovereignty of every state over the airspace above its territory
o freedom of innocent passage of the airspace in time of peace
o prohibition for flying over the airspace for military reasons and interest of public safety
o nationality of aircrafts (Generally, only aircrafts possessing the nationality of the State may be permitted to fly over its
airspace except special authorizations.
o Registration of aircrafts: Not in more than one state.
o Obligation of bear nationality and registration marks in international navigation
o Certificates of Airworthiness and Competency
o Special licenses for wireless apparatus
o Prohibited transport
o Categorization of Aircrafts

• Chicago Convention, Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed on December 7, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois,
United States, by 52 signatory States and received the requisite 26th ratification on March 5, 1947 and went into effect on
April 4, 1947.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

 Intended to replace the Paris Convention
 Reaffirmed the principles of the Paris Convention
 Right of Cabotage (Non-scheduled flights over State's Territory): The aircraft of states, other than scheduled
international air services, have the right to make flights across state's territories and to make stops without obtaining
prior permission. However, the state may require the aircraft to make a landing
 Established the International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) which is primarily the coordinating and regulating
body of international air travel. The ICAO has its headquarters at Montreal, Canada.

 Members of Icao subsequently entered into International Air Transport Agreement (Transport Agreement), signed
at Chicago on December 7, 1944
*Five Freedoms of the Air namely:
• Overflight;
• Non-traffic landing;
• Putting down traffic;
• Picking up traffic;
• International traffic;
(* Not applicable with respect to airports utilized for military purposes to the exclusion of any
schedule international air services. In areas of active hostilities, the exercise of such shall be subject to the approval of the
competent military authorities)

 Supported by eighteen annexes containing standards and recommended practices

 Entry and Clearance Regulations: A state's laws and regulations regarding the admission and
departure of passengers, crew or cargo from aircraft shall be complied with on arrival, upon departure and whilst within
the territory of that state (Art. 13).The aircraft of a state flying in or over the territory of another state shall only carry
radios licensed and used in accordance with the regulations of the state in which the aircraft is registered. The radios
may only be used by members of the flight crew suitably licenced by the state in which the aircraft is registered. Article
32: the pilot and crew of every aircraft engaged in international aviation must have certificates of competency and
licences issued or validated by the state in which the aircraft is registered.
 (Recognition of Certificates and Licences) Certificates of Airworthiness, certificates of
competency and licences issued or validated by the state in which the aircraft is registered, shall be recognised as valid
 by other states. The requirements for issue of those Certificates or Airworthiness, certificates of competency or licences
must be equal to or above the minimum standards established by the Convention. Article 40: No aircraft or personnel
with endorsed licenses or certificate will engage in international navigation except with the permission of the state or
states whose territory is entered. Any license holder who does not satisfy international standard relating to that license
or certificate shall have attached to or endorsed on that license information regarding the particulars in which he does
not satisfy those standards"

• Tokyo Convention on the Safety of Aviation, Convention on Offences and Certain other acts committed on Board
Aircraft signed at Tokyo on September 14, 1963, and went into force on December 4, 1969.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

• Applicable to offenses against penal law and to any acts jeopardising the safety of persons or property on board civilian
aircraft while in-flight

• Covers the commission of or the intention to commit offences and certain other acts on board aircraft registered in a
Contracting State in-flight over the high seas and any other areas beyond the territory of any State in addition to the airspace belonging to
any Contracting State.

• Criminal jurisdiction may be exercised by Contracting States other than the State of Registry under limited conditions, viz,
when the exercise of jurisdiction is required under multilateral international obligations, in the interest of national security, and so forth.
• Recognition certain powers and immunities of the aircraft commander (who on international flights may restrain any
person(s) he has reasonable cause to believe is committing or is about to commit an offence liable to interfere with the safety of persons
or property on board or who is jeopardising good order and discipline)
• Limitation: does not apply to acts and offences committed in the airspace of the State of Registry except when the point of
departure or intended landing lies outside that State.

• Hague Convention of 1970, Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at the Hague on
December 16,1970.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

High jacking; how committed(Article 1)
• Any person on board an aircraft in flight who unlawfully, by force or threat thereof, or by any other form of
intimidation, seizes, or exercises control of, that aircraft, or attempts to perform such act;
• Any person on board an aircraft who is an accomplice of a person who performs or attempts to perform any such act

Jurisdiction over the offense of High jacking

• Each contracting state may assert its jurisdiction in cases where:
i. Highjacking is committed on board an aircraft registered in that State (nationality principle);
ii. When the aircraft on board which the offense is committed lands in the territory with the alleged offender still
on board (territoriality principle)
iii. When the alleged offender is present in its territory (universality principle).
b. Universal crime: Prosecute or submit the case before competent authorities under the law of that state on one hand, or
on the other hand, extradite the offender as the offense is to considered extraditable, or in the absence of a treaty, the
same may be legal basis for extradition.
c. Communication/ Mutual Assistance
d. Doubts; resolved thru arbitration, otherwise, it will be elevated to the ICJ

• Montreal Convention, for Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation entered into force on January
26, 1973.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

Sabotage; how committed(Article 1)

• Any person who unlawfully and intentionally commits any of the following acts which render an aircraft incapable of flight or
are likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft in flight:
1. Performing an act of violence against a person on board an aircraft in flight;
2. Destroying an aircraft in service or causing damage to such an aircraft
3. Placing or causing to be place on an aircraft in service a device or substance which
is likely to destroy that aircraft;
4. Destroying or damaging air navigation facilities or interfering with their operation
5. Communicating information which he knows to be false thereby endangering the
safety of an aircraft in flight.

• All other provision in Hague Convention regarding jurisdiction, extradition proceedings, mutual assistance are repleaded in the
Montreal Convention
 • Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, done
at Montreal on February 24, 1988.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

 Supplements the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Civil Aviation
 Added new provisions on acts at airports serving international civil aviation to be considered as offenses namely:
unlawful and intentional use of any device, substance, or weapon against a person, against the facilities of an airport or
aircraft not in service on the premises of the airport; or the disruption of the services of the airport.

III. International Instruments/Agreements and Institutional Mechanisms on Matters of Airspace and its Highlights

 Outer Space Treaty, Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space
including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies was opened for signature on January 27, 1967, and entered into force on
October10, 1967

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

• basic legal framework of international space law.

• Prohibition on nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction but no prohibition on the placement
of conventional weapons in orbit: (it bars States Parties to the Treaty from placing nuclear weapons or any
other weapons of mass destruction in orbit of Earth, installing them on the Moon or any other celestial body,
or to otherwise station them in outer space.)
• Limitation of use only for peaceful purposes: (It exclusively limits the use of the Moon and other celestial
bodies to peaceful purposes and expressly prohibits their use for testing weapons of any kind, conducting
military maneuvers, or establishing military bases, installations, and fortifications (Art.IV)]
• Beneficial Exploration by all States: (The treaty also states that the exploration of outer space shall be done
to benefit all countries and shall be free for exploration and use by all States.
• Res communes: The treaty explicitly forbids any government from claiming a celestial resource such as the
Moon or a planet, since they are the Common heritage of mankind.[2] outer space, including the Moon and
other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or
occupation, or by any other means".
• Jurisdiction and responsibility: However, the State that launches a space object retains jurisdiction and
control over that object. (The state is also liable for damages caused by their space object and must avoid
contaminating space and celestial bodies.)
• International Responsibility: (stating that "the activities of non-governmental entities in outer space,
including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the
appropriate State Party to the Treaty" and that States Parties shall bear international responsibility for national
space activities whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental entities)

 Registration Convention, Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space adopted by the UN General
Assembly on November 12, 1974 and went into force in 1976.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

• Reportorial Requirements The convention requires states to furnish to the United Nations with details about
the orbit of each space object.
• Registry of Launchings by The register is kept by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
(UNOOSA) and includes(Name of launching State, An appropriate designator of the space object or its
registration number, Date and territory or location of launch, Basic orbital parameters, General function of the
space object)
• administered by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

 Moon Treaty, Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and other Celestial Bodies entered into force on
July 11, 1984.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

• Jurisdiction of celestial bodies s to conform with international law
• For beneficial use
• a failed treaty: since it has not been ratified by any nation which engages in self-launched manned space
exploration or has plans to do so
 • Prohibition on military use and weapon testing and contamination (Bans any military use of celestial
bodies, including weapon testing or as military bases;Bans all exploration and uses of celestial bodies without
the approval or benefit of other states under the common heritage of mankind principle (article 11)]
• Equal Right of Research for Scientific Purposes (Declares all states have an equal right to conduct research
on celestial bodies;Declares that for any samples obtained during research activities, the state that obtained
them must consider making part of it available to all countries/scientific communities for research.)Bans
altering the environment of celestial bodies and requires that states must take measures to prevent accidental
contamination.
• celestial bodies are not subject of ownership: (Bans any state from claiming sovereignty over any territory
of celestial bodies)

 Liability Convention, Convention on the International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Object, opened for
signature at London, Moscow and Washington on March29, 1972. It entered into force in September 1972.

Highlights/Principles of the convention:

• Expanded on the liability rules created in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.
• International responsibility: States (countries) bear international responsibility for all space objects that are
launched within their territory. This means that regardless of who launches the space object, if it was launched
from State A’s territory, or from State A’s facility, or if State A caused the launch to happen, then State A is
fully liable for damages that result from that space object.
• Joint Launches: (If two states work together to launch a space object, then both of those states are jointly
and severally liable for the damage that object causes. This means that the injured party can sue either of the
two states for the full amount of damage.)
• State-to-State claim thru diplomatic channels: Claims under the Liability Convention must be brought by
the state against a state. The Convention was created to supplement existing and future national laws
providing compensation to parties injured by space activities. Whereas under most national legal systems an
individual or a corporation may bring a lawsuit against another individual or another corporation, under the
Liability Convention claims must be brought on the state level only. This means that if an individual is injured
by a space object and wishes to seek compensation under the Liability Convention, the individual must
arrange for his or her country to make a claim against the country that launched the space object that caused
the damage. (A claim for compensation for damage shall be presented to a launching State through diplomatic
channels. If a State does not maintain diplomatic relations with the launching State concerned, it may request
another State to present its claim to that launching State or otherwise represent its interests under this
Convention. It may also present its claim through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, provided the
claimant State and the launching State are both Members of the United Nations.: or they can resort to establish
claims commission at their request)