This is a policy oriented and comparatively oriented textbook on air and space law for students and practitioners. It covers the history and development in air and space law; their interrelationships with the law of the seas and the law of Antartica; institutions working in the field of air and space law; sovereignty in national penal air law; private international air law, especially liability law; and public and private space law Much attention is devoted to the law of air commerce: bilateral air services agreements; inter-airline co-operation; the effect of competition, antitrust and European Union law; deregulation, privatization and commercialization of air transport; ownership and control of airlines, and airline alliances; multilateralisation of air transport; and congestion and environmental controls. The last chapter of the book briefly deals with the legal aspects of commercial outer space application. Increasingly, air transport, both in fact and in law, is becoming an ordinary industry like any other and is being treated as such. Rapidly, commercial outer space activities are being privatized and commercialized.

The aviation community, in which the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) play leading roles, is hard at work in bringing aviation into the 21st Century. In doing so, the United States and Europe have taken proactive steps forward in introducing modernization, particularly in moving towards more efficient air traffic management systems within NextGen and SESAR. Elsewhere, in the fields of personnel licensing, rules of the air, accident investigation and aeronautical charts and information, significant strides are being made in moving from mere regulation to implementation and assistance calculated to make all ICAO member States self sufficient in international civil aviation. However, these objectives can be achieved only if the aviation industry has a sustained understanding of the legal and regulatory principles applying to the various areas of air navigation. This book provides that discussion. Some of the subjects discussed in this book are: sovereignty in airspace; flight information and air defence identification zones; rules of the air; personnel licensing; meteorological services; operations of aircraft; air traffic services; accident and incident investigation; aerodromes; efficiency aspects of aviation and environmental protection; aeronautical charts and information; the carriage of dangerous goods; and NextGen and SESAR . Except for NextGen and SESAR, these subjects form the titles of the Annexes to the Chicago Convention that particularly involve the rights and liabilities of the key players involved in air navigation.

Sovereignty and jurisdiction are legal doctrines of a complex nature, which have been subject to differing interpretations by scholars in legal literature. The tridimensionality of state territory recognised under customary international law subsists until the present but there are other territories that do not or cannot belong to any state or political entity which also must be accounted for in legal theory. The issues surrounding sovereignty and jurisdiction are likely to become ever more pressing as globalisation, growing pressure on resources and the need for energy and national security become acute, and the resolution of special delimitation disputes seems likely to become a vital question in the twenty-first century. As a result of the fast pace of technological developments in air and space activities and the massive increases in air transportation , satellite communications and space exploration, the need for scholars and practitioners to sharpen their appreciation of the legal and political issues becomes crucial. This book will focus primarily on the issues of sovereignty jurisdiction and control in airspace and outer space and their effects on public and private activities, but it will also look at related issues pertaining to the Seas and Antarctica. Commercial exploitation, resource control and the international regime regulating contractual obligations in relation to transportation of goods and services over all forms of territory will be examined to the extent that they are necessary to explain jurisdictional rights and duties over territory. Older problems of international law such as crimes in the air and airspace trespass are treated along with newer developments such as space tourism as well as growing demand for private ownership and involvement in outer space exploitation. The book goes on to consider the distinction between airspace and outer space and puts forward legal criteria which would allow for the resolution of the spatial delimitation dispute. These criteria would determine where in spatial terms the exclusive sovereignty of airspace ends and where outer space – the province of all mankind – begins, and contribute to the jurisprudence of territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction.

The aim of this unique volume is twofold. First and foremost, it sets out to offer the reader a comprehensive and challenging view, from some of the most distinguished scholars in the field, of present and future trends and issues in the fields of international air and space law. By breaking new ground in this way, it pays tribute to the scholarly achievements of Henri (Or) Wassenbergh, whose ideas and work have helped to shape both air and space law throughout his long and distinguished career. "Air and Space Law: De Lege Ferenda" will be of interest to all those concerned with the present status of air and space law, and with the challenges the aviation and space industry must face in the century to come.

The world of aviation has moved on rapidly since the appearance of the ninth edition of this pre-eminent resource five years ago. Those developments pertain to market access and market behaviour by air carriers, including competition, new perceptions of safety and security, among others, in relation to transparency of accident investigation and cybersecurity, case law in the area of airline liability, with new cases from the United States, product liability and insurance, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, the growing importance of environmental concerns, the rights and obligations of passengers, also in the context of ‘unruly’ passengers, and innovative methods for financing aircraft. Special attention has been paid in this edition to regional integration movements, especially in Europe, affecting the mentioned subjects. The book’s extensive references to other sources in the field have been expanded and updated by the author and experts in specialised areas. The present edition addresses the following topics: the regulatory framework governing the operation of air services, including the principle of sovereignty in national airspace; the distinction between State and civil aircraft; dispute settlement in international civil aviation; economic regulation of international air transport services, including the establishment of air services agreements; inter-airline cooperation in the context of competition law regimes; liability of the various service providers, in particular airlines, and related insurance coverage; the promotion of safety standards; criminal acts affecting the safety of aviation; the role of international and regional organisations with particular reference to that of the European Union; liability of the aircraft manufacturer for equipment; and financial and security interests in mobile equipment. The many practitioners, officials, business people, and academics with a professional interest in aviation law will appreciate this new edition as one of the fundamental works in the field, and newcomers will discover an incomparable resource. This eleventh edition is ready to be of unmatched service to any practising member of the air law community anywhere in the world.

This book offers an extraordinary wealth of information, from the ground up, of the law governing and regulating air transport today, with a strong emphasis on international aviation. A team of distinguished authors in the field of aviation law provide a cogent synthesis from which sound legal opinions and strategies of legal action may be confidently built. Among the many topics here in depth are the following: definition and classification of airspace; distinction between civil and state aircraft; air navigation and air traffic control services; airport charges and overflight charges; structure of ICAO; standard-setting functions and audit functions of ICAO; functions of the International Air Transport Association (IATA); policy and effects of deregulation and liberalization of air transport policy; the International Registry for Aircraft Equipment; air carrier liability regimes and claims procedure; measures to combat aviation terrorism, air piracy and sabotage; and the Open Skies Agreements. This publication cites significant legislation and court rulings, including from the United States and the European Union, where far-reaching measures on market access, competition and passenger rights have set trends for other regions of the world. The special case of Latin America has a chapter to itself. At a time when commercial aircraft have been used as lethal weapons for the first time, aviation law finds itself in the front line of responsibility for maintaining global aviation security.

Aviation Law and Policy Series # 19 The incursion of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is radically reshaping the future of international civil aviation. As the civil uses of UAS increase and the technology matures in parallel, questions around the associated legal implications remain unanswered, even in such fundamental legal regimes of international civil aviation as airspace, aircraft, international air navigation, international air transport, and safety. This book – the first to consider international law and regulations to cross-border civil flights of UAS – explores current legal and regulatory frameworks from the perspective of how they may facilitate the operations of UAS. The author, a well-known air law practitioner and diplomat, identifies the legal challenges and proposes sound, well-informed measures to tackle those challenges. The book explores comprehensively the means of incorporating UAS within the arena of air law while stimulating further research and debate on the topic. Analysis of the cross-border operations of UAS focuses on aspects relevant to their immediate future, and address such questions as the following: What processes are currently in place? What factors require attention? What aspects particularly influence the future of UAS? Is the current international legal framework adequate to ensure the operation and development of UAS while preserving high levels of safety? How will artificial intelligence impact the civil operations of UAS? The author’s analyses draw on relevant initiatives in existing and proposed Standards and Recommended Practices for the operation of UAS on cross-border flights, as well as States’ regulation of UAS within their national airspace. Also described are the main bilateral and multilateral air services and transport agreements with respect to their application to the operation of UAS. Given the escalating need to adopt a comprehensive international regulatory framework for the operation of UAS aimed at facilitating its safe and efficient integration – even as the technology advances and continues to outpace law while the potential for incidents involving UAS grows – this book is well timed to meet the challenge for States and International Civil Aviation Organization and airspace planners. Its innovative approaches to the management of the air traffic safety and security of UAS are sure to influence the development of regulations for civil UAS. The book will be welcomed by aviation regulators, interested international and regional organisations, research organisations, aviation lawyers, and academics in international law and air law.