Was MH17 supposed to be flying over Eastern Ukraine? The downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in code-share with KLM (flight KL4103) has led to many questions about the propriety of aircraft flying over Eastern Ukraine. Other airlines had ceased operating flights in the airspace through which MH17 was flying when taken down. In general, the airspace over a particular country is controlled by that country. It is that country’s aviation regulatory body, and the air-traffic control organizations that determine where, when and how aircraft are allowed to fly. On top of the local regulations, pilots and airlines are required to follow the directives of the country in which they are registered. No consensus regarding airspace restrictions above Eastern Ukraine Airspace restrictions are generally set up to ensure the safety of aircraft and their occupants and to ensure the safety of people on the ground. Restrictions may also exist because the country is trying to protect an asset inside the restricted airspace. Other restrictions will arise from disruptions to normal aviation services. For instance, if the air-traffic control radar at an airport fails, certain types of flights may be prohibited. The ...

    EU Court: “The Opening of the Aircraft Doors Are Crucial to Determine Delays” In the case Germanwings GmbH versus Ronny Henning, the Court of the European Union (CJEU) held that the ‘arrival time’, which is used to determine the length of the delay to which passengers on a flight have been subject, corresponds to the time at which at least one of the doors of the aircraft is opened. The Court pointed out that, during a flight, the possibilities of a passenger to communicate with the outside world are considerably restricted. The situation of passengers on a flight does not change substantially when the aircraft touches down on the runway or when the aircraft reaches its parking position. The passengers continue to be subject, in the enclosed space in which they are sitting, to various constraints. It is only when the passengers are permitted to leave the aircraft and the order is given to that effect to open the doors of the aircraft that the passengers cease to be subject to those constraints and may in principle resume their normal activities. The delay to a Germanwings flight from Salzburg to Cologne-Bonn has provided the ...

September 11 Inspired Aviation Counter-Terrorism Convention and Protocol Adopted The Beijing Convention, replacing the Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation 1971 (known as the “Montreal Convention”), and the Beijing Protocol, amending the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft 1970 (known as the “Hague Convention”) are new instruments which update the existing conventions in light of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and developments in counter-terrorism law over recent decades. The Beijing Convention provides for key new offenses of using an aircraft as a weapon (such as occurred on September 11), using weapons of mass destruction or dangerous substances against, on, or from an aircraft, and transporting dangerous materials. The instruments also provide for new ancillary offenses, expanded jurisdiction, and strengthened extradition and mutual assistance regimes. These developments aim to ensure that a wider range of perpetrators can be brought to justice in aviation-related terrorist or proliferation activities than is currently possible. The instruments are part of a series of UN conventions aimed at combating international terrorism. The proposals before the Diplomatic Conference were developed through a review of the Montreal and Hague Conventions ...

  The Impact of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Drones) on Privacy and Data Protection Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) – or drones – are since years widely used for military purposes. Only in recent years RPAS are also used for civilian and commercial purposes. Society has accepted the curtailment of the individual’s privacy rights in order to benefit from technological progress. The individual live is under constant surveillance. One cannot determine the effects yet that this all new control and control infrastructure will have on personal behaviour. Governments and law enforcement agencies are advocating that the need to protect society is justifying encroachment of personal lives. RPAS is a new tool, which is being deployed to collect information for civilian as well as military purposes. These aircraft are capable of flying silently for more than 24 hours at considerable range, loiter over targets and collect a considerable amount of information. The Privacy Right The personal sphere of the individual was recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10th,1948 (Article 12) which states that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor attacks upon his honour and reputation. ...

  Cape Town: A Global Treaty with an Advanced Information Base In less than 10 years, the Cape Town Convention, the global treaty on leasing and financing of commercial aircraft, has become the centrepiece of international aircraft trading. It is as well a driving force in attracting more capital to the aviation industry. The Cape Town Convention came into effect in 2006. The treaty covers commercial mobile assets including aircraft, spacecraft and rail equipment. Its specific Aircraft Protocol has created a legal framework that expands the sources for aircraft financing and reduces costs by minimizing legal risks in the countries that have ratified the treaty. The convention offers lenders confidence around their aircraft-secured investments by standardizing legal procedures for transactions involving movable property. This includes standards for registering sales contracts, security loans, leases and conditional sales contracts as well as various legal remedies to deal with defaults including repossession and the bankruptcy effects in particular jurisdictions. According to Scott Scherer, Boeing Capital Corporation Vice President for Strategic Regulatory Policy the Cape Town Convention is among the most successful commercial law treaties ever and is fundamentally shaping how aircraft transactions are done around the world”. The ...