Post-War International Civil Aviation Policy and the Law of the Air

187 Pages·1957·4.952 MB·English

by  H. A. Wassenbergh (auth.)

POST-WAR INTERNATIONAL
CIVIL AVIATION POLICY AND THE
LAW OF THE AIR
POST-WAR INTERNATIONAL
CIVIL AVIATION POLICY AND THE
LAW OF THE AIR
by
H. A. WASSENBERGH
Springer-Science+Business Media, B.Y.
1957
ISBN 978-94-017-5707-2 ISBN 978-94-017-6044-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-6044-7
Copyright I957 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
All rights reserved, including the right to translate or to
reproduce this book or parts thereot in any form
Originally published by Martinus Nijhoff in 1957.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1957
To the memory 0/ ALBERT PLESMAN
FOREWORD
Civil A viation has become a public utility
serV1-ce.
SALVATORE TOMASINO 1)
Although civil aviation has enjoyed unflagging publie interest
since its birth in 1919, and even before that date, the factors
governing the development of civil aviation are nevertheless not
widely known. This applies not so much to technical development
as to the politieal and economie considerations whieh ultimately
determine the pattern of the worldwide network of air routes.
Whereas, prior to World War II, civil aviation was regarded
mainly as an instrument for political penetration, with perhaps
the Netherlands and its K.L.M.2) as a striking exception, since
1945 civil aviation has come to be judged more on its own merits,
though it has remained primarily a government matter. The
politieal, strategie, economic, financial and social aspects of civil
aviation together constitute a field which, particularly since
World War II, has come to form the subject-matter of a more or
less independent branch of foreign policy, designated by the term
"international civil aviation policy".
In spite of the dominating factors of national prestige and later
of economie nationalism, States have nevertheless directly and
indirect1y taken upon themselves a number of obligations in the
international field, thereby giving civil aviation an international
legal basis.
An attempt will be made below to throw some light on the
problems that arise in the field of force between politics and law in
connection with the regulation of civil aviation throughout the
1) During the 14th Congress of the International Chamber of Commerce, Vienna,
21st May 1953; cl. L'Economie Internationate, No. 6-7, ]unel]uly 1953, Vol. XIX,
p. 39. See p. 164, below.
I) CI. O. J. Lissitzyn, International Air Transport and National Poliey, New
York 1942, pp. 409 and 55.
VIII FOREWORD
world, in the hope that this will contribute towards a reconcilia
tion of the many current conflicting tendencies in the interests of
the ideal of "freedom of the air", freedom of air transportation
and a united world, mindful of the words of the late Albert Ples
man, the former President of the K.L.M.: "The air unites all
peoples."
Scheveningen, 3Ist December I956
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AGM Annual General Meeting
ARB Air Research Bureau (Brussels)
CAB Civil Aeronautics Board (V.S.)
CATE Conference on the Coordination of Air Transport in
Europe (1954)
ECAC European Civil Aviation Conference
IATA International Air Transport Association (Montreal)
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization (Montreal)
ICC International Chamber of Commerce (Paris)
ILA International Law Association
ITA Institut du Transport Aerien (Paris)
MTCA Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (V.K.)
NJB Ne derlands J uristenblad
OEEC Organization for European Economic Cooperation
PICAO Provisional International Civil Aviation Organiza
tion
RGA Revue Generale de l' Air (France)
Airlines
ALITALIA Aerolinee Italiane Internazionali
AV ENSA Aerovias Venezolanas S.A.
BEA British European Airways Corporation
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation
DLH Deutsche Lufthansa Aktien Gesellschaft
KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - Koninklijke Lucht
vaartmaatschappij N.V.
LACSA Lineas Aereas Costarricences S.A.
PAA Pan American World Airways Inc.
SABENA Societe Anonyme BeIge d'Exploitation de la Naviga
tion Aerienne
SAS Scandinavian Airlines System
SWISSAIR Swiss Air Transport Company Ltd.
CONTENTS
Foreword VII
List 01 abbreviations IX
PART I
POST-WAR INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION POLICY
I. THE BASIS OF POST-WAR CIVIL AVIATION POLICY 3
II. TRENDS IN AVIATION POLICY IN 1944 AND SINCE 11
IH. PROBLEMS IN THE FIELD OF AVIATION POLICY 21
IV. MEANS OF AVIATION POLICY 29
A. Types of Air Service 30
B. Multilateral Convention 40
C. Capacity 46
D. The Bermuda Principles 53
E. Bilateral Aviation Agreements 61
F. Cabotage - Grand Cabotage - 6th Freedom 69
V. INTEGRATION OF AVIATION 75
PART 11
THE LAW OF THE AIR
VI. INTERNATIONAL LEGAL NORMS WITH RESPECT TO
CIVIL AVIATION 99
A. Sovereignty in Airspace 100
B. The Right of Innocent Passage 107
C. The Right to Air Transportation 109
D. The Right to Exploit the Aerial Highway 114
XII CONTENTS
E. The Norms with respect to Non-scheduled Air
Transportation 117
F. The Norms with respect to the Various Kinds
of Traffic 119
VII. THE MERITS OF TRENDS IN AVIATION POLICY 124
VIII. A NEW BASIS FOR INTERNATIONAL AVIATION POLICY? 132
IX. FUTURE PROSPECTS 149
X. THE POSITION OF THE NETHERLANDS 158
Annex Relevant Articles of the CONVENTION ON INTER-
NATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION 166
Index 175