Aviation Laws

Introduction :

At the Very outset why is the aviation industry surviving & why did it come into existence, that is because the citizen of India & the human beings of the world have a fundamental right under Article 19 (1) (d) & (e) of the constitution of India & under Article 13 & 14 of the universal declaration of U.N. on human rights which recognize the right of a person to move freely throughout the territory of its country & settle in any part of his country & abroad, he also has the right to leave his country & return to it again.

Recognizing these rights, the international institution of UN i.e. ICAO has enacted as its aim as “To establish international standards & regulations of Civil Aviation & to foster the development & planning of international Air Transport” It also recognize the 5 freedoms of air to meet the aim of ICAO. As we have a need for Air Transport we need some laws in place to regulate the movement of aviation therefore the need of aviation laws.

Aviation Laws :

Further we see how many laws do we have in place. There are about 12 laws in place. We have innumerable civil & Criminal laws in India, about 2500 pieces of legislation. These stunning fact pierces the veil of our lax political will & discovers the apathetic attitude towards the elite aviation therefore the need of aviation laws.

Effectiveness :

Taking a further view to analyse the legal balance of the incidents of unlawful interference in our nation & the effectiveness of our aviation laws. The result leaves us in a lurch & prod us to reconsider our thinking. The most important is the conviction rate on the cases registered we do not have any record which gives rise to innumerable questions unanswered today.

The constitution of India (COI) guarantees the right of life & liberty under Article 20 & 21 which includes the presumption of innocence till proved guilty but the 02 stringent Aviation laws are contradicting the COI under sec (U/s) 10A of Anti hijacking act and Sec 9A of Suppression of unlawful act against safety of civil aviation act 1982 (S of ULAAS of CA act 1982) & also the fact that both the acts make it mandatory to accept complaints made by a government officer only.

Further to it U/S 3 (2) of Tokyo convention Act – 1975 & U/S 9 of suppression of unlawful act makes it mandatory and inhabits the initiation of proceedings without the previous sanction of the central government furthermore it bewilders the minds of the law enforcer on section 5 (c ) (d) of suppression of unlawful act which says that a court can take cognizance of, even if the accused is not committed to it for trial.

Jurisdiction :

No aviation law gives a precise definition of the word jurisdiction as results there are technical perplexities & the percentage of conviction rate is low. The act only says that the designated court having jurisdiction to try offences at high seas has jurisdiction which itself is ambiguous & amenable to bureaucratic delay in obtaining permissions & gazette notification etc.

The Preamble :

The preamble is the face of the act &the preamble with the long title is to indicate in brief the purpose of the Act. It shows “Why “of the statute. If we have a look at the preamble of our various aviation laws the fact we discover is that they are enacted to give effect to & acceded to the international obligations of our country. There is no sincere initiative to formulate our country. There is no sincere initiative to formulate our own laws suitable to our conditions & Indian standard’s.

Government Bodies :

In India we have 02 basis bodies governing & regulating bodies i.e. D.G.C.A & B.C.A.S, where as DGCA is a statutory body set up in 1927 & effectively working since 1945. Whereas BCAS is successor of DCAS which was formed as a department in 1978 effective started working as BCAS since 1987. The institutions that is charged with job of regulating security & implement the laws is neither a statutory nor constitutional body. It is a toothless shark with no powers as compared to its collateral FAA in Us.

Unlawful Interference :

If we have a look at the kinds of unlawful interference, they can be broadly categorized into 08 types which it also approved by the BCAS we can conveniently say that we need a strong & effective aviation law to curb & inhibit this unlawful interference for which our present laws are in adequate.

Aviation Policy :

If we have a look at the history of Indian aviation it dates back to 1932 when the first flight was undertaken by J.R.D. TATA from Karachi to BOM. Since then we have traveled along way form Nationalisation; to the open skies policy in 1992. It is hard to believe that till date we neither have any aviation policy in place nor any consolidated aviation laws in April 2000 for comments of various ministries by Ministry of Civil Aviation & Tourism but no further actions were initiated subsequently.

Crimes :

At the end it would be appropriate to have a look at the crimes and number of unlawful interference (they are 08 in numbers, recognized by BCAS) which are not considered grave but can result into catastrophe it not taken early cognizance of the crimes such as TRESSPASS, RIOTING, AFFRAY, THEFT, TREASON, DACOITY, OBSCENE & UNRULY BEHAVIOUR, LIBEL AND SLANDER, CAUSING OBSTRUCTION, FRAUD, EMBEZZLEMENT & Abetting all the offences for which provision have been impact as they can be used by terrorist to create and infiltrate objectionable items and get away without major punishment.

With this we and our discussion leaving us to reconsider out thinking on the legal balance on the precarious aviation sector & balance the scale in favor of the user & the traveler.

Definition

Terms which are defined in the ICAO lexicon and the Annexes are used in accordance with the meanings and usages given therein. A wide variety of terms are in use throughout the world to describe facilities, Procedures and concepts for airport operations and planning. As far as possible the terms used in this document are those which have the widest international use.

Acts of unlawful interference :

• Violence against a person on board an aircraft in flight if that act is likely to endanger the safety of that aircraft.

• Destroying an aircraft in service or causing damage to such an aircraft which renders it incapable of flight or which is likely to endanger its safety in flight.

• Placing or causing to be placed on an aircraft in service by any means whatsoever, a device or substance which is likely to destroy that aircraft, or cause damage to it which renders it incapable of flight, or cause damage to it which is likely to endanger its safety in flight.

• Destroying or damaging air navigation facilities or interfering with their operation, if any such act is likely to endanger the safety of aircraft in flight ;

• Communicating information which is known to be false, thereby endangering the safety of an aircraft in flight.

• Unlawfully and intentionally using any devise, substance or weapon.

• Performing an act of violence against a person at an airport serving international civil aviation which causes or is likely to cause serious injury or death.