The twentieth century has seen the realization of many of man's oldest dreams by means of new inventions and the perfection of old ones. The radio, the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, television and the more recent harnessing of atomic energy have changed the way of life and the habits of the present generations. Of these, the greatest and, perhaps, the most important in the first half of the century is without any doubt the realization of controlled flight.

The province of the present study is a legal and geo-political inquiry into the status of the navigable air-space. The fundamental law of the status of the air-space was restated or reaffirmed in 1944 at Chicago by the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Article 1 of this convention provided that 'every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the air-space above its territory.' [...]

The existing monetary limitations of liability in international private air law are reviewed and compared with limits in other branches of transport law. The reasons submitted to justify monetary limitations of liability in air law are summarized and criticised. / A comparison of the level of limits with statistics and the social requirement to provide full recovery of damages lead to the conclusion that the limits are inadequate and unrealistically low. The problem of the unit of account in which limits are expressed (gold, SDR) and the idea of freezing the amount of damages recoverable in conventions without self-regulatory clauses are discussed from the perspective of inflation and the current economic situation. Deficiencies in the existing legal solutions in air law are exposed and criticised. In conclusion, a new system of compensation to victims of air crashes breaking away from the existing monetary limitations of liability in air law and based on prevailing aviation insurance market practices is proposed.

This Thesis is divided into three parts. First, it discusses the international setting of satellite communications, presenting the diversity of their legal regimes. It then addresses, in two subsequent parts, the two major regulatory markets which are moulding the evolution of the international setting of space-based communications. In a second part, it presents North-America which was the inceptor of the deregulation trend and of the LEO systems and which firmly holds the lead of the regulatory trend. Then, it addresses Western Europe which is attempting to exert a part of the control of the evolution of the LEO lion's share in a context of US regulatory and technical dominance. / The outcome of this Thesis is multifold. The accent is given all along on the changes affecting the regulatory environment of space-based communications within space-law concepts and stresses the dominant relationship between state regulators and their corporate partners, with a constant questioning on the leeway that seems to characterise the evolution of the law of space applications. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This thesis examines problems related to particular labor laws currently applied in international air transport. This analysis is framed within the context of scholarly theory and judicial practice arising from various regimes of labor law governing industrial injury, the individual contract of employment, labor-management relations, and fair treatment in the civil aviation industry. / A critical survey of labor regulations operating in the international air transport industry is provided through commentary on the principles formulated by judicial decisions and the theories which underlie their reasoning, helping to clarify both substantive and procedural labor laws affecting international air transport. / A critical analysis of different categories of statutory labor law governing international air transport is also provided to assess the validity of commonly-erected conflict of labor law rules, thereby revealing the inadequacy of the single rule principle in view of the unique and perplexing regulatory interests which are inherent in aviation activity. The divergence between domestic labor statutes and Treaties of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation or bilateral air transport agreements also adds a more subtle aspect to the problems explored.

This thesis is a comparative study of English, American, French, Canadian and Quebec law relative to the implied terms of voyage charterparties. / It addresses specifically the implied terms in the general law of contract demonstrating the similarity between the Civil and Common law systems as well as the need to convert the implied terms into rules of law not subject to exclusion by agreement. The latter proposal is also supported by the doctrine of frustration which has evolved from the notion of implied terms into a principle of law. / The thesis treats the implied undertakings of the shipowner which are to provide a seaworthy vessel, to go the the port of loading with reasonable despatch, to exercise reasonable care and to proceed without deviation. / In addition, it studies the implied undertakings of the charterer being, essentially, the obligation to nominate a safe port and/or berth, and the undertaking not to ship dangerous goods. / The thesis takes into account the impact of the transportation of goods under voyage charterparties upon the environment and suggests how this impact and its effects might be prevented by international law. / Finally, it is submitted that because implied terms have been and are part of the fundamental legal structure of the voyage charterparty in both Common and Civil law, they should become express rules of international law, not subject to exclusion by contract.

No description available.

Access to, and use of the geostationary orbit--a limited natural resource--is governed by the legal norms of international space law and international telecommunication law. In order to better understand the issues involved in its regulation, the fundamental elements of the geostationary orbit, its definition, technical characteristics, advantages and nature as a limited natural resource are examined (Chapter I). The legal regime governing an area or environment is built primarily upon its legal status; hence, in Chapter II, the legal status of the orbit is discussed. An analysis of the applicable legal principles of international space law follows (Chapter III); while Chapter IV contains detailed consideration of the regulatory regime established through the International Telecommunication Union. In addition to the UN and ITU, other international organizations are, to some extent, involved in regulation of the use of the geostationary orbit by their respective members. Relevant provisions of the treaties setting up these organisations are briefly discussed in Chapter V. This is followed by a final analysis, conclusions and recommendations (Chapter VI). An extensive, but selective bibliography completes the study.

As the saying goes, "the importance of insurance, like many of life's essentials, is most evident when it is not available". The fateful terrorist events of September 11, 2001, amply demonstrated the indisputable fact that, as a risk management tool, conventional insurance has inherent limitations so far as coverage of the air transport industry's exposure to the most catastrophic risks – aviation war and terrorism risks – is concerned. September 11, 2001, also demonstrated the fact that states and their governments have a role to play in the provision of insurance coverage for aviation war and terrorism risks to the air transport industry and, by logical extension, to all other areas of economic endeavor. On the strength of these revelations, a global search for a viable and sustainable means of providing the global air transport industry with insurance or other equivalent financial coverage for aviation war and terrorism risks began in earnest in 2001. Several concepts and ideas were (and are still being) proposed and implemented in that regard, and ultimately, an international treaty addressing the issue (albeit from a different perspective) was adopted and opened for signature in May 2009 under the auspices of ICAO. This dissertation explores the central problems underlying the insurance by conventional means of aviation war and terrorism risks. It then analyzes some of the most prominent concepts and ideas proposed and/or implemented in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, to determine whether (and how) they avoid the pitfalls that are responsible for the inability of conventional insurance markets to provide coverage for aviation war and terrorism risks in a sustainable manner. The dissertation constitutes an original contribution to the development of legal knowledge in the sense that it applies analytical principles derived from the disciplines of law and economics and behavioural law and economics to determine the sustainability and viability of new/proposed legal regimes governing the insurance of catastrophic aviation war and terrorism risks. / Comme il est souvent dit, « l'importance d'une assurance, comme beaucoup d'autres choses essentielles dans la vie, se fait plus ressentir lorsque l'on n'en dispose pas ». Les tragiques évènements terroristes du 11 septembre 2001, ont amplement souligné le fait indéniable, qu'en tant qu'instrument de gestion des risques, l'assurance traditionnelle a ses propres limites, si l'on considère la couverture de l'industrie du transport aérien, face aux risques les plus graves – guerre et terrorisme. Le 11 septembre 2001 a également démontré que les Etats et les gouvernements ont un rôle à jouer, dans la prestation de couverture d'assurance, contre les risques de guerre et de terrorisme, à l'industrie du transport aérien, et par extension logique, à tous les autres secteurs de l'économie. Sur la base de ces révélations, une recherche globale, dans le but de trouver des moyens viables et durables d'assurer une couverture de l'industrie du transport aérien contre le risque terroriste et la guerre, par le biais d'assurances ou de tout autre instrument financier de couverture équivalente, a commencé dès 2001. Plusieurs idées et concepts ont été (et sont toujours) proposés et mis en place dans cette optique, et dernièrement, un traité sur le sujet (bien que sous une perspective différente) a été adopté et ouvert à la signature, sous les auspices de l'OACI. Cette thèse explore les principaux problèmes sous-jacents des assurances traditionnelles, s'agissant des risques de guerre et de terrorisme dans l'aviation. Elle analyse ensuite quelques-uns des plus importants concepts et idées proposés et/ou mis en place après le 11 septembre 2001, afin de déterminer si (et comment) ils évitent les pièges, qui conduisent à l'impossibilité pour le marché des assurances traditionnelles, de fournir une couverture des risques de guerre et de terrorisme dans l'aviation, de manière durable. Cette thèse constitue une contribution originale au développement juridique, dans sa façon d'appliquer des principes analytiques dérivés des domaines du droit et de l'économie, ainsi que des sciences du comportement et de l'économie, afin de déterminer la viabilité et la pérennité des nouveaux régimes juridiques proposés, relatifs à l'assurance des risques liés à la guerre et au terrorisme dans l'aviation.

Looking at the current air traffic system developments and the use of satellite for communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management, an emerging trend of institutions and law can be observed. This thesis assesses the institutional and legal contributions of the satellite services to civil aviation. / This thesis is divided into three parts. Part I sets the scene by giving the reader a brief look at the technical side of the current air navigation system. Chapter I explores the current system's deficiencies and Chapter II explains the framework of selected existing aeronautical and general operating satellite systems and institutions. / Part II deals with the prospective long-range needs of air navigation. Chapter III focuses on the characteristics and capabilities of the new systems and Chapter IV sets out the available financial options. / Part III deals with the vital legal and institutional aspects involved in using satellite systems for civil aviation purposes. Chapter V reviews the legal problems of safety and non-safety aeronautical air-ground communications, Chapter VI identifies the current applicable air, space and telecommunication law, and their impact on the new systems, Chapter VII deals with the institutional aspects of the new systems and Chapter VIII sets out this writer's recommendations. Lastly, final remarks are presented.