At the time when ancient Greeks were imagining the myth of the flight of Daedalus and Icarus, ships were already available, using for their movement manpower or the power of the wind applied to their hoisted sails. Aegeus, another mythical hero and son of Thesseus, the founder of Athens, made his expedition to Crete, to kill the Minotaur of the Labyrinth, on board a ship, the sails of which were black. Already at that time, mariners were performing Sea Commerce between the various then known parts of the world. The owner of the ship was, at the same time, Master and merchant; he bought things in one place and sold them in another.

The year 1953 is the Fiftieth Anniversary of powered flight. What is the history of aviation from Icarus until today? The legend of Icarus is well-known, but little is known about the more historical than legendary first “heavier-than-air" flight. Nimrod, the builder of the famous tower of Babel, and contemporary of Abraham, who reigned over Lebanon, wanted to attack Jehovah in Heaven. He devised the plan of scaling the heavens in a car drawn by four strong birds. "The car, after wandering in space for a long time, crashed on Mount Hermon, where the body of the audacious monarch, horribly mutilated, was found and burled.”

Le problème de la responsabilité du transporteur des personnes envers ses voyageurs occupe une place importante dans le droit des transports; ce problème est particulièrement important dans le plus jeune mode du transport - le transport aérien. Ce problème évidemment n'est pas simple,- il embrasse plusieurs questions, dont une est la détermination du moment dans lequel la responsabilité du transporteur des personnes commence et quand elle prend fin. Ce moment, naturellement, n'est pas le même dans chaque mode de transport et il peut varier selon le caractère et la nature de ce mode ainsi qu’en dépendance des risques et dangers qu'il crée.

The participation of Canada as an independent political entity in international agreements, is a comparatively new undertaking for our country, and one which, according to many authorities was not foreseen by the Fathers of Confederation when drafting the British North America Act, 1867. However a study of this subject reveals that its progress is closely related to the general development of Canada into a sovereign state, and in this Part a brief historical review will be made, together with a summary of the various types of international agreements that can be entered into and the procedural steps required to consummate these agreements.

Aeronautical progress bas thrust upon each of the politically active inhabitants of the globe, in more peremptory fashion each year, the task of reconciling his opinions as a human being with his opinions as a citizen. Those who believe that men in the mass ultimately act in accord with their interests and ultimately formulate their interests in accord with human considerations will foresee the emergence of a world community assuring peace and justice.

Ever since civilization exist, the notion of exchange and of transporting has been one of the outstanding elements of life in human society. One may say that the development of civilization and the evolution of all its main attributes (economic, political, cultural, and social) rest upon man-made means of communication. Among the many factors which have conditioned and at the same time shaped the history of mankind, transportation and communication have been not causes, but certainly essential elements of the progressive development of society.

One of the most difficult problems with which aviation lawyers have had to concern themselves is the problem of compensation for damages caused by aircraft to persons and property on the surface of the earth. Planes in the course of flight traverse the flight space above private property and at any moment for innumerable known and unknown reasons may come falling to the surface causing damage to persons and property thereon. This perplexing problem has been of grave concern in both national and international fields for quite some time. On the international level the world’s most brilliant legal talent have been exerting their efforts in this field for several decades.

The purpose attempted in this paper is to stress some analogies and differences in the approach to the problem of real rights in vessels and aircraft at both the national and international levels. This problem is perhaps the most complex one ever embodied in the form of an international convention. This is due to the fact that individual legal systems regard real rights in movables as one of the most exclusive domains of their legislative and jurisdictional power.

The liability for damage caused by aircraft to third parties on the ground is regulated very differently by the various national laws. Some laws are based solely on the principle of fault liability, whereas, others on that of absolute liability. In some states the operator's liability is limited to a certain amount of damage, in others, the operator may be held liable for unlimited damage. There are also considerable differences in the national laws regarding the securities required in respect of the operator's liability.

L’existence de problèmes et d’idéaux communs pousse les États européens vers des formes de coopération qui toute fois, dans la phase politique actuelle, n'influencent pas substantiellement leur autonomie souveraine. Une telle situation se réflète dans le domaine de l’aviation civile où les droits essentiels à l’exploitation du transport aérien sont échangés sur une base bilatérale ou octroyés par des autorisations d’exploitation. Ceci permet aux États de proportionner l’octroi des droits de trafic à la sauvegarde des intérêts légitimes de leurs compagnies nationales.