[Truncated abstract] “Open Skies” is the term given to a relatively recent (1992) policy initiative of the United States in its pursuit of the deregulation of international air transportation. It represents the latest in a long line of similar initiatives which the U.S. has been pursuing almost since the inception of the aviation industry. Essentially “Open Skies” is little more than a specific type of bilateral aviation agreement between two nations (and often between more than two nations) which typically provides for open entry on routes, unrestricted capacity and frequency on routes, and unrestricted air traffic rights. The significance of Open Skies agreements is that they appear to encapsulate general world-wide trends towards open economies characterised by a minimum of government interference and a maximum reliance on market forces to allocate scarce resources ... Australia however is not one of the nations seeking to become a party to such an agreement with the U.S. despite attempts by that nation to persuade Australia to do so and the question is: Can or should Australia resist attempts by the United States to bring it within the expanding umbrella of Open Skies, or are there other practical alternatives open to Australia? After examining the history of the development of Open Skies agreements and their international legal foundation, this thesis argues that there are strong considerations of policy and economics why Australia should embrace Open Skies initially at least on a regional basis centred in the Asia Pacific region, rather than with the United States. Implicit in that proposal is the fact that in terms of its constitutional and legal system, Australia has the legal capacity to enter into Open Skies agreements. The parties to such a regional Open Skies agreement might at a later date choose to enter into a multilateral Open Skies agreement with the United States, if economic and political conditions are suitable for them to do so. On the assumption that a form of Open Skies policy will eventually be adopted by Australia this thesis examines the constitutional and domestic legal regulatory framework for aviation within Australia, and the changes if any which would be required to it, if Australia was to embrace such a policy.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/221155 |
Date | January 2003 |
Creators | Baldock, Geoffrey Clive |
Publisher | University of Western Australia. Law School |
Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Rights | Copyright Geoffrey Clive Baldock, http://www.itpo.uwa.edu.au/UWA-Computer-And-Software-Use-Regulations.html |
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