International civil aviation is not regulated in the same way as shipping. As well as being quite different in character, air travel is a much newer form of transport and has been regulated by treaty almost from the beginning. The Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation 1944 (in this chapter, ‘the Convention’) provides the essential framework and established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Convention has 188 parties.

(References to numbered Articles and annexes are to those of the Convention, unless otherwise indicated.)

International Civil Aviation Organization

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a UN specialised agency with headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Its general purpose is the planning and development of international air navigation. It has wide and comprehensive regulatory functions, especially with regard to the safety of aircraft, although their implementation is for national aviation authorities. The ICAO Council adopts, by a two-thirds majority, International Standards and Recommended Practices and Procedures. These are contained in eighteen detailed Annexes to the Convention, which take effect unless a simple majority of states reject them within three months (Article 90).