Treaty Developments
Entry into force of the Montréal Protocol 2014
On 26 November 2019, the requirements for the entry into force of the
Protocol to
Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, done at Montréal on 4 April 2014 (Montréal Protocol 2014) were fulfilled by the deposit with ICAO of the 22nd instrument of ratification by Nigeria. The Protocol entered into force on 1 January 2020.
Review of the limits of liability under the Montreal Convention of 1999
The limits of liability established under the Montreal Convention of 1999 are subject to a built-in periodic review mechanism, which functions as a method of preventing the erosion of liability limits due to inflationary conditions with the passage of time. ICAO, in its capacity as Depositary of this Convention, accordingly conducted the third review of limits of liability as per the Convention’s Article 24.
These limits are expressed in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). Based on data obtained from the International Monetary Fund, the entity in charge of administering the SDR, it was concluded that the threshold set out in the Convention for adjusting the limits upwards has been met. The determined adjustment factor amounted to 13.9%. By State letter LE 3/38.1-19/70 dated 11 October 2019, States were advised that the revised limits would become effective for all States Parties to the instrument as of 28 December 2019.
Safety aspects of economic liberalization and Article 83 bis
Pursuant to the first two of the five recommendations of the Article 83 bis Task Force, the proposed main features of an interactive web-based registration and publication system for Article 83 bis and other aeronautical agreements were presented to the Council at its 216th Session in February 2019. Work on the system has reached the development stage. A proposal for amendments to Annex 6 to the Chicago Convention responded to the third and fourth recommendations of the Task Force to include a Standard requiring a certified true copy in paper or electronic format of the Article 83
bis Agreement Summary to be carried on board aircraft while the agreement is in force. The said amendments underwent final review by the Air Navigation Commission at its 210th Session in March 2019, at which time the Commission approved their recommendation to the Council for adoption, with an applicability date of 5 November 2020. Consideration by the Council is anticipated at its 219th Session in March 2020. For remotely piloted aircraft systems, consideration will be given to introducing similar Standards for the Agreement Summary in the new Annex 6, Part IV, anticipated for March 2022.
International interests in mobile equipment (aircraft equipment)
During its 216th Session in March 2019, the Council approved the changes to the
Regulations and Procedures for the International Registry (Doc 9864) recommended by the Commission of Experts of the Supervisory Authority of the International Registry (CESAIR) at its Eighth Meeting held in August 2018. The eighth edition of Doc 9864 was published on 1 October 2019. As at 31 December 2019, there were 77 Parties to the
Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (Cape Town Convention) and the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment (Aircraft Protocol).
