The Legal Edge

Procedure of Invest i gation of an aircraft accident. A brief historical background as to the subject of investigation is that, the concept of accident investigation was at first recognized at the S tandards and Recommendation Practices for Aircraft Accident Inquiry which was  adopted by the Council on 11 th April 1951 pursuant to Article 37 of the Convention of the I nternational Civil Aviation (Chicago 1944) and was designed as Annex 13 to the Convention.   Following after, was the  Fourteen session which considered aircraft accident investigation and  further adopted a resolution to study whether it was possible  to establish procedures by which the State of Manufacture, the State that first certified the aircraft type would make available competence experts for advice and consultation in the investigation of accident. As time went by, new rules for accident investigation have enhanced and shaped what is called today Annex 13. Definition of terms Investigat...

  T he Concept of Accidents, Investigations and Liability in Air and Space Law Generally one has to appreciate the international legal framework governing the Aviation Law with regards to accidents and investigations:that is the 1994 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and the Warsaw Convention for the Unification of  Certain Rules for International Carriage By Air. This blog seeks to provide an overall understanding of the issues below ;- Questions Q.1 What is contemplated by the term “accident” and “investigation”? Q.2 What  is meant by “death”and  “bodily injury” and what “damages” are recoverable under these Conventions? Q.3 Why investigations are carried out? ACCIDENTS Concept of Liability The Warsaw Convention was the first International Convention pertaining to the  concept of Liability in the International Air Carriage. As stated under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention, it provides that; The carrier shall be liable for damage sustained i...