“…the Tokyo Convention does not prescribe specifi c offences but rather relies upon offences as codifi ed under national law…”
The Tokyo Convention does not
prescribe specific offences but rather relies upon offences as codified under national law as it applies to acts, which, whether offences or not, affect the in-flight safety of persons or property or jeopardise the discipline on board a civil aircraft. With respect to the list of offences, the Sub-Committee gave consideration to a long list of offences with a view to providing clear and uniform rules to define punishable unruly behaviour on board aircraft. However, whilst it became impossible to adopt an exhaustive list of offences, two types of acts were proposed for further consideration i.e. the act of assault against a crew member and the act of refusal to follow a lawful instruction given by or on behalf of the aircraft commander.
It is to be noted that the IFSOs did not exist at the time of the adoption of the Tokyo Convention, but today they are
increasingly deployed on international flights. Therefore further work is considered necessary in order to reach agreement with respect to the role of the IFSOs and their possible immunity within the framework of the Tokyo Convention. The possible financial claims by airlines against unruly passengers, particularly in cases of diversion of aircraft, were also addressed.
Nevertheless, additional effort and work is still needed in order to reach consensus on the modification / amendment of the above matters, as well as on the possible form for amending the Tokyo Convention since not all of them can be resolved at the level of the Sub- Committee and some policy matters can only be decided at the level of a diplomatic conference. The Special Sub- Committee submitted a draft Protocol for the amendment/modification of the Tokyo Convention for further consideration, with particular reference to the issue of unruly passengers. The Legal Committee was convened at the 35th Session in Montreal 6-15 May 2013 for the revision of the proposed draft. However, at the time of writing, no data has been publicly issued on the meeting’s conclusions.
Conclusion
New types of threats against civil aviation require new concerted efforts and policies of cooperation on the part of states. For the past decade ICAO has promoted a lot of initiatives and works in the aviation security legal instruments, policy, strategies (the Declaration on Aviation Security, the ICAO Comprehensive Aviation Security Strategy) and actions (the Universal Security Audit Programme, Machine Readable Travel Documents Programme, Facilitation Programme, to name a few) which are seen as a means to better address these threats and to reinforce the global aviation security framework. Should the two Beijing legal instruments be ratified as well as an amendment of the Tokyo Convention be convened, together with the ICAO aviation security strategies and actions, these will strengthen the legal framework for international cooperation in preventing and suppressing unlawful acts against civil aviation.
Diana M. Stancu is an independent consultant trading as
Safe and Secure Skies.
Threat Assessments & Security Audits Terminal Access Control & Document Verification Aircraft & Ramp Security Catering & Duty Free Security Cargo, Mail and Courier Shipment Security Baggage Guarding & Escorting Passenger & Baggage Screening (Private Charter) Ticket Fraud Identification & Investigations Deportee Escorts AVSEC Training Automated Profiling Systems Mobile Access Control Systems
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