Trofimova
T.A.
the
student of the 4th course of department of International Law
Sylkina
S.M. (scientific adviser)
the
associate professor of department of International Law
Al-Farabi
Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan
The common
characteristics of the most important statements of Beijing Convention on the
Suppression of Unlawful Acts relating to International Civil Aviation
Aviation security conventions, adopted in 60th-70th
year of XX century and ratified in 60th-70th
years of XX century by the most of States, played and continued to fulfill the
important positive role in suppression with
acts of unlawful interference in
activity of international civil aviation. However, civil aviation, including
all of its compiling elements (aircrafts, airports) continues to stay a
vulnerable object for terroristic and another acts of unlawful interference.
The air law international conference was held in
Beijing from 30th of August till 10th of September. The
aim of the conference was accepting amendments to Hague Convention for the
Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft 1970 and Montreal Convention for
the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation 1971. The
result of work of this diplomatic conference was accepting 2 documents:
1) Protocol, supplementary to the Hague Convention for
the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft;
2) Beijing Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts relating to
International Civil Aviation.
Actually, Beijing Convention connects texts of
Montreal Convention, Montreal Protocol and new amendments, which were prepared
by ICAO from 2005 to 200 years.
The most important innovation, which Beijing
Convention contains, is enlargement the list of types of offences against the
safety of Civil Aviation. Any person commits an offence if that person
unlawfully and intentionally:
- uses an aircraft in service for
the purpose of causing death, serious bodily injury, or serious damage to
property or the environment; or
- releases or discharges from an
aircraft in service any bio, chemical, nuclear (BCN) weapon or explosive,
radioactive, or similar substances in a manner that causes or is likely to
cause death, serious bodily injury or serious damage to property or the
environment; or
- uses against or on board an aircraft
in service any BCN weapon or explosive, radioactive, or similar substances in a
manner that causes or is likely to cause death, serious bodily injury or
serious damage to property or the environment; or
- transports, causes to be
transported, or facilitates the transport of, on board an aircraft:
1) any explosive or radioactive
material, knowing that it is intended to be used to cause, or in a threat to
cause, with or without a condition, as is provided for under national law,
death or serious injury or damage for the purpose of intimidating a population,
or compelling a government or an international organization to do or to abstain
from doing any act; or
2) any BCN weapon, knowing it to be
a BCN weapon as defined in Article 2 [1].
As we see from
this list, the common sign of the most these new acts, which are offences
according Beijing Convention, are, that they are directed (непосредственно) not against safety of aircraft or another objects of civil aviation
(for example, airports). They connect with causing of damage to life, health or
property of the third side, who are not on aircraft and aren’t objects of civil
aviation, also, they connect with damage to environmental. Such strategy of
Beijing Convention differentiates it from Tokyo Convention, Hague Convention,
Montreal Convention and Montreal Protocol. On the first view, it may cases
question about expediency of including new types of offences to International
Treaty, referring safety of International Civil Aviation.
Events happened on 11th September 2001 in
the USA and other threats, concerned civil aviation in XXI century, became
powerful impulse for International Civil Aviation organization (ICAO), many
states and for global community in the whole to see problem of safety of civil
aviation from new side. In 60th-70th years of XX century,
when were signed Tokyo Convention, Hague Convention and Montreal Convention,
the main attention of states was directed to the questions of safety of
aircraft in flight or in service. Now, the most important problem is prevention
using of civil aviation with the aim to cause more harmful consequences than
capture and damage aircraft (for example, using of the aircraft as a weapon to
make damage in air or on ground; or for delivery BCN weapon).
According Beijing Convention each State Party shall take such measures
as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offences:
a) when the
offence is committed in the territory of that State;
b) when the
offence is committed against or on board an aircraft registered in that State;
c) when the
aircraft on board which the offence is committed lands in its territory with
the alleged offender still on board;
d) when the
offence is committed against or on board an aircraft leased without crew to a
lessee whose principal place of business or, if the lessee has no such place of
business, whose permanent residence is in that State;
e) when the
offence is committed by a national of that State.
Also, Each State Party may also establish its jurisdiction over any such
offence in the following cases:
a) when the
offence is committed against a national of that State;
b) when the
offence is committed by a stateless person whose habitual residence is in the
territory of that State [2].
The important statement of Beijing Convention, which directs to
consolidation of working of the principle aut dedere, aut judicare None of the
offences set forth in Article 1 shall be regarded, for the purposes of
extradition or mutual legal assistance, as a political offence or as an offence
connected with a political offence or as an offence inspired by political
motives. Accordingly, a request for extradition or for mutual legal assistance
based on such an offence may not be refused on the sole ground that it concerns
a political offence or an offence connected with a political offence or an
offence inspired by political motives [3].
Beijing Convention will be in force
after a month, when it will be ratified by 22 states. The aim of Beijing
Convention is raising efficiency international legal regulation of Suppression
of Unlawful Acts relating to International Civil Aviation, suppression with new
threats of XXI century. We hope that participation of states in this Treaty
will be expanded and Convention will play
the big role in regulation of co-operation between states.
Gradually,
international treaties directed to Suppression of Unlawful Acts in activity of
International Civil Aviation improve. They consider scientifically-technically
progress, which creates new methods of completion of offences.
Also,
more big unification international treaties directed to Suppression of Unlawful
Acts in activity of International Civil Aviation with conventions about fight
with terrorism ( for example, International Convention on the marking of
plastic explosives for the purpose of detection, signed in Montreal, 01 Mar
1991). It connects with questions of criminal jurisdiction of states, requests
for extradition.
In conclusion, may
say that now we see tendencies improving of international legal regulation of
suppression of unlawful acts relating to International Civil Aviation.
The
list of references
[1] Article 1 Beijing Convention on the Suppression of
Unlawful Acts relating to International Civil Aviation, adopted in Beijing on
the 10th September 2010
http://legacy.icao.int/DCAS2010/restr/docs/beijing_convention_multi.pdf
[2] Article 8 Beijing Convention on the Suppression of
Unlawful Acts relating to International Civil Aviation, adopted in Beijing on
the 10th September 2010
http://legacy.icao.int/DCAS2010/restr/docs/beijing_convention_multi.pdf
[3] Article 13 Beijing Convention on the Suppression
of Unlawful Acts relating to International Civil Aviation, adopted in Beijing
on the 10th September 2010
http://legacy.icao.int/DCAS2010/restr/docs/beijing_convention_multi.pdf