FLIGHT RULES

INTERNATIONAL LAW IN AVIATION

by its nature, aviation is one of the most internationalized activities. in the matter of hours, an airplane could switch tens of state jurisdictions. in aviation, all states must speak the same language, and must apply the same rules, which is a sensible matter, because international laws supersede national laws, and international ruling restrict the sovereignity of the states. the chosen language was english, and the aftermath of world war II, all major states of the world signed a contract to apply the same rules. this contract is known the chicago convention, and 190 states are currently adhering to it. the institution which leads and manages this process is the international civil aviation organization (ICAO), based on montreal, canada, with seven regional offices (http://www.icao.int).

romania is currently one of the 360 council members states of ICAO.

There are three sets of criteria generating aircraft categories, and all are managed by ICAO:

• class/ category / type for airworthiness certification of aircraft
• category (speed) for designing flight procedures
• category ( wake turbulence ) for separation requirements between aircraft

this could seem complicated, but an aircraft registered in any of the 190 contracting states needs to be recognized as airworthy in all other states, needs to apply flight procedures in any other state, and must be separated from other aircraft following the same rules in all other states.