The forty-first session of the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was held from 27 September to 7 October 2022. This session was significant when viewed from a legal perspective as it heralded the seventy-fifth anniversary of the ICAO Legal Committee; its service to the legal community; and its importance in initiating work on legal issues, which were formally recognized by the Assembly with the adoption of a Resolution. Additionally, the Assembly addressed three areas of contention outside the legal sphere of the consolidated statement of continuing ICAO policies in the legal field which prompted the Assembly to adopt new resolutions.(A 41-1: Infraction of the Convention on International Civil Aviation by the Republic of Belarus; A 41-2: Infractions of the Convention on International Civil Aviation by the Russian Federation and A41-3: Unannounced missile launches by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)) These Resolutions brought to bear current legal issues that confront and affect international civil aviation, together with the need to look at the role that ICAO can play in enhancing the capacity of states to comply more effectively with the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), its Annexes and regulations. The Assembly also focused on encouraging states which have not already done so to ratify amendments to the Chicago Convention and multilateral treaties on international civil aviation. Furthermore, the Assembly provided the international aviation community with the opportunity to take another look at state sovereignty over the air space of its territory; the application of the Chicago Convention in times of war and a state of emergency; ICAO’s jurisdiction over unannounced military activity; and state responsibility.
This article will discuss the resolutions adopted by the Assembly in the legal field and the nuances they present.
Air and Space Law