A Closer Look at Conflicts of Interest

Abstract

The focus of ICAO has, for the past decades, been on ensuring safety and security of aviation and adopting effective, independent and impartial safety regulation of civil aviation. Therefore, any risks to the safety and security of international civil aviation is considered worthy of attention. Conflicts of interest are viewed as one such risk. In a Resolution adopted by the 39th Session of the ICAO Assembly in 2016, States which have not done so were urged, inter alia to consider establishing a formal legal framework to detect, avoid, mitigate and manage conflicts of interest in civil aviation. This Resolution also invited States to examine at the national level the adequacy of their domestic legal regimes on measures and practices to detect, avoid, mitigate and manage conflicts of interest in civil aviation, so that, with a view to ensuring and improving transparency and accountability in civil aviation regulatory activities would be ensured and improved. Such measures, the Resolution envisioned, would balance the circumstances and ability of States to fulfil their oversight obligations and address the risks to aviation safety and security posed by conflicts of interest.