How Many Engines on a Boeing 737? An Analysis of Accession Rules in Relation to Aircraft Engines

Abstract

Accession rules based on or similar to Article XVI of the 1948 Geneva Convention still affect the position of aircraft engine lessors and financiers. There is further uncertainty caused by the different conflict of laws rules in relation to aircraft, i.e. the lex situs, the lex registri and the lex actus. The outcome of a dispute regarding the title to an aircraft engine may depend on the rules of private international law of the lex fora. The status of an aircraft engine will be assessed differently if the dispute is brought before an English court (applying the lex situs), a US court (applying the lex actus) or a Dutch court (applying the lex registri). In addition, the different treatment of aircraft engines under the 1948 Geneva Convention and the Cape Town Convention (CTC) respectively underlines the potential problems for engine lessors and financiers. In this publication, the author examines and analyses accession rules, the main conflict of laws rules and the undesirable implications of the absence of a uniform body of rules regarding the property regime for aircraft.