Abstract
The authors elaborate on one of the controversial issues of international air law - safety of civil aircraft in flight in respect of the use of weapons against it. The first part of the present article considers major aerial accidents arising from shooting down the civil aircraft for the last 70 years as a factual basis for further legal analysis. In the second part, the authors back up customary prohibition of the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight and legal consequences for states for violating the mentioned principle. The authors investigate the grounds for the security exception and conclude that the only grounds for derogation from the principle of non-use of weapons against civil aircraft is Article 51 of the UN Charter proclaiming the inherent right of the state to self-defence. Even in this case, the application of the security exception by the state is tolerated by using a set of precautions before employment of weapons. Finally, authors conclude that compensation for victims reflects the inevitable monetisation of human lives. Moreover, states negotiations reveal the controversial reality of trade-offs between them, where compensation amounts are occasionally affected by external political factors and current position of a particular state in the international community.
Highlights
Civil aviation’s influence on the social and economic areas of our lives is increasingly active these days
The authors investigate the grounds for the ‘security exception’ and conclude that the only grounds for derogation from the principle of non-use of weapons against civil aircraft is Article 51 of the UN Charter proclaiming the inherent right of the state to self-defence
Throughout the history of aerial accidents, exceptions to the principle of non-use of weapons against civil aircraft have been repeatedly discussed both by the states that have shot down an aircraft and the victim states70
Summary
Civil aviation’s influence on the social and economic areas of our lives is increasingly active these days. To date, aerial accidents arising from shooting down a civil aircraft by states continue to occur Such cases take place regardless of the out-right prohibition to use weapons against civil aircraft in flight. The key practical point of this article is substantiating the existing customary rule of international law that generally prohibits the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight. This principle is regarded as a cornerstone of safety in civil aviation and as a primary precondition for its normal functioning
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