International Air Law Response to Challenges in UAS Regulation

This Chapter addresses the regulatory framework in international air law for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), with particular regard to the challenges that were identified in Chapters One and Two. Analysis is provided of the existing international legal and institutional frameworks applicable to civil aviation, particularly those regulating UAS. The existing legal framework consists mainly of treaty law that includes the Chicago Convention of 1944, and various decisions and instruments adopted by ICAO. These instruments include Annexes to the Chicago Convention developed as Standards and Recommendations Practices (SARPs). In general, international air law refers to the rule that applies to both domestic and international aviation binding the States and international organizations to agreements in respect to their civil aviation. The rules oversee the multifaceted relationship between States, passengers, cargo, and service providers. Also covered are other sources of law including customary international law that complement the relevant international law as set out in the treaties. As a roadmap, an analysis of the framework is made with a view to describing, assessing and drawing conclusions on how the existing international legal structure and architecture has developed to address the threefold challenges of safety, security and privacy in civil aviation.