Air and Space Law Commons^™

Warsaw Convention--A New Cause Of Action For Emotional Distress Under Old Section 17: A Look At Floyd V. Eastern Airlines, 872 F.2d 1467 (11th Cir. 1989), Larry Johnson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Rpas And Non-International Conflict - A Strategic/Legal Assessment, Michael P. Kreuzer

Cardozo Law Review

Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs) have, in recent years, been among the most controversial weapons systems in the U.S. war on terrorism. Debate rages over their overall effectiveness, their legality outside of recognized war zones, such as Afghanistan, and the precedent U.S. RPAs might set for other state and non-state actors in the future. Rather than focusing on the technology of the RPA platform itself, this Article argues that the RPA enables a type of war against individuals that exposes a significant hole in both international law and conventional understanding of the boundaries of warfare. Rather than focusing on treaties to …

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Legitimate Weapon Systems Or Unlawful Angels Of Death?, Michael J. Deegan

Pace International Law Review

Since the invasion of Afghanistan, the United States has utilized Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to locate, surveil and kill members of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and its associated forces. Such killings have decimated the leadership of these groups and disrupted their operations. However, there are collateral effects from UAV killings including civilian deaths. These deaths increase resentment and hatred toward the US, which is channeled by terrorist groups to recruit new members and for local support. Moreover, targeted killings outside a combat zone have political and diplomatic consequences. This paper argues that the current uses of UAV are legal under international …

Small Satellites And Liability Associated With Space Traffic Situational Awareness, George Anthony Long

Space Traffic Management Conference

At the commencement of the space age, satellites were very small objects that subsequently grew in size and complexity. A re-emergence of small satellites is occurring given that technology now allows them to perform certain operations of large satellites. This paper will explore the risk and liability in space traffic situational awareness associated with the proliferation in the deployment of small satellites.

Small satellites encompass a range of space objects referred to as nanosatellites, microsatellites, picosatellites, cube satellites, femtosatellites and other designations. These satellites are generally placed into orbit as part of a “piggyback” payload on other launches or cargo …

U.S. Private On-Orbit Space Situational Awareness Systems And Services: Legal And Regulatory Challenges, Michael Mineiro

Space Traffic Management Conference

One component of Space Traffic Management (STM) is on-orbit Space Situational Awareness (SSA) systems and services. Advances in technology and a growing demand for SSA services, information, and data, coupled with U.S. Government policy that promotes the purchase and use of commercial SSA capabilities, means that private commercial sector is likely to have an important role to play. To date, there is no federal agency with clear jurisdiction over on-orbit remote sensing operations. This paper examines the current regulatory framework, identifies gaps and limitations, and identifies possible ways forward.

Toward The International Regime For Space Traffic Management -What To Fix The Current International Regulations-, Yu Takeuchi

Space Traffic Management Conference

Space Traffic Management (STM) is an effective concept for providing a solution to the current congested, contested, and competed situation of outer space. However the status of international legal system governing outer space remains at its original formation of the 1960s. Filling this gap is an inescapable task soon or late and it is necessary to establish the international regime for STM to do so. Various issues of the UN Space Treaties and relevant soft laws have been discussed in the context of STM item-by-item, but few are oriented to the establishment of a comprehensive international regime for STM.

This …

How To Reach An International Civil Aviation Organization Role In Space Traffic Management, Lt. Col. Stephen Hunter

Space Traffic Management Conference

The late President Emeritus of the ICAO Council, Assad Kotaite, recommended a new annex to the Chicago Convention to extend ICAO responsibilities for producing International Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for suborbital and orbital civil space flights[i]. Additionally, the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense and the European Union have independently conceived standards that have yet to mature to an amicable stage. This impetus to develop SARPs is growing more urgent as space becomes more congested, contested and competitive. In order to best determine how to mature internationally acceptable SARPs for seamless operations from tropospheric to exo-atmospheric …

The Cape Town Convention And The Law Of Outer Space: Five Scenarios, Mark J. Sundahl

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The adoption of the Space Assets Protocol to the Cape Town Convention marked a new era in the evolution of the law of outer space by providing the first space treaty regarding private international law. This Protocol was not created in a legal vacuum, but was drafted against the background of the existing United Nations space treaties that were drafted in the 1960s and 1970s. Although the existing UN treaties address public international law and therefore cover subject matter that is quite distinct from the private law issues addressed by the Space Assets Protocol, there are still points at which …

Recovery For Mental Injuries That Are Accompanied By Physical Injuries Under Article 17 Of The Warsaw Convention: The Progeny Of Eastern Airlines, Inc. V. Floyd, Jean-Paul Boulee

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Blue Helmets In The Next Frontier: The Future Is Now, Sean R. Mikula

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The International Air Transportation Association's Attempt To Modify International Air Disaster Liability: An Admirable Effort With An Impossible Goal, Jonathan L. Neville

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

National Airline Policy, Timothy M. Ravich

University of Miami Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Flights Of Fancy And Fights Of Fury: Arbitration And Adjudication Of Commercial And Political Disputes In International Aviation, Paul S. Dempsey

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

U.S.-Eu Second Stage Air Transport Agreement: Toward An Open Aviation Area, Charles A. Hunnicutt

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Is Statutory Immunity For Spaceflight Operators Good Enough?, Maria-Vittoria “Giugi” Carminati

Legislation and Policy Brief

Over the past decade, the commercial spaceflight industry has seen a growth never witnessed before. The likes of Virgin Galactic and Xcor are promising suborbital flights to anyone willing to pay the price. Golden Spike is selling tickets to the moon. And SpaceX was re-supplying the ISS as a commercial provider as of 2012. States have responded to this growth by trying to make themselves more attractive to these commercial providers of space services (hereinafter generally referred to as “spaceflight entities”). Attractiveness has become synonymous with overt efforts to decrease spaceflight entities’ liability from injuries to their spaceflight participants (“SFPs”). …

The Role Of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Uas) In Disaster Response And Recovery Efforts: Historical, Current And Future, Dennis Vincenzi, David C. Ison, Brent A. Terwilliger

Publications

A wide range of legislation has been proposed or put into place that restricts the use of unmanned systems. These actions by legislators and regulators will stifle the growth of this technology and the associated surrounding industry. The largest obstacle to the proliferation of UAS in the U.S. is the FAA. The FAA has designated the location of six test sites that are anticipated to allow for less restrictive and formative research to assess the technologies that the FAA has claimed need to exist in order to integrate UAS into the NAS. Further complicating the adoption of UAS for beneficent …

Developing Space: Political And Socio-Economic Rationales Of Emerging Space Programs, Sandra Cabrera-Alvarado, Sara Langston, Tanay Sharma

Publications

A presentation on developing space programs in Latin America and the need to work together cooperatively to maximize budgets to support scientific and technological research.

Sharing Public Safety Helicopters, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Drones, Henry H. Perritt Jr., Eliot O. Sprague

All Faculty Scholarship

Abstract

Drone technology is evolving rapidly. Microdrones—what the FAA calls “sUAS”—already on the market at the $1,000 level, have the capability to supplement manned helicopters in support of public safety operations, news reporting, and powerline and pipeline patrol, when manned helicopter support is infeasible, untimely, or unsafe.

Larger drones–"machodrones”–are not yet available outside battlefield and counterterrorism spaces. Approximating the size of manned helicopters, but without pilots, or with human pilots being optional, their design is still in its infancy as designers await greater clarity in the regulatory requirements that will drive airworthiness certification.

This article evaluates drone technology and design …

Houston, We Have A (Liability) Problem, Justin Silver

Michigan Law Review

The development of private manned space flight is proceeding rapidly; there are proposals to launch paying passengers before the end of 2014. Given the historically dangerous nature of space travel, an accident will probably occur at some point, resulting in passengers’ injury or death. In the event of a lawsuit stemming from such an accident, a court will likely find that a space flight entity operating suborbital flights is a common carrier, while an entity operating orbital flights is not. Regardless of whether these entities are common carriers, they face a threat of high levels of liability, as well as …

Autonomous Weapons And Human Responsibilities, Jack M. Beard

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

Although remote-controlled robots flying over the Middle East and Central Asia now dominate reports on new military technologies, robots that are capable of detecting, identifying, and killing enemies on their own are quietly but steadily movingfrom the theoretical to the practical. The enormous difficulty in assigning responsibilities to humans and states for the actions ofthese machines grows with their increasing autonomy. These developments implicate serious legal, ethical, and societal concerns. This Article focuses on the accountability of states and underlying human responsibilities for autonomous weapons under International Humanitarian Law or the Law of Armed Conflict. After reviewing the evolution of …

Federal Versus State: Private Commercial Spaceflight Operator Immunity Regulation In The United States, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

The 2004 Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act provided the first national statute dedicated to private commercial spaceflight, further elaborated by a Chapter in the Code of Federal Regulations. A major element of that regulation concerns the “informed consent” requirement, which constitutes the main condition upon which a private commercial spaceflight operator is allowed to fly paying passengers into the edge of outer space and back. The requirement as such does not automatically equate with a statutory waiver of passenger liability, which was a major reason for a handful of individual US states to add by way of statutes such immunity …

From Space Tourists To Unruly Passengers? The U.S. Struggle With "On-Orbit Jurisdiction", F. G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

With the first proper commercial sub-orbital “space tourist” flights seemingly around the corner, the need to develop a proper legal system addressing all relevant parameters, scenarios, and events also arises more visibly. This is particularly true for the United States, where so far the major developments in private manned spaceflight are concentrated, some of which may soon move from relatively straightforward up-and-down sub-orbital trajectories to longer-duration suborbital and/or orbital flights, or even long-duration presence in (potentially private) space stations. As one author succinctly put it: humans are essentially unpredictable, and the longer their flights will be, the less preordained and …

The New Orient Express: Current Trends And Regulations In Space Tourism And The Need For Commercial Hypersonic Point To Point Travel, Patrick Zurita

Global Business Law Review

This paper aims to answer the question of what the new privatized space regime will not only look like, but also if and how it will expand. In answering the question an examination of who will most be affected by space tourism and a subsequent space travel industry is required. Additionally, a cursory look at the history of airline regulation both domestically and abroad is needed to understand the future of private space flight. Next, an overview of past and current space and hypersonic technologies is required to attempt any projection of future advances. Finally, this paper sets out to …

A Kellogbriand Pact For The 21st Century, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This article briefly describes why the State parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons rejected human rights groups’ call for a ban on so called “killer robots.” This article contends that the international community resoundingly rejected this argument at the first ever experts meeting on lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) because it ignores the wide range and longstanding use of LAWS and presupposes their future development while failing to acknowledge even the possibility that LAWS may facilitate greater protection of both military and civilians.

Recent Developments In Aviation Law, Jared L. Watkins, Evan Katin-Borland

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Flags Of Convenience: Maritime And Aviation, Allan I. Mendelsohn

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Faa Endorsements - Escaping Judicial Review - The Second Circuit Rules That An Endorsement Of Panel Recommendations Is Not A Final Order, J. Bryan White

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Second Sydney Airport Debate: The Consequences For Limited Airport Capacity Of A Government Policy Lacuna, Andrew Harrington

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Grounded At The Pleading Stage: How Do Tsa Agents Assess A Peaceful Protest Versus A Disruptive One, Peter Thompson

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.