Air and Space Law Commons^™

The Sec, The Supreme Court, And The Administrative State, Paul G. Mahoney

Seattle University Law Review

Pritchard and Thompson have given those of us who study the SEC and the securities laws much food for thought. Their methodological focus is on the internal dynamics of the Court’s deliberations, on which they have done detailed and valuable work. The Court did not, however, operate in a vacuum. Intellectual trends in economics and law over the past century can also help us understand the SEC’s fortunes in the federal courts and make predictions about its future.

A Hard Pill To Swallow: The Abysmal Mental Health Standards Of Detained Immigrant Children In The United States, Rama Bankesly

Seattle University Law Review

After setting foot into the U.S., unaccompanied children must learn to navigate academic and legal systems while receiving little support and carrying the heavy burden of effects of trauma on their mental health. They need access to mental health care from qualified professionals, but as this Comment will explain, they systematically fail to receive care, as can be seen in cases like Doe v. Shenandoah Valley Juv. Ctr. Comm’n. In Shenandoah, an unaccompanied child arrived in the U.S. and was placed in a facility that failed to provide remotely adequate mental health care and in fact was subjected …

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Students For Fair Admissions: Affirming Affirmative Action And Shapeshifting Towards Cognitive Diversity?, Steven A. Ramirez

Seattle University Law Review

The Roberts Court holds a well-earned reputation for overturning Supreme Court precedent regardless of the long-standing nature of the case. The Roberts Court knows how to overrule precedent. In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), the Court’s majority opinion never intimates that it overrules Grutter v. Bollinger, the Court’s leading opinion permitting race-based affirmative action in college admissions. Instead, the Roberts Court applied Grutter as authoritative to hold certain affirmative action programs entailing racial preferences violative of the Constitution. These programs did not provide an end point, nor did they require assessment, review, periodic expiration, or revision for greater …

Evaluating The Rights Of Air Consumers Under International And Regional Instruments With A Focus On Qatar, Eman Naboush

International Journal on Consumer Law and Practice

This paper examines the rules protecting air consumers in cases of flight disruptions as outlined in the international instruments, regional agreements, and in Qatar. It aims to examine the Qatari rules that may provide protection for air consumers and compare them to those adopted regionally and internationally. The article demonstrates that Qatari legislation falls short of the internationally recognized minimal threshold for safeguarding air consumers, as implemented in other countries. Nevertheless, the Qatari national airline incorporates many sets of regulations for customers from the European Union, United States, and Canada in its carriage contract. Although the contractual provisions offer significant …

Route Competition In Hong Kong's Aviation Industry, Yizhang Qiu, Sinchit Lai

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

Open sky policies have been implemented for decades, giving birth to many airline newcomers from diverse backgrounds lifting off into liberalized skies. EasyJet, Ryanair, Wizz Air, and Southwest Airlines are examples of independent budget airlines, branding the outcome of aviation liberalization and contributing to interoute competition through their networks. However, Hong Kong International Airport, which aspires to be a better and greater air hub, is crowded with local carriers, and the airport flight timetables rarely show the presence of non-local budget airlines or competing routes. This Article examines the importance of interoute competition and the role that budget airlines play …

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Treaties Establishing Icao And Imo – A Comparative Study, Ruwantissa Indranath Abeyratne

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

The comparison between air law and maritime law reveals both similarities and distinctions rooted in the unique frameworks of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and The International Maritime Organization (IMO). While both entities were established through separate treaties, the Chicago Convention birthed ICAO, emphasizing the organization’s Assembly, Council, and auxiliary bodies. In contrast, the IMO Convention, also known as the Convention on the International Maritime Organization, forms the basis for IMO’s structure and functions as outlined in its preamble. The core objectives of IMO revolve around fostering collaboration among governments to enhance regulatory frameworks for international maritime trade. This …

Front Matter

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Proposed Methodologies To Cure The No-Fly List’S Current Violations Of The Due Process Clause For Affected U.S. Citizens, Sierra Stone

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

Often, the No-Fly List is a helpful tool that increases the safety of commercial aviation for U.S. citizens flying domestically and internationally. The TSA and various intergovernmental agencies utilize a nomination process and those who meet the requisite criteria are added to a database and can be entered into the No-Fly List. Once being placed on the “List,” an individual is no longer allowed to board a flight flying anywhere within or over U.S. airspace. However, for a small number of people, this deprivation of the ability to fly came unjustifiably and without realistic opportunities to be removed from the …

Book-And-Claim System For Sustainable Aviation Fuels, Christine Kranich, Sarah J. Haas

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

This Article provides an overview of the regulatory (legal) framework in which the decarbonisation of aviation is embedded, with a focus on European law. The Article further provides updates on EU-ETS, CORISA, RED III and the minimum quota of SAF supply in accordance with Refuel EU Aviation up to October 2023. Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) will be described in detail in this Article, and it is further explained that the use of SAF could significantly contribute to aviation becoming “greener”. As the availability of SAF is still rather scarce, the Article revolves around a mechanism of a global book-and-claim system …

Still Far From Home – How Personal Jurisdiction Doctrine Undercuts The Montreal Convention’S “Fifth Jurisdiction” For “Wandering Americans”, Hans Huggler

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

The rapid growth of global air travel in the mid-20th century gave rise to the problem of the “wandering American”—American residents whose air travel injury claims could not be heard in United States courts under the Warsaw Convention’s Article 28. Prominent cases prompted adoption of a “fifth jurisdiction” in the Montreal Convention’s Article 33, allowing injury suits in the Contracting State where an injured passenger had her “principal and permanent residence” so long as the international carrier served the forum. U.S. officials toasted their success in providing Americans with a domestic forum, but the adoption of the fifth jurisdiction did …

Space ‘Tourism’: A Framework For Ensuring ‘Safe And Orderly Development’ Lessons Learnt From The U.S. And Aviation, Sarah J. Fox

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

In August 2023, following its successful mission, Virgin Galactic announced the intention to provide scheduled services into space. Yet, this paper sets out to present evidence to argue that, from an international (U.N.) perspective, there has been a lack of activity to establish safeguards and to ensure a fit for purpose governance and oversight mechanism is in place for this new and growing sector—space tourism. The research is undertaken by way of a comparison law/policy analysis which factors in key historic events across both aviation and space. The main focus is given to the developments and approach of …

Repurposing The United Nations Trusteeship Council To Govern The Establishment Of Outer Space Settlements, Andrew Wulf

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Current existing international law and treaties on outer space do not address or regulate private actors’ property claims or human settlements in outer space. American companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, as well as countries like the United States, Russia, and China, are seeking to create colonies on the Moon and Mars. However, there is no international legal authority to allow or regulate this. In order to legitimize and control this impending outgrowth of human settlements, this paper proposes that the U.N. Trusteeship Council be repurposed to govern non-state actors’ claims of outer space property.

First, this paper explains …

Blinded By The Light: Resolving The Conflict Between Satellite Megaconstellations And Astronomy, David A. Koplow

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The sudden emergence of large constellations of small satellites in low altitude orbits represents one of the most dramatic contemporary innovations in outer space. Promising low-cost, low-latency global communications and spectacular capacities for remote sensing of the Earth, these satellites will soon number in the tens of thousands, sponsored by diverse corporations and countries around the world. But this proliferation of spacecraft comes at a steep cost in unavoidable interference with ground-based astronomy: as the satellites overfly the observatories, they block the views of remote objects and phenomena, leaving obliterating white streaks on the collected imagery, and obscuring access to …

Property Rights In Space: Where Does The Law Stand Now?, Frans Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

1. Introduction: property rights in outer space?
2. Rights over immovable property and outer space – the discussion on Article II of the Outer Space Treaty
3. National developments contributing to an interpretation of Article II of the Outer Space Treaty
4. Concluding remarks

In discussing the issue of “property rights in outer space,” it should first be clarified that at a general level there might be three categories of property rights at issue.

First, there is the issue of “intellectual property rights,” the rights that individuals or other right-holders might enjoy when it comes to exclusively using, marketing and/or …

Preempting The Buzz: Challenges For State And Local Regulation Of Drone Noise, Daniel Friedenzohn, Trevor Simoneau

Publications

From carrying life-saving medical supplies to delivering Amazon packages, drones are increasingly playing a more significant role in our society. Such operations, however, raise a variety of legal and public policy questions, all requiring answers before drone deliveries become commonplace in the package delivery ecosystem. One legal issue that remains significantly underexplored is the challenge of regulating drone noise. This issue raises vital questions of federalism and preemption in the broader debate over federal versus state and local power to govern different aspects of civilian drone operations.

Even though the noise generated by drones is much quieter than other types …

Blinded By The Light: Resolving The Conflict Between Satellite Megaconstellations And Astronomy, David A. Koplow

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The sudden emergence of large constellations of small satellites in low altitude orbits represents one of the most dramatic contemporary innovations in outer space. Promising low-cost, low-latency global communications and spectacular capacities for remote sensing of the Earth, these satellites will soon number in the tens of thousands, sponsored by diverse corporations and countries around the world. But this proliferation of spacecraft comes at a steep cost in unavoidable interference with ground-based astronomy: as the satellites overfly the observatories, they block the views of remote objects and phenomena, leaving obliterating white streaks on the collected imagery, and obscuring access to …

Status Hukum Crew Interactive Mobile Companion (Cimon) Sebagai Kecerdasan Buatan Dalam Misi Luar Angkasa Di International Space Station (Iss) Berdasarkan Hukum Ruang Angkasa, Mochamad Rizcky Patria Putra, Irawati Handayani

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Humans require assistance to support the tasks assigned to them to achieve the predetermined success in a space mission. Consequently, humans have developed artificial intelligence technology. One of the AI technologies utilized is the Crew Interactive Mobile Companion (CIMON), which results from collaboration between several space agencies and organizations, both government and private. Based on space law regulations, CIMON AI raises questions as it serves two main functions in space law: as an astronaut with a legal personality and as an object launched into space. This study aims to examine the legal status of CIMON AI in space law and …

Surprises In The Skies: Resolving The Circuit Split On How Courts Should Determine Whether An "Accident" Is "Unexpected Or Unusual" Under The Montreal Convention, Ashley Tang

Washington Law Review

Article 17 of both the Montreal Convention and its predecessor, the Warsaw Convention, imposes liability onto air carriers for certain injuries and damages from “accidents” incurred by passengers during international air carriage. However, neither Convention defines the term “accident.” While the United States Supreme Court opined that, for the purposes of Article 17, an air carrier’s liability “arises only if a passenger’s injury is caused by an unexpected or unusual event or happening that is external to the passenger,” it did not explain what standards lower courts should employ to discern whether an event is “unexpected or unusual.” In 2004, …