The New Regime in International Aviation Security Law and the Al-Qaeda Clause

Considering that each day of the year there are more than 50,000 commercial flights globally carrying in total more than 1.10 billion passengers annually, it is rather surprising that the Conference on Aviation Security, which took place in Beijing in September 2010 under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), failed to attract much attention. Nevertheless the outcome of the Conference was successful. Its principal aim, namely to revise the Montreal Convention of 1971, as amended by the 1988 Protocol, as well as the Hague Convention of 1970 in order to address the events of 9/11 and its developments, was materialized. The Conference adopted two instruments. First, the Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating to International Civil Aviation by 55 votes to 14 (hereinafter ‘Beijing Convention’), which constitutes a multilateral document to replace the Montreal Convention and Protocol. Second, the Protocol Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft by 57 votes to 13 (hereinafter ‘Beijing Protocol’), which amends and supplements the Hague Convention...(more)...