Aviation Law

Aviation law governs almost all aspects of aircraft navigation, including its operation and maintenance. The law governs the transit of aircraft above states and above other governed territory, and covers passengers, cargo, and aviation facilities.

In the United States, aviation statutes and regulatory agencies were created by the federal and state governments. Although, for the most part, aviation is governed by federal law enacted by Congress by virtue of its constitutional mandate to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. The foremost federal aviation law in the United States is the Federal Aviation Act passed by Congress in 1958. This Act establishes the Federal Aviation Administration, the leading federal agency regulating aerospace activities. States can enact their own laws consistent with federal laws and can modify existing remedies under states laws, but they cannot regulate rates, routes or services of any air carrier pursuant to the Federal Aviation Act. Another foremost development in aviation law would be the passage of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

In addition to federal and state oversight on aviation, international rules and treatises also form a crucial aspect of aviation law given the international nature of air travel. One notable international convention on aviation is the Warsaw Convention, which limits an airline's liability for accidents on inter-country flights, except when it is found that the airline committed acts of negligence. The International Civil Aviation Organization also provides rules regulating air travel and mediation procedures to resolve international aviation law disputes. In addition, international policies have been introduced through open skies agreements to liberalize international aviation rules and minimize government intervention. International aviation laws also regulate military air travel.

Aviation law encompasses almost all facets of air travel. Issues arising from aviation law, including the business aspect of operating an air carrier, require expert knowledge of counsel who can weave through the web of federal laws and regulations, international conventions and other areas of the law. One of the most common litigation area relating to aviation law arises from loss or injuries suffered by passengers caused by air craft malfunction or crashes. This area of litigation, which involves a combination of federal and tort laws, require extensive discovery and expert testimony to establish, first, the rights of passengers, second, the cause of loss or injury, and third, the extent of the air craft carrier's liability. Another common litigation relating to aviation law would be the defense of aviation professionals accused of violating Federal Aviation Regulations. These two common litigation areas may also involve insurance disputes, further complicating litigation.

In addition, other issues that could arise from aviation law would be concerning regulation of aviation practices and violations thereof. Increasingly, consumers have taken to courts alleged airlines' practices of deceiving customers with false advertising, especially on issues of "hidden" fees and charges, or airlines' conspiracy on ticket prices. These issues require, not just specialized knowledge on the law, but also smart litigation skills as consumer-plaintiffs often David in comparison to the Goliaths that are the airline companies.

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International Law - Legal Information and Resources

International Law

International law is composed of rules, customs, treatises between and among nations, and decisions by the International Court of Justice, which impact the legal transactions between nations, their governments, businesses, and organizations. The area of international law is continuously evolving, with nations adapting new rules as new customs and treatises arise. Nations are free to adopt or reject international laws, although there are instances when groups of countries pressure other groups of countries to ratify an international law in order to achieve goals that have universal effect.

The United Nations, and its counterpart court, the International Court of Justice, are the most influential organizations in the world with respect to international law. The United Nations regularly convenes to pass so-called conventions to address transnational issues, such as territorial disputes, human trafficking, human rights violation, environmental issues, and business transactions.

There are two types on international law: public and private. Public international law governs the disputes and transactions between nations, while private international law governs the legal disputes between the citizens of different nations.

While international law is difficult to define as a single body of law, there are three principles that govern: (1) principle of comity, (2) act of state doctrine, and (3) doctrine of sovereign immunity. Under the principle of comity, one of two nations who share common public policy ideas submits to the laws and judicial decrees of the other. Under the Act of State Doctrine, nations around the world agreed to respect the sovereignty of a nation in its own territory and agreed not to interfere with official domestic actions. Under the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity, nations are immune from suits, unless they waive such immunity.

International law is a complicated set of laws that require the interpretation of expert international law attorneys. One of the issues arising from international law would be its enforceability. In cases of U.N. conventions, there are signatory states but not all signatory states ratify the conventions, which means the signatory states agree to the conventions but do not agree to implement the conventions to their national jurisdiction. In fact, the question of enforceability alone has spawned an area of the law where experts are sought after to answer this very specific question.

In the United States, the enforceability of international law is often highlighted in cases when a foreign national is convicted of a criminal offense, or when an American citizen is convicted of a criminal offense in another country. Depending on the agreement between the United States and the country where the convict is a citizen, there might exist an extradition agreement, which will usually provide that the country of the citizen will have jurisdiction over the convict. There might not exist an extradition agreement, and, because a criminal offense is a matter of national security, the country where the American citizen was convicted would not hand over jurisdiction to the United States. It is thus crucial to employ the assistance of an international law attorney as both municipal and international laws are complicated sets of law that need the interpretation of experts.

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