From 14 to 15 November 2013 in Gdansk at the Polish Baltic Philharmonic building an international conference "Gdansk International Air & Space Law Conference - Poland on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization” was held. The hosts of the conference were the Civil Aviation Authority and the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency. At the special invitation of the President of the Civil Aviation Authority Mr. Piotr Ołowski the conference was attended by air and space law experts and aviation organizations representatives from around the world, including Mrs. Nancy Graham - Director of the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau, Mr. Catalin Radu - President of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and Mr. Frank Brenner - Director General of EUROCONTROL. Among the participants there were also representatives of the aviation authorities who, during the last elections to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) supported the Polish candidate, making Poland this year for the first time in history a part of the governing council of the most important aviation organization in the world. The conference was also attended by representatives of the aviation industry companies and students interested in the subject of the air and space law. The Conference was opened by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority - Mr. Piotr Ołowski, who stressed the importance of the conference and thanked the speakers and participants for their strong participation in this event important for Polish aviation law and aviation. During the conference opening, Director of the Air Navigation Bureau Ms. Nancy Graham congratulated Poland on the victory in the elections to the Council of ICAO and presented a work plan for the next triennium and identified long-term goals of the Organization.
The conference was divided into four thematic panels. The moderator of the first panel on "Contemporary Challenges of Civil Aviation" was the President of the Civil Aviation Authority - Mr. Piotr Ołowski. During the first panel the presentation on the liability of air carriers and classification of air accidents and incidents by prof . Paul Dempsey - Director of the Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University was presented. Mr. John Augustin - Acting Director of the Legal Affairs and External Relations Bureau, ICAO gave his speech on "codification and development of aviation law and the framework program of work of the Legal Committee of ICAO". Professor Stanislaw Sołtysiński - Attorney of Counsel in Sołtysiński Kawecki and Szlęzak, Legal Advisor and member of UNIDROIT Governing Council outlined regulations of the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the Protocol on Matters Specific to Aircraft Equipment and the benefits of its ratification. Mr. Catalin Radu - ECAC President and in the same time Director General of Civil Aviation of Romania in his speech pointed out the scope of work and functioning of the European Civil Aviation Conference.
In addition, the panel was attended by Dr. Nikolai Ehlers, Partner in Ehlers & Partners who presented participants of the conference issues of financing and leasing of aircraft in the aerospace sector and Dr. Jiefang Huang, Senior Legal Officer, ICAO who introduced the Tokyo Convention Amendments and cases of unruly passengers.
The second panel on passengers rights was moderated by - Ms. Mia Wouters - professor at the University of Ghent. Dr. Peter Haanappel, Emeritus Professor of Air and Space Law at Leiden University presented the rights of passengers as a result of the contract between the passenger and the airline. Prof. Ludwig Weber, Senior Civil Aviation Policy and Management Adviser, ICAO and Adjunct Professor McGill University gave a lecture on the current development of passenger rights. Mr. Jean-Louis Colson – Head of Unit for Passenger Rights, European Commission presented the proposed changes to the existing regulations on the rights of passengers. Ms. Anca Apahidean - Manager for the region of Eastern Europe, IATA presented changes in the rights of passengers in views of the airline industry.
The third panel was devoted to the Safety Management System (SMS). The panel was moderated by Ms. Nancy Graham who presented foundation of establishment of the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP). Later, Mr. Maciej Rodak - Board Member of the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency gave a lecture on safety in air navigation. Mr. Frank Brenner, Director General of EUROCONTROL presented the issue of "safety culture " . The last of the speakers in the panel was Mr. John Vincent, Deputy Director of Strategic Safety, EASA who presented the role of the Safety Management System.
The last panel was moderated by Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska - Polish permanent representative on the ICAO Council. The panel was devoted to issues of space law - an emerging branch of law. Ms. Małgorzata Polkowska stressed the need to adapt this branch of law in the context of the rapid changes in technology and the launch of the commercial suborbital flights in the near future. Mr. Charles J. Lauer the Vice-President of Rocketplane Global presented the concept of sub-orbital flights and the idea of starting the civil spaceports. Mr. Peter Hulsroj , Director of the European Institute of Space in Vienna drew interaction of space law and other fields of law. Mrs. Neta Palkovitz – Legal Adviser at Innovative Solutions in Space (ISIS) presented the speech on “Small Satellites and
Developments in Space Law”.
After each panel, participants took part in interesting discussions by asking questions to experts. The conference brings together many distinguished experts in the air and space law and allowed for the exchange of experience and knowledge that will contribute to the development of best practices for the presented topics.
During the closing remarks President of the Civil Aviation Authority thanked the speakers, distinguished experts of the air and space law, numerous participants, partners and sponsors involved in the organization of this very successful conference, which in this range of topics was organized in Poland for the first time. Moreover, he expressed confidence that such initiatives will continue and Polish membership in the ICAO Council for the next three years will allow for an even fuller Polish participation in the development of international air and space law. The conference has been warmly welcomed guests and participants both in terms of content and organization.
The students participating in the conference, were invited to the lecture, which took place on November 16 at the Faculty of Law at the University of Gdansk. The lecture was hosted by Mrs. Nancy Graham. She presented to the future lawyers the scope of work of Air Navigation Bureau, of which she is director and identified trends in the development of civil aviation in the world.
We encourage you to read the presentations presented at the conference:
Anca_Apahidean855.5 KB
Charles_J._Lauer4.91 MBFrank_Brenner492.5 KBJ.L.Colson302 KBJiefang_Huang3.83 MBJohn_Vincent2.16 MBLudwig_Weber866.5 KBMaciej_Rodak658.5 KBNancy_Graham_GASP1.3 MBNancy_Graham_The_Way_Forward_for_ICAO8.7 MBNeta_Palkovitz4.89 MBNikolai_Ehlers415.76 KBP.P.C._Haanappel143 KBPaul_Dempsey9.92 MBPeter_Hulsroj1.73 MB
