Lease, Charter and Interchange of Aircraft: A Governmental Perspective

The problems concerning the responsibility of the State of registry with respect to its aircraft which are operated by an operator whose nationality is of another State are primarily jurisdictional in nature. In dealing with them international focus has been upon safety, criminal jurisdiction, property rights in aircraft, and to some extent the responsibilities for damages resulting from the operation of the aircraft which cloak both the State of registry and the State of the operator. What follows outlines briefly the various approaches used by the international legal community to resolve the problems associated with aircraft leases and will be limited to those issues which are peculiarly associated with governmental responsibilities. Finally, because of some dramatic changes in the law in this area, recent United States developments affecting the use of leased aircraft will also be discussed