State Liability for the Risk of Damage Caused to Third Parties on the Surface in the Course of International Carriage by Air

Abstract

Abstract. International air services have become an integral part of modern life. Naturally, the use of air transport involves significant technological risks. With a view to addressing these risks, the Convention on Damage Caused by Foreign Aircraft to Third Parties on the Surface was adopted in Rome in 1952 and subsequently amended by the Montreal Protocol of 1978. The issue of state liability, where the state acts as the operator of a foreign aircraft, for the risk of causing damage to third parties on the surface is of particular relevance in circumstances where flights within Ukrainian airspace are operated exclusively by state aircraft due to the Russian Federation’s full-scale armed aggression. The purpose of this article is to examine the legal regulation of state liability where the state acts as an aircraft operator. The objective of the study is to identify and analyse the legal rules governing the liability of a state acting as an aircraft operator for damage caused to third parties on the surface. The research employs the following methods: the doctrinal method, involving the interpretation of legal rules in the light of established legal doctrine; the comparative legal method, which facilitates a comparison of different states’ approaches to the application of the same legal rules; the case-law analysis method, which makes it possible to determine how rules of international law are applied in practice; the systemic method, which enables international legal rules to be examined as part of a coherent legal system; the legal modelling method, which provides a basis for developing hypothetical assumptions and conclusions; and the methods of generalisation and induction, which support the formulation of conclusions based on relevant assumptions and evidence. The originality of this article lies in its comprehensive examination, within the scope of the chosen subject, of the liability of a state acting as an aircraft operator for damage caused to third parties on the surface. It is demonstrated that the Rome Convention and the Montreal Protocol require revision, since their provisions do not adequately ensure uniformity and clarity in the legal regulation of the liability of a state acting as the operator of a foreign aircraft.