International Aviation And Terrorism

This book examines terrorism's impact on the international aviation security regime, with a focus on the role of the United States. Tracing the historical development of the international civil aviation system, the volume examines how it has dealt with the evolving security environment caused by international terrorism. It begins by exploring the practical implications of the debates over the meaning of 'terrorism' and how the international civil aviation community developed practical solutions to avoid the debilitating debates over the concept while crafting important, if weak, international conventions. As a major civil aviation power, the United States was a predominant influence in security developments in the 1960s and 1970s, yet US civil aviation policy failed to keep pace with the changing nature of the terrorist threat. The commanding position that the United States maintains in international civil aviation provides a microcosm of the promise and perils faced by the world's sole superpower. The author examines US efforts to upgrade civil aviation security in the wake of 9/11 and the impacts of these developments on the international civil aviation system. The detailed discussion of terrorism past and present places the threat in its proper context for both the international civil aviation community and its largest individual actor, the United States. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism, aviation security, international security and IR in general. John Harrison is an Assistant Professor at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies and Head of Terrorism Research at the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research.

An examination of the politics of international aviation. Topics covered include international conflicts and the safety of air travel, ICAO in the United Nations context, and the problems related to terrorism in the sky, such as setting security standards in airports.

First Published in 1999. The recent conviction of Ramzi Ahmed Yousef for plotting what prosecutors called '48 hours of terror in the sky' by conspiring to bomb a dozen US airliners, the increasing number of man portable SAM attacks on aircraft, and the recent crash of a hijacked Ethiopian airliner off the Comoro Islands causing 127 deaths, show that aviation confronts a wide range of security threats. The aim of this volume, published ten years after Lockerbie, is to assess the changing threats to aviation security. It is a sad fact that despite major efforts by certain states to enhance security, much more needs to be done to remedy weaknesses in international aviation security if further Lockerbies are to be prevented. The contributors examine threats and vulnerabilities in the light of recent developments in aviation security and consider the prospects for strengthening the response at national and international levels. The study is of obvious relevance not only to security and academic specialists but also to the international civil aviation community and national policy makers.

However, the forces of law have failed to keep ahead of advancing threats. As hijacking has become more difficult, terrorists have adopted new tactics, such as sabotage bombing. Thus, while the 1960s and the 1970s were the age of aircraft hijackings, the 1980s could be said to be the age of sabotage bomb attacks in civil aviation history.

An international security expert focuses on the principal air terrorist acts since the mid-1980s.

The September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon raised numerous questions about American and international aviation security. Former Director of Security of the International Air Transport Association Rodney Wallis suggests that the failure to maximize U.S. domestic air security, which left air travelers vulnerable to attack, lay largely with the carriers themselves. He contends that future policies should parallel the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Wallis considers the Aviation and Transportation Security Act adopted by the U.S. Congress in the wake of September 11 and offers a modus operandi to the FAA that would enable them to maximize the benefits this legislation provides to air travelers. This important work reviews past government reactions to the threat posed by air terrorism and questions whether these were effective responses or merely window dressing. It also includes practical advice for air travelers on how to maximize their own security when flying on international routes by monitoring airport and airline security for themselves.

Published in 1998. The various conventions which apply to the subject of unlawful interface with civil aviation have proved effective only to the extent of nurturing existing values of international law as they are restrictively perceived through the parameters of air law. This book examines the offence of unlawful interference with international civil aviation and analyses critically the legal and regulatory regime that applies thereto, with a view to recommending measures that are calculated to infuse a new approach to the problem. Emphasis is laid throughout the work on action which may be taken to alleviate the problem of unlawful interference. Its conclusion incorporates various steps that can be taken towards achieving this objective. The author focuses on the core of the problem which has effectively precluded significant progress into inroads that would curb the threat terrorism in aviation: the attitude of the international community. The book therefore examines in limine the fundamental role of international law in the light of the United Nationals Congress of International Public Law of March 1995, and its effect on international criminal law. It then determines the applicable principles of State sovereignty and examines the principles of State responsibility. Its main purpose is to recommend the establishment of a new philosophy of international criminal law which transcends municipal boundaries. Academic, scholarly and judicial precedent for this book is the adduced in support of this argument. The book also examines the role of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as the regulatory body responsible for civil aviation, in the context of new approaches made by the international community towards the status of ICAO in aviation security. The practical value of this work essentially lies in the legal recommendations it makes at its conclusion, which are based on existing principles of international law. It will thus be invaluable not only to international and aviation lawyers, criminal lawyers (both international and national), security professionals and teachers and students of international law, but also to aviation industry executives and regulatory agency specialists whose responsibilities impinge on or are determined by existing and evolving legal and security measures.