International Agreements and Organizations — Page 32, Lesson 58

Let's pick up with the carriage of dangerous cargo, because it's a perfect example of how the SARPs we just talked about actually get applied in the real world. More than half of all cargo carried by every mode of transport in the world is classified as dangerous. And because air transport is so fast, a great deal of that dangerous cargo ends up on aircraft. Now, the legal framework for this is Annex 18, which is titled "The Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air." Under Annex 18, States are required to accept the SARPs associated with the carriage of dangerous goods, and they're also required to implement something called the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. So you have two layers here: the Annex itself sets the standards, and then the Technical Instructions give the detailed, practical rules for how to actually pack, label, and load that cargo safely. Next, let's look at the searching of aircraft. This is a right granted to Contracting States. A Contracting State has the right, without unreasonable delay, to search an aircraft of another Contracting State on landing or departure. So if a foreign aircraft lands in your country, you have the legal authority to search it. And you also have the right to inspect the certificates and other documents prescribed by the Chicago Convention. So it's not just the physical aircraft — you can also demand to see the paperwork that the Convention requires to be carried. Now I want to move into a really important structural topic: the status of annex components. This is where we define exactly what an annex is made of, and what legal weight each part carries. Here's the definition. An annex is made up of component parts, and not all of these parts are necessarily found in every annex. Each part has a specific status, and I want to walk you through them. The first and most important component is the Standards and Recommended Practices, which we abbreviate as SARPs. SARPs are adopted by the Council, and they are considered binding upon all Contracting States — unless a state has notified a "difference" as defined under Article 38 of the Convention. So the default position is that SARPs are binding, but there's an escape hatch: if you can't comply, you notify the Council of your difference, and that's your legal protection. Now, within SARPs, we have two distinct categories, and the distinction matters enormously. First, a Standard. A Standard is any specification for physical characteristics, configuration, materiel, performance, personnel, or procedure. The uniform application of that specification is recognized as necessary for the safety or regularity of international air navigation. And Contracting States will conform to it in accordance with the Convention. Here's the key point: if compliance is impossible, notification to the Council is compulsory under Article 38. So a Standard is a "must" — you conform, or you formally declare your difference. Second, a Recommended Practice. A Recommended Practice is also a specification for physical characteristics, configuration, materiel, performance, personnel, or procedure. But here's the contrast: the uniform application is recognized as desirable in the interest of safety, regularity, or efficiency of international air navigation. Notice the word "desirable" versus "necessary." And Contracting States will endeavour to conform — they'll try to conform, in accordance with the Convention. So a Recommended Practice is a "should," not a "must." There's no compulsory notification if you don't follow it. So the difference between a Standard and a Recommended Practice comes down to two things: the word "necessary" versus "desirable," and the word "will conform" versus "will endeavour to conform." A Standard is binding unless you notify a difference; a Recommended Practice is something you strive toward. Finally, let's talk about the organization that sits at the center of all this: the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO. ICAO was created by the Chicago Convention. It's an inter-governmental organization, and it has become a specialized agency in relationship with the United Nations. Its headquarters is in Montreal. And its whole purpose is to provide the machinery to achieve standardization and agreement — which is exactly what we've been talking about with the SARPs and the annexes. ICAO is the engine that makes international standardization possible. So to tie it all together: the Chicago Convention created ICAO, ICAO's Council adopts SARPs, those SARPs live inside annexes like Annex 18, and each annex is built from Standards and Recommended Practices with different legal weight. That's the whole chain of authority.