Legal consequences for the state arising from the use of weapons against civil aircraft: review and legal framework development
- Authors: Novikova T.V.1, Kuts S.O.1
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Affiliations:
- The North Caucasian branch of the Russian State University of Justice
- Issue: Vol 25, No 4 (2021)
- Pages: 831-854
- Section: INTERNATIONAL LAW. FOREIGN LAW
- URL: https://journals.rudn.ru/law/article/view/29513
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-2337-2021-25-4-831-854
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Abstract
The authors elaborate on one of the controversial issues of international air law - safety of civil aircraft in flight in respect of the use of weapons against it. The first part of the present article considers major aerial accidents arising from shooting down the civil aircraft for the last 70 years as a factual basis for further legal analysis. In the second part, the authors back up customary prohibition of the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight and legal consequences for states for violating the mentioned principle. The authors investigate the grounds for the ‘security exception’ and conclude that the only grounds for derogation from the principle of non-use of weapons against civil aircraft is Article 51 of the UN Charter proclaiming the inherent right of the state to self-defence. Even in this case, the application of the ‘security exception’ by the state is tolerated by using a set of precautions before employment of weapons. Finally, authors conclude that compensation for victims reflects the inevitable monetisation of human lives. Moreover, states’ negotiations reveal the controversial reality of trade-offs between them, where compensation amounts are occasionally affected by external political factors and current position of a particular state in the international community.
About the authors
Tatiana V. Novikova
The North Caucasian branch of the Russian State University of Justice
Author for correspondence.
Email: tnovikova@inbox.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8889-0444
Dean of the faculty of training specialists for the judicial system (Law faculty), Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor, International Law Department
234, Krasnykh Partizan str., Krasnodar, 350020, Russian FederationStepan O. Kuts
The North Caucasian branch of the Russian State University of Justice
Email: kutstefan@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-8008-7625
master (graduate) student, faculty of training specialists for the judicial system (Law faculty)
234, Krasnykh Partizan str., Krasnodar, 350020, Russian FederationReferences
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