Civil Aviation Safety in Russia: The State of Compliance Julie Brisson Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University, Montreal October 2011 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Laws (LL.M.) © Julie Brisson 2011 To Corentin ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis was made possible by the precious advice and sincere encouragement of Professor Paul S. Dempsey, Director of the Institute of Air and Space Law. I would also like to thank the valuable team of professors at the Institute for their advice and availability, especially Professor Michael Milde, who enthusiastically shares his knowledge with his students and instils in them a true passion for aviation. I also thank the personnel of the Institute, and of the Faculty of Law for their support and patience throughout the program. I appreciate my parents’ endless faith in me, and their immeasurable support. Also, I wish to thank my son Corentin, my source of inspiration, my brother Pierre, and my dear friends, Caroline, Cheickh, and Christos, for their unwavering faith in my abilities. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my colleague and friend, Eftyhia Volakakis, for correcting the manuscript and for her invaluable support. ABSTRACT Considering that civil aviation safety is one of the most important elements in all aviation-related activities, this thesis presents the state of compliance of aviation safety in the Russian Federation. In the former Soviet Union, the authorities made sure that the rest of the world knew that its territory was impenetrable. In the 1980s, their attack on the civilian flight KE 007 of the Korean Airlines, which lead to the crash of the aircraft and the death of innocent civilian passengers, demonstrated that when it came to guarding their territory, they showed little concern for the lives of innocent civilians. The first chapter focuses on how the Russian Federation managed the necessary transition from the Soviet-era system to a modernized aviation system with the objective of ensuring aviation safety. The second chapter presents the development of the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme since the 1990s and details the compliance of Russian air law with international standards and recommended practices related to aviation safety. The last chapter highlights the necessity for the European Union and Russia to have working arrangements to conduct safety assessments of foreign aircraft to ensure aviation safety. This chapter also highlights the advantages of concluding comprehensive air transport agreements between them to harmonize their aviation relations and to solve pending issues, such as improving market opportunities for both sides, compliance with Community law by including an EU Community carrier clauses in bilateral agreements with Russia, and implementation of a phase-out of trans-Siberian overflight payments. RÉSUMÉ Dans le contexte où la sécurité de l’aviation civile est l’objectif fondamental pour le bon déroulement de tout type d’activités aériennes, ce mémoire présente l’état de conformité de la sécurité aérienne en Russie. Sous l’Union soviétique, le reste du monde a rapidement compris que le territoire russe était impénétrable. Dans les années 80, les autorités russes n’ont pas hésité à abattre l’aéronef civil, le vol KE 007 de la compagnie Korean Airlines, provoquant sa d estruction et la mort de passagers innocents. Par ces actes, l’Union soviétique démontrait qu’elle priorisait en tout état de cause le principe de la souveraineté territoriale. Le premier chapitre de ce mémoire présente la démarche entreprise par la Russie pour la transition de l’ancien système soviétique au nouveau système russe d’aviation civile, toujours avec l’objectif d’assurer la sécurité aérienne. Le deuxième chapitre aborde le développement du P rogramme universel d’audits de la sécurité de l’OACI depuis les années 90 et détaille le niveau de conformité de la législation aérienne en Russie avec les normes et pratiques recommandées relativement à la sécurité. Le dernier chapitre insiste sur la nécessité des ententes de travail entre l’Union européenne et la Russie sur les évaluations de sécurité des aéronefs étrangers et sur les avantages que procure un éventuel accord global sur le transport aérien aux deux parties. Un tel accord harmonise leurs relations et aide les deux parties à améliorer les opportunités de marché, à se conformer au droit communautaire en incluant une clause de désignation de l’Union dans leurs accords bilatéraux, et à s’entendre sur l’abolition des paiements pour transiter dans l’espace aérien sibérien. TABLE DES MATIÈRES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. 3 ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ 4 RÉSUMÉ ............................................................................................................................ 4 ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................ 7 Introduction – The Evolution of the participation of the Soviet Union to International Civil Aviation ................................................................................ 10 A. INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AIR LAW AND THE SOVIET UNION ............................................................... 10 B. THE FLIGHT KE 007: THE CRASH OF A CIVIL AIRCRAFT IN THE RUSSIAN AIRSPACE ...................... 21 1. Description of the Crash .............................................................................................................. 22 2. Discussions Before the UN Security Council ............................................................................... 23 3. From the UN Security Council to ICAO ...................................................................................... 24 4. ICAO First Investigation 1983-1984: the Interim Report ............................................................ 26 5. ICAO Second Investigation 1992-1993: the Final Report ........................................................... 29 Chapter 1 – Required Uniformity in Aviation Safety and Ne cessary Transition from the Soviet to the Russian Aviation Safety .......................................................... 35 A. THE WAY TO ENSURE UNIFORMITY IN AVIATION SAFETY ............................................................... 36 1. The Mandate of ICAO .................................................................................................................. 36 2. The Mandate of Individual States ................................................................................................. 40 3. ICAO’s Safety Oversight Programme ............................................................................................. 42 B. TRANSITION FROM THE SOVIET TO THE RUSSIAN SOVIET SAFETY AVIATION .................................. 53 1. The Soviet Union and their Civil Aviation System ....................................................................... 54 2. The Russian Safety Aviation: The New Aviation Code ................................................................. 60 Chapter 2 - International Legal Requirements in Civil Aviation and the Russian Legislation .................................................................................................................................. 66 A. CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY IN RUSSIA: ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION ......................... 66 B. RUSSIAN CAA PROCEDURES ............................................................................................................ 70 C. PERSONNEL LICENSING IN RUSSIA .................................................................................................... 70 D. AIRCRAFT AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE IN RUSSIA....................................................................... 74 E. AIRCRAFT IN RUSSIA: NATIONALITY, OWNERSHIP AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS ................. 78 F. RUSSIAN AIR CARRIER OPERATOR CERTIFICATION ......................................................................... 81 G. AIR CARRIER ECONOMIC REGULATION IN RUSSIA ........................................................................... 83 H. SCHOOLS AND APPROVED MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATIONS IN RUSSIA ........................................... 90 I. RUSSIAN AIR NAVIGATION FACILITIES ............................................................................................ 90 J. TRANSPORTATION OF DANGEROUS GOODS IN RUSSIA ...................................................................... 92 K. PENALTIES OF NON-COMPLIANCE: CIVIL AVIATION ENFORCEMENT .................................................. 92 Chapter 3 – Safety Aviation Relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation ............................................................................................................. 94 A. SAFETY OF FOREIGN CARRIERS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: THE EASA AND THE SAFA PROGRAMME ......................................................................................................................................................... 95 B. EUROPEAN UNION AND RUSSIA: TOWARDS A COMMON AVIATION AREA AGREEMENT? ............... 101 C. UNLAWFUL PRACTICE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION CONCERNING ROYALTIES IN EXCHANGE FOR THE RIGHT FOR AIRLINES TO TRANSIT OVER ITS TERRITORY ........................................................... 109 D.