国际商业航空运输业受国际公约监管，各成员国家承诺确认并在其国家领空内直接应用此类公约。于一九二九年签订的《统一国际航空运输某些规则的公约》（下称《华沙公约》）、于一九四四年签订的《国际民用航空公约》（下称《芝加哥公约》）及于一九九九年签订的《统一国际航空运输某些规则的公约》（下称《蒙特利尔公约》）为主要国际公约。

《华沙公约》、《海牙议定书》及《蒙特利尔公约》

《华沙公约》以过错推定为基础，确立航空运输公司有限责任的原则，只有证明损害是航空公司（1）故意引起，或者（2）因行为轻率且知晓可能发生损害的情况下采取的行动或疏忽大意所致，方可超过《华沙公约》规定的责任赔偿限额。该公约后被于一九二九年签订的《修订统一国际航空运输某些规则的公约的议定书》（下称《海牙议定书》）修订，中国是《华沙公约》成员国。

《蒙特利尔公约》修改《华沙公约》所设立的航空公司意外事故责任体制。其对责任下限作出修改，并使国际航空公司意外事故责任体制的其它方面现代化及作出澄清。中国目前并非《蒙特利尔公约》的成员国。

《芝加哥公约》

《芝加哥公约》载列监管国际商业航空的法律及技术原则。此外，《芝加哥公约》还为成员国建立监管国际航空运输业的共同法律架构，其成员国包括联合国绝大部分成员国，各成员国必须在各自领空实施该架构，并在处理彼此关系时应用该框架。《芝加哥公约》确立一般原则，即各个国家拥有其领空的主权，并有权控制飞越或进入其领土的定期国际航空服务的运作。

《芝加哥公约》准许非定期航班（包括包机航班及货运航班）飞越成员国的领土，并赋予非定期航班以非运输目的在该国领土停留的权利，惟须服从个别成员国可能实施的若干限制。中国是《芝加哥公约》的成员国。

国际民用航空组织（下称「ICAO」）根据《芝加哥公约》成立，并于一九四七年成为联合国航空分部。在ICAO 的架构内，其成员国制订适用于民用航空的国际技术法规。

国际航空运输协会

国际航空运输协会（下称「国际航空运输协会」）为航空业提供重要的国际自我监管架构。国际航空运输协会于一九四五年成立，拥有大约270 个成员，几乎囊括全球所有主要航空公司。该协会监管成员的运载量占国际全部定期航空交通的98% 以上。 国际航空运输协会的主要功能包括：

‧ 为航空业的若干方面制定法规；

‧ 为国际客运及货运服务设定关税；

‧ 办理国际航空运输协会成员之间或国际航空运输协会成员与非成员之间的结算；

‧ 特许旅行社牌照；

‧ 促进国际航空运输协会成员之间的技术合作；及

‧ 提高机场的运作效率。

在国际航空运输协会的主持下，航空公司已经签订对《华沙公约》订明旅客受伤或死亡责任限制作进一步修改的协议。根据《国际航空运输协会承运人之间关于旅客责任的协议》，签约航空公司同意放弃《华沙公约》规定的可收回补偿损失的责任限制，使可收回补偿损失可以按旅客定居国家的法律来确定及赔偿。多数国际航空运输协会的成员亦已签署《国际航空运输协会关于实施承运人之间协议的措施的协议》，根据该协议，签约航空公司已同意受伤旅客或遇难旅客的受扶养者最高可领取高达100,000 个特别提款权（「特别提款权」）。  特别提款权为国际货币基金设立的人工货币单位，截至二零零四年六月三十日止100,000 个特别提款权相等于约146,600 美元。

起降时刻分配全球众多主要国际机场均采用起降时刻分配方法进行管理。起降时刻与航空公司在特定时间及日期于机场降落或起飞的能力相对应。欧洲及亚洲大多数机场均透过起降时刻进行管理。在美国，机场按登机门起降分配的规则控制，惟纽约约翰．肯尼迪机场及芝加哥欧海尔机场则采用起降时刻管理。作为一项普遍规则，使用某起降时刻的航空公司有权在下一个航班编排周期获得相同起降时刻（通常被称为「豁免权」）。

双边航空服务协议

国际航空运输须获授运输权（又称「交通权」或「航权」），各成员国以签订双边航空运输协议（大多称航空服务协议）的形式申请获得在其它成员国运输的权利。两国之间的双边航空服务协议监管一般载有指定航空公司于特定航线的运作原则、该等航空公司的运载力及达成运价的程序。双边航空服务协议的缔约国通常仅指定一个或少数国家航空公司来经营其它国家根据双边航空服务协议或条约授权有关航空公司所属国经营的航线。中国是93 个双边航空服务协议的成员国。

THE INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL AIR TRANSPORT

International commercial air transport is regulated by international conventions that each

participating country undertakes to ratify and directly apply within its national air space. The principal international conventions are the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air of 1929 (the ‘‘Warsaw Convention’’), the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944 (the ‘‘Chicago Convention’’), and the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air of 1999 (the ‘‘Montreal Convention’’).

The Warsaw Convention and the Hague Protocol, and the Montreal Convention

The Warsaw Convention, which was later modified by the Protocol to Amend the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air of 1929 (the ‘‘Hague Protocol’’), established the principle of limited liability of air transport companies based on a presumption of fault. The financial limits on liability set out in the Warsaw Convention may be exceeded only if it is proved that the damage resulted from an act or omission of the carrier done (1) with intent to cause damage or (2) recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probablyresult. China is a party to the Warsaw Convention.

The Montreal Convention changed the airline accident liability system established by the

Warsaw Convention. It changed the low liability limits and modernised and clarified other aspects of the international airline accident liability system. China is currently not a party to the Montreal Convention.

The Chicago Convention

The Chicago Convention sets out the legal and technical principles governing international commercial aviation. In addition, the Chicago Convention subjects participant states, which include substantially all the member states of the United Nations, to a common legal framework governing international air transport that participant states are required to implement in their respective national air space and apply in their relations with each another. The Chicago Convention established the general principle that each state has sovereignty over its air space and has the right to control the operation of scheduled international air services over or into its territory.

The Chicago Convention permits non-scheduled flights, both charter and cargo, to fly over the territories of participant states and gives rights for non-scheduled flights to make stops for nontraffic purposes in the territories of such states, subject to certain restrictions which may be imposed by the individual states. China is a party to the Chicago Convention.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (‘‘ICAO’’) was established based on the Chicago Convention and in 1947 became the aviation division of the United Nations. Within the

framework of the ICAO, participant states establish the international technical regulations

applicable to civil aviation.

International Air Transportation Association

The International Air Transportation Association (‘‘IATA’’) provides an important international self-regulatory framework for the airline industry. Established in 1945, IATA has approximately 270 members, including almost every major airline in the world, and its members 58 generate more than 98% of all international scheduled air traffic. The main functions of IATA include:

＊        establishing regulations for certain aspects of the airline industry;

＊         setting tariff for international passenger and cargo services;

＊         settling payments among IATA members or between IATA members and non-members;

＊         licensing of travel agents;

＊         improving technological co-operation among IATA members; and

＊         improving the performance and efficiency of airports.

Under the auspices of IATA, airlines have entered into agreements that have modified the

limits of liability for injured or deceased passengers established by the Warsaw Convention.

Pursuant to the IATA Intercarrier Agreement on Passenger Liability, signatory airlines agreed to waive the limitation of liability on recoverable compensatory damages under the Warsaw Convention to enable recoverable compensatory damages to be determined and awarded by reference to the law of the domicile of the passenger. Many IATA members have also entered into the Agreement on Measures to Implement the IATA Intercarrier Agreement pursuant to which signatory airlines have agreed that injured passengers or dependants of deceased passengers can receive up to 100,000 Special Drawing Rights (‘‘SDR’’). SDR is an artificial currency unit created by the International Monetary Fund and 100,000 SDR represents an equivalent of approximately US$146,600 as of June 30, 2004.

Allocation of Slots

Access to many of the world’s major international airports is regulated by the allotment of

time slots. Slots correspond to the ability of an airline to land at, or take-off from, an airport at a specified time and date. Access to most European and Asian airports is regulated through slots. In the United States, access to airports is controlled by regulations based on the allotment of boarding gates with the exception of New York’s John F. Kennedy airport and Chicago’s O’Hare airport, to which access is regulated by slots. As a general rule, a slot that has been operated by an airline entitles that airline to claim the same slot in the next equivalent scheduling period (often referred to as ‘‘grandfather rights’’).

Bilateral Air Services Agreements

International air transport requires transport rights (a concept known as ‘‘traffic rights’’ or

‘‘route rights’’) which one state may acquire by applying for another state’s transport rights by entering into bilateral air transport agreements, also frequently referred to as air services agreements. Bilateral air services agreements between states generally contain the principles governing the designation of airlines for the operation of specified routes, the capacity offered by such airlines and the procedures for the agreement of tariffs. Contracting states under bilateral air services agreements typically designate only one or a small number of national airlines to exercise the rights to operate on the routes granted to its parent state by other states under bilateral air services agreements or treaties. China is a party to 93 bilateral air services agreements.