Introduction to International Aviation Law

In international aviation the concept of sovereignty is the keystone upon which virtually all aviation law is founded. Many publications on the subject of aviation law often approach the topic of international aviation law almost as an afterthought. Before discussing how international aviation standards are applied today, it is important to understand how international aviation law evolved. After the Paris Convention of 1910, discussions and international dialogue on the subject of aviation law would most likely have continued had it not been for developing hostilities between certain European nations – all of which were major aviation players. This chapter reviews sovereignty issues relating to ballooning operations between France and Germany. By 1910, with a changing political landscape across Europe, issues of national sovereignty had begun gaining public attention. The First World War brought a realization of both the importance of aviation and its potential danger to states and their citizens in threatening their sovereignty.