Tokyo Convention
| Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Drafted | 1958–1963 |
| Signed | 14 September 1963 |
| Effective | 4 December 1969 |
| Condition | Ratification by at least 12 signatories |
| Original signatories |
40 |
| Parties | 186 |
| Depositary | International Civil Aviation Organization |
The Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, commonly called the Tokyo Convention, is an international treaty, concluded at Tokyo on 14 September 1963. It entered into force on 4 December 1969, and as of 2015 has been ratified by 186 parties.
The Convention is applicable to offences against penal law and to any acts jeopardising the safety of persons or property on board civilian aircraft while in-flight and engaged in international air navigation. Coverage includes the commission of or the intention to commit offences and certain other acts on board aircraft registered in a Contracting State in-flight over the high seas and any other areas beyond the territory of any State in addition to the airspace belonging to any Contracting State. Criminal jurisdiction may be exercised by Contracting States other than the State of Registry under limited conditions, viz, when the exercise of jurisdiction is required under multilateral international obligations, in the interest of national security, and so forth.
The Convention, for the first time in the history of international aviation law, recognises certain powers and immunities of the aircraft commander who on international flights may restrain any person(s) he has reasonable cause to believe is committing or is about to commit an offence liable to interfere with the safety of persons or property on board or who is jeopardising good order and discipline.
In strictly domestic cases the Convention does not have application and acts and offences committed in the airspace of the State of Registry are excluded except when the point of departure or intended landing lies outside that State, or the aircraft enters into the airspace of a State other than the State of Registry as for example on a domestic flight which traverses the boundary of another State.
Study of the question of the legal status of the aircraft had been the subject of debate from as early as the pioneering work of the French jurist Paul Fauchille in 1902 and had been frequently visited by early organisations such as, inter alia, the Comité International Technique d'Experts Juridiques Aériens (International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts), the Institut de Droit International (Institute of International Law), the International Criminal Police Commission and the International Law Association. The question remained as one of the most important legal problems until the 13-year-long pre-legislative efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organization culminated in the Convention on Offenses and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft coming into force on 4 December 1969.
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