Die betekenis van die internasionale lugvaartreg vir Suid-Afrika
educational resource
posted on 2024-11-18, 14:44authored byInaugural addresses
Inaugural lecture--Department of Public Law, Rand Afrikaans University, 14 July 1973@@In Pan-American World Airways Inc. v. S.A. Insurance Co. Ltd. 1965 (3) SA. 150 (A.D.) Chief Justice Steyn emphatically reiterated the constitutional rule that no treaty or international agreement can, without the aid of a statute incorporating its provisions, be so applied as to modify private rights or alter municipal law.
The South African Parliament has by statutory incorporation
incorporated the most important conventions of international
civil aviation law in our legal system. These conventions are the Warsaw Convention; the Hague Protocol to the Warsaw Convention, the International Civil Aviation Convention and the International Air Transit Agreement. The effect of this statutory incorporation has been to embody the provisions of the above treaties in our municipal law.
Customary international aviation law makes up a large segment of modern international civil aviation law and the question is often posed as to the effect of such law in our municipal legal system. In 1971 the courts in three decisions put this issue beyond all doubt by judgements to the effect that generally accepted rules of international law will be applied in our courts as lex fori and that these rules will be applied directly, making no distinction in the process between them and municipal law. (The three decisions were S. v. Ramotse (unreported); Parkin v. Government of the Republique Democratique
du Congo and Another 1971 (1) S.A. 259 (W) and South Atlantic Islands Development Corporation v. Buchan 1971 (1) S.A. 234 (C)).
History
Date of creation
2009-11-16
Date submitted to repository
1973-07-14
Copyright information
University of Johannesburg
Original repository
Vital
Language Translation
The relevance of international civil aviation law for South Africa