054- Appeal relating to the Jurisdiction of the ICAO Council (India Pakistan)
In February 1971, following an incident relating to the diversion of an Indian aircraft to Pakistan, India suspended overflights of its territory by Pakistani civilian aircraft. Pakistan referred the matter to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, considering that this was a violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the Agreement on the Transit of International Air Services (1944). India had raised preliminary objections regarding the lack of jurisdiction of the body, but the Council had decided to declare itself competent to hear the dispute. India then appealed this decision before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In the written and oral proceedings, Pakistan raised, inter alia, objections to the Court’s jurisdiction to hear the appeal. In a judgment of August 18th, 1972, the Court held that it had jurisdiction to hear India’s appeal. It also decided that the ICAO Council had jurisdiction to hear the application and complaint lodged by Pakistan with the Council and accordingly dismissed the appeal lodged with it by the Government of India.
This summary is provided for informational purposes only, does not involve the responsibility of Dome and should in no way be used as a substitute for a careful reading of the judgment and order of the case.
