ABSTRACT
In order to protect civil aviation from anti-social (or worse) passenger behaviour, the Tokyo Convention 1963 governs 'offences against penal law' or 'acts which, whether or not they are offences, may or do jeopardise the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property therein or which jeopardise good order and discipline on board' and which are committed on board aircraft registered in contracting states. The Tokyo Convention forms the bedrock of legislative protection across the world devolving, in accordance with Article 3(1 ), jurisdiction over offences and acts committed on board to the state of
registration. Article 6 permits the aircraft commander, when he has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed, or is about to commit, such an offence or act on board the aircraft to use:
Fortunately for the commander (and his or her crew), the aircraft owner, operator, any charterer and indeed any passenger who gets involved, Article 10 exonerates all from responsibility for the 'treatment undergone by the person against whom the action was taken' under the Convention. A rare bit of' carte blanche' indeed!
