home contact print news search sitemap
|
Home |
|
|
Time Schedule |
|
|
Case & Clarifications |
|
|
Rules of Procedure |
|
|
Memorials |
|
|
Registration Forms |
|
|
Participation Fee |
|
|
Supervisory Board |
|
|
Sponsoring |
|
|
Prizes |
|
|
Final Results |
|
|
Pictures |
|
|
Contact |
|
|
Links |
|
IMPORTANT The website of the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition has moved to: www.grotiuscentre.org/com/doc.asp?DocID=346
You will find the new Case of the 2008 edition of the Competition on this page. The Case of the 31st edition is sponsored by DLA Piper. The 31st edition of the Competition will take place on 10, 11 and 12 April 2008 at the Peace Palace.
The Aerial Accident Case Icara v Mercuria
This case concerns a claim for damages suffered by nationals of the State of Icara following an aerial accident in the State of Mercuria. It involves public international law, including the law of treaties and questions regarding state responsibility and liability, public international air law, the application of European aviation rules and the binding force of international safety rules.
Copyright 2007/2008 by the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition Foundation
- All rights reserved -
The Aerial Accident Case 1. Icarex Airlines is an airline established and regulated under the laws of the State of Icara. It is substantially owned and effectively controlled by the State of Icara. Its aircraft are registered in the national registry of Icara. Its flight operations and aircraft meet internationally recognised safety standards. 2. Icarex Airlines is designated by Icara to operate international air services to third states under bilateral air services agreements (ASA) between Icara and such states. Icara has such an ASA with a state called Montania. Icarex Airlines designation by Icara to operate scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services between the capitals of Icara and Montania has been accepted by Montania. 3. CargoGalax Airways is an airline established and regulated under the laws of the State of Galaxy and is substantially owned and effectively controlled by nationals of Galaxy. Its aircraft are registered in the national registry in Galaxy. Its flight operations and aircraft meet internationally recognised safety standards. 4. The business of CargoGalax Airways is international transportation by air of cargo. Galaxy has designated CargoGalax Airways to operate international air services under an ASA between Galaxy and the State of Limonia, which has accepted Cargo-Galax's designation. CargoGalax Airways operates its services between the capitals of Galaxy and Limonia. 5. While operating their respective services to the capitals of Montania and Limonia, Icarex Airlines and CargoGalax Airways fly over national airspace falling under the sovereignty of a third state, Mercuria. Mercuria has granted both airlines the right to fly across its airspace. 6. Patriarcha is a neighbouring state of Mercuria. Patriarcha has designated a privatised air navigation service provider called PatriControl to provide air traffic control services in Patriarcha's sovereign airspace. PatriControl is established and regulated under the laws of Patriarcha. 7. In 1952, Patriarcha and Mercuria agreed that air traffic control (ATC) in a block of airspace falling under Mercuria’s sovereignty which is adjacent to the border of Patriarcha would be carried out exclusively by PatriControl. As a result, PatriControl has been providing such ATC services for that airspace block continuously since 1952. 8. The agreement between Patriarcha and Mercuria transferring air traffic control tasks from Mercuria to Patriarcha was signed and submitted for ratification by the Parliaments of the two states. However, the agreement has not been ratified by either Governments nor registered with the International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN specialised agency (ICAO). 9. Article 5 of the agreement between Mercuria and Patriarcha states that Patriarcha is "liable for damages caused by its negligence, or that of its agents or any other person acting on its behalf, in relation to the provision of air traffic services falling under the agreement." Article 30 requires the agreement to be ratified in order to enter into force. 10. As well as operating to international safety rules established by ICAO, PatriControl (and Mercuria's own air navigation service provider) operate under the rules and procedures drawn up by Eurocontrol regarding Delegation of Air Traffic Services as well as the Eurocontrol Safety Regulatory Requirements (ESARRs), as implemented in the national legislation of Mercuria and Patriarcha. 11. On 23 December 2006 aircraft operated by CargoGalax Airways and Icarex Airlines collide in mid-air while en route to the capitals of Limonia and Montania respectively. The collision happened within the block of airspace of Mercuria which is controlled by PatriControl. 12. All 50 passengers aboard the Icarex Airlines aircraft together with its 6 crew members, and 3 crew members aboard the CargoGalax Airways aircraft, are killed. The wreckage of the two aircraft is scattered across both sides of the border between Mercuria and Patriarcha, seriously damaging a football stadium and killing and severely wounding the players and public attending a top-league football match in Mercuria, as well as causing harm and damage to private persons and property on the surface in both countries. 13. An official investigation of the accident by Mercuria reveals that the cause of the accident hinged on the following circumstances (all times are local): a) The crew of the Icarex Airlines flight reported in to PatriControl while flying at an altitude of 36,000 feet at 11:30:11. CargoGalax Airways had been cleared by PatriControl to climb the same altitude at 11:29:50. The two aircraft were therefore approaching each other. b) At 11:34:42 a traffic announcement (TA) was made in both aircraft simultaneously by their on-board airborne collision avoidance system (TCAS) containing the words "traffic traffic". TCAS works independently of any ground based system or ATC unit. c) At 11:34:49 the on duty PatriControl controller instructed the Icarex aircraft to descend immediately to 35,000 feet, pointing out conflicting traffic. The Icarex crew initiated a descent, but without confirming it to the controller. d) At 11:34:56 the TCAS of both aircraft simultaneously generated a resolution advisory (RA) to their crew for the Icarex aircraft to climb, and for the CargoGalax aircraft to descend. e) At 11:34:58 the acoustic short-term conflict alert (STCA) in the PatriControl tower, warning of aircraft closing on one another, sounded at the PatriControl's controller workstation. However, this alarm was not noticed by the controller. f) At 11:35:01, the PatriControl controller again instructed the Icarex aircraft to descend immediately to 35,000 feet. The crew immediately confirmed this instruction. g) The controller failed to notice, however, that at 11:35:17 the CargoGalax aircraft started to descend as well. As TCAS is not linked to the ground, the controller was unaware that a TCAS-RA had instructed the crew of the CargoGalax aircraft to descend. h) At 11:35:24 the TCAS-RA was activated in the Icarex aircraft instructing the crew to "increase climb, increase climb". Five seconds later the two aircraft collided. 14. The investigators also identified the following shortcomings at PatriControl: a) By reason of technical works at PatriControl, visual STCAs, which appear on a controller’s monitor about 120 seconds before the impeding closing of two aircraft to less than 12 kilometres horizontally, were not available on the day of the accident from 11:13:00. The controllers had not been properly informed of this situation. The supervisor had given a general briefing, which was inadequate. b) According to internal arrangements agreed between controllers (and known to and tolerated by the management of PatriControl), only one controller was working in the control room at the time of the accident, instead of the usual of two controllers and two assistants. Therefore, the duty controller had to man two workstations, switching between them from time to time. These workstations also differed in their configuration. 15. On 12 April 2007 the State of Icara brought a case against the State of Mercuria before the International Court of Justice. The State of Mercuria does not raise any preliminary objections to the application made by the State of Icara. 16. The State of Icara has asked the Court to rule that: a) Mercuria is responsible for all damage caused by the mid-air collision in the airspace of the State of Mercuria on 23 December 2006; b) Mercuria compensates Icara for the value of the destroyed aircraft (i.e. EUR 30m); c) Mercuria indemnifies and holds harmless Icarex Airlines in respect of all claims made by: (i) third parties in connection with the accident, including claims by CargoGalax Airways; (ii) the legal successors of the deceased passengers and crew aboard both aircraft, including present and future claims; d) Mercuria compensates Icara for any damage, expenditure, costs (including legal costs and lawyer’s fees) or injury already incurred and/or incurred in the future as a result of the accident. 17. In its response, Mercuria has requested the International Court of Justice: a) to recognise that the state of Mercuria has not violated rules of international law; b) to dismiss the claims made by Icara as being contrary to international law; c) to determine that Mercuria is under no obligation to pay compensation to Icara in relation to the claims arising from the above aerial accident; d) to hold Icara responsible for the compensation of damages in relation to the football stadium and private property on its territory. 18. The oral pleadings will take place on 10, 11 and 12 April 2008 in the Peace Palace, The Hague.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Icara, Mercuria, Patriarcha, Montania and Limonia are all member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), whereas they have made no reservations regarding the relevant Standards of the Annexes to the Chicago Convention. Icara, Mercuria, Patriarcha, Montania and Limonia are all parties to: -the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, -the Chicago Convention on international civil aviation of 1944, -the International Air Services Transit Agreement of 1944, -the Montreal Convention for the unification of certain rules for international carriage by air of 1999.
Icara and Mercuria are parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice and have accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court. Icara is a party to the Rome Convention on damage caused by foreign aircraft to third parties on the surface of 1952. Icara and Mercuria are Eurocontrol contracting States.
END OF DOCUMENT
The 30th edition of the TELDERS INTERNATIONAL LAW MOOT COURT COMPETITION took place on 12, 13 and 14 April 2007 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands The results are to be found under Final Results/2007 The Pictures of the 30th edition are to be found on facebook/group Telders International Law Moot Court Competition The Pictures of the 29th edition are to be found on the following link:
The Telders International Law Moot Court Competition: An Introduction The first Telders Competition was organised in 1977 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Telders International Law Students Debating Society. Teams of students from the universities of Bonn, Cologne, Strasbourg and Leiden participated. Due to its success, the Competition has been held annually ever since. Nowadays, it is considered to be the most prestigious and important international moot court competition in Europe. Teams from over 40 universities compete in the national rounds, with 22 to 25 teams from as many European countries participating in the international rounds held in the Peace Palace in The Hague. The aims of the Competition breathe Professor Telders' legacy. Through the Competition, students are educated in legal practice and such principles as the rule of law, civil society and fair play. The Competition also stimulates team work and European integration. Students and academics consider participation important, a great honour and a wonderful experience of a friendly and international competition. A Practical Introduction of the Competition Each year student teams are presented with a Case involving a fictitious dispute between two States. This dispute is put before the United Nations' most important legal organ, the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It is up to the teams, composed of 4 students each, to defend the two States to the best of their abilities. Each teams has to represent the States substantively both in writing and through pleadings before so-called moot courts. Per European country, only the university winning the national rounds may participate in the international rounds held in The Hague. The students' memorials and oral argumentations are judged by legal experts. In this respect, the active involvement of judges from the real International Court of Justice, the Iran - United States Claims Tribunal, professors of law and Ambassadors schooled in international law guarantee the high intellectual standards of the Competition and its prestige. The Telders Competition is named after Professor dr. Benjamin Marius Telders. In 1931 Dr. B.M. Telders became the professor of international law at Leiden University. Telders was intensely interested in why and how law operated. Being in many respects still undefined and interwoven with history and politics, international law was an excellent challenge. Professor Telders was respected for his sharp mind and had the honour to represent his country frequently, including before the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ).His approach to law was a practical one. Problems were meant to be solved, but not in contravention with important principles such as the rule of law and civil society. Telders stood and fought for those principles even in the most difficult of times during the Second World War. His fellow prisoners had great respect for his ability to put moral guidance and leadership into practice. The 41/2 years of imprisonment did not break him morally or mentally. He continued to write about international law. Professor Telders died in Bergen Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. Throughout its existence, the Telders Competition has enjoyed the support of several prominent members of the ICJ and the international legal world. The late Judge Manfred Lachs (ICJ), the late Judge Carl-August Fleischhauer (ICJ), Judge Stephen M. Schwebel (ICJ) and Judge Gilbert Guillaume (ICJ) have been chairmen of the Supervisory Board of the Competition. The Competition’s Supervisory Board is proud to have among its past and present members the late Judge Sir Robert Jennings (ICJ), Judge Pieter H. Kooijmans (ICJ), Judge Vladlen S. Vereshchetin (ICJ), Judge Krzysztof Skubiszewski (President, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal), Judge Bengt Broms (Iran-United States Claims Tribunal), Mr. Sibrand K. Martens (former President, Supreme Court of the Netherlands), Professor Dr. John Dugard of Leiden University (member of the International Law Commission) and Professor Dr. Nico Schrijver (Leiden University). The current composition of the Board can be found on this site. We kindly refer you to the Supervisory Board link. The Telders Organizing Office is responsible for the organisation of the Competition. The Office consists of a director, an office manager and three law students. As of June 2004, the Telders Organizing Office is established under the auspices of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University / Campus The Hague. Half of the operational budget is covered by the registration fee paid by the participating teams. The other half of the budget is covered amongst others by sponsors, such as the Board of the University of Leiden, the City of The Hague, the City of Leiden, the French and the Swiss Embassies and law firms, such as DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary UK LLP. Furthermore, donations of major publishers make it possible to offer the teams awards in the form of books and reviews on international law. To name few of them: Brill Academic Publishers, Eleven Publishing, Springer, Jongbloed Juridische Boekhandel, Intersentia Publishers and ESA publications Division. Summer 2006 |
 |
|
| previous page | top of page |