CIVIL AVIATION ACT, 2005
(Act 4 of 2005)
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Part I – Preliminary
Sections
1. Short title and commencement
2. Interpretation
Part II – Regulation of Civil Aviation
3. Power to give effect to Chicago Convention etc and regulate air navigation
4. Mortgaging of aircraft registered in Seychelles
5. Control of aviation in time of war or emergency
6. Investigation of air accidents
7. Dangerous flying
8. Licensing of air transport and commercial flying
9. Information as to air transport undertakings and use of customs
aerodromes
Part III – Aerodromes and Other Land
10. Indication of presence of obstructions near aerodromes
11. Trespassing of aerodromes
Part IV – Liability for damage, etc. caused by aircraft
12. Liability of aircraft in respect of trespass, nuisance and surface damage
13. Nuisance caused by aircraft on aerodromes
Part V – Miscellaneous
14. Detention and sale of aircraft for unpaid aircraft charges or air navigation
charges
15. Application of law of wreck and salvage to aircraft
16. Exemption of aircraft and parts thereof from seizure on patent claims
Part VI – Supplemental
17. Orders and regulations
18. Detention of aircraft
19. Extraterritorial effect
20. Offences under the Act
21. Application of criminal law to aircraft
22. Savings
Part VII – General
23. Payment of fines
24. Transitional
25. Repeal
CIVIL AVIATION ACT, 2005
(Act 4 of 2005)
AN ACT to repeal and replace the Civil Aviation Act 1949 (Overseas Territories) Order 1969 (Cap 31).
ENACTED by the President and the National Assembly.
Short title and
commencement
Interpretation
Part I – Preliminary
1. This Act may be cited as the Civil Aviation Act, 2005 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister
may, by notice in the Gazette, appoint.
2. In this Act –
“aerodrome” means any area of land or water designed,
equipped, set apart or commonly used for affording facilities
for the landing and departure of aircraft and includes any
area or space, whether on the ground, on roof of a building or
elsewhere, which is designed, equipped or set apart for
affording facilities for the landing and departure of aircraft
capable of descending or climbing vertically;
“Chicago Convention” means the Convention on International
Civil Aviation done at Chicago on the seventh day of
December 1944 as amended by any subsequent convention
or agreement;
“Government aerodrome” means an aerodrome under the
control of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority, and a naval,
military or air force aerodrome;
“land” includes any estate or other interest in land and
easement.
(2) Any reference in this Act to the carrying out of works
and land shall be construed as including a reference to the
making of excavations on the land or the carrying out of
leveling operations on the land, and references to the
maintenance of works or to interference with works shall be
construed accordingly.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that in
this Act the expression “loss or damage” includes, in relation
to persons, loss of life and personal injury.
(4) Any reference in this Act to goods or articles shall be
construed as including a reference to mails or animals.
(5) Any reference in the Act to the Republic shall, unless
the context otherwise requires, be construed as including a
reference to the territorial waters adjacent to the Republic.
(6) Any power conferred by this Act shall be in addition to
and not derogation of any other power so conferred.
Power to give effect to
Chicago Convention
etc. and regulate air
navigation
Part II – Regulation of Civil Aviation
3. (1) The Minister may, by regulations, make such provision as appears to him to be requisite or expedient –
(a) for carrying out the Chicago Convention, any Annex
thereto relating to international standards and recommended
practices (being an Annex adopted in accordance with the
Convention) and any amendment of the Convention or any
such Annex made in accordance with the Convention; or
(b) for carrying out any other international agreement
relating to aviation; or
(c ) generally for regulating air navigation.
(2) The Minister may, by regulations, make provision –
(a) as to the registration of aircraft in the Republic;
(b) for prohibiting aircraft from flying unless certificates of
airworthiness issued or validated under the regulations are in
force with respect to them and except upon compliance with
such conditions as to maintenance or repair as may be
specified in the regulations;
(c) for the licensing, inspection and regulation of
aerodromes, for access to aerodromes and places where
aircraft have landed, for access to aircraft factories for the
purpose of inspecting work therein carried on in relation to
aircraft or parts thereof and for prohibiting or regulating the
use of unlicensed aerodromes;
(d) for prohibiting persons from engaging in, or being
employed in or (except in the maintenance at unlicensed
aerodromes of aircraft not used for or in connection with
commercial, industrial or other gainful purposes) in
connection with, air navigation in such capacities as may be
specified in the regulations except in accordance with
provisions in that behalf contained in the regulations, and for
the licensing of those employed at aerodromes licensed
under the regulations in the inspection or supervision of
aircraft;
(e) as to the conditions under which, and in particular the
aerodromes to or from which, aircraft entering or leaving the
Republic may fly, and as to the conditions under which
aircraft may fly from one part of the Republic to another;
(f) as to the conditions under which passengers and
goods may be carried by air and under which aircraft may be
used for other commercial, industrial or gainful purposes, and
for prohibiting the carriage by air of goods of such classes as
may be specified in the regulations;
(g) for minimizing or preventing interference with the use
of effectiveness of apparatus used in connection with air
navigation, and for prohibiting or regulating the use of such
apparatus as aforesaid and the display of sings and lights
liable to endanger aircraft;
(h) generally for securing the safety, efficiency and
regularity of air navigation and the safety of aircraft and of
persons and property carried therein, for preventing aircraft
endangering other persons and property and, in particular, for
the detention of aircraft for any of the purposes specified in
this paragraph;
(i) for requiring persons engaged in, or employed in or in
connection with, air navigation to supply meteorological
information for the purposes of air navigation;
(j) for regulating the making of signals and other
communications by or to aircraft and persons carried therein;
(k) for regulating the use of the civil air ensign and any
other ensign established by the Minister for purposes
connected with air navigation;
(l) for prohibiting aircraft from flying other such areas in
the Republic as may be specified in the regulations;
(m) for applying, adapting or modifying, or enabling the
Minister responsible for finance to apply, adapt or modify, the
enactments relation to aerodromes and aircraft and to
persons and property carried therein and for preventing
smuggling by air and for permitting, or enabling the Minister
responsible for finance to permit, in connection with air
navigation, subject to such conditions as appear to the
Minister responsible for finance to be requisite or expedient
for the protection of the revenue or the importation of goods
into the Republic without payment of duty;
(n) as to the manner and conditions of the issue,
validation, renewal, extension or variation of any certificate,
licence or other document required by the regulations
(including the examinations and tests to be undergone), and
as to the form, custody, production, cancellation, suspension,
endorsement and surrender of any such documents;
(o) for regulating, or enabling the Minister after
consultation with the Minister responsible for finance to
regulate, the charges that may be made for the use of
aerodromes licensed under the regulations and for services
provided at aerodromes;
(p) for prescribing, or enabling the Minister after
consultation with the Minister responsible for finance to
prescribe, the fees to be paid in respect to the issue,
validation, renewal, extension or variation of any certificate
licence or other document or the undergoing of any
examination or test required by, or in pursuance of, the
regulations and in respect of any other matters in respect of
which it appears to the Minister after consultation with the
Minister responsible for finance to be expedient for the
purpose of the regulations to charge fees;
(q) for exempting from the provisions of the regulations or
any of them any aircraft or persons or classes of aircraft or
persons;
(r) for prohibiting aircraft from taking off or landing in the
Republic unless there are in force in respect of those aircraft
Mortgaging of aircraft
registered in
Seychelles
such certificates of compliance with standards as to noise as
may be specified in the regulations and except upon
compliance with the conditions of those certificates.
(3) Regulations under this section may make different
provision with respect to different classes of aircraft,
aerodromes, persons or property and with respect to different
circumstances and with respect to different parts of the
Republic but shall, so far as practicable, be so framed as not
to discriminate in like circumstances between aircraft
registered in the Republic operated on charter terms by one
air transport undertaking and such aircraft so operated by
another such undertaking.
(4) Regulations under this section may, for the purpose of
securing compliance with the provisions thereof, provide for
the imposition of penalties not exceeding a fine of R200,000
and imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years and, in
the case of any provision having effect by virtue of paragraph
(l) of subsection (2) of this section, may also for the purpose
provide for taking of such steps (including firing on aircraft) as
may be specified in the regulations.
4. (1)The Minister may, by regulations, make provision for the mortgaging of aircraft registered in Seychelles.
(2) Regulations made under this section may –
(a) make provision for a register of mortgages;
(b) make provision as respects the rights and liabilities of
Control of aviation in
time of way or
emergency
mortgagors and mortgagees of aircraft and as respects the
priority inter se of such rights and the relationship of such
rights to other rights in or over such aircraft;
(c ) make provision specifying the fees to be paid in
respect of the making or deletion of entries in the register of
mortgages, of the inspection of the register and of making
copies thereof;
(d) make provision for the imposition of penalties not
exceeding 5 years’ imprisonment and fine of R100,000 in
respect of making of false statements in connection with
matters relating to mortgages of aircraft and in respect of the
forgery of documents relating to such matters.
5. (1) In time of war, whether actual or imminent, or of great national emergency, the Minister may by Order regulate or
prohibit, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as
may be contained in the Order, the navigation of all or any
descriptions of aircraft over the Republic or any portion
thereof, and may by Order provide for taking possession of
the using for the purposes of the naval, military or air forces
of the Republic any aerodrome, or any aircraft in the
Republic, or any machinery, plant, material or things found in
or on any such aerodrome or such aircraft, and for regulating
or prohibiting the use, erection, building, maintenance or
establishment of any aerodrome, or flying school, or any
class or description thereof.
(2) An Order under this section may make, for the
purposes of the Order, such provision as Regulations under
Investigation of air
accidents
section 3 of this Act may by virtue of subsection (4) of that
section make for the purpose of securing compliance with
provisions thereof having effect by virtue of paragraph (l) of
subsection (2) of that section.
(3) Any person who suffers direct injury or loss owing to
the operation of an Order of the Minister under this section
shall be entitled to receive compensation from the Minister
from such public funds as he may lawfully apply for the
purpose, the amount hereof to be fixed, in default of
agreement, by an arbitrator to be agreed upon or failing
agreement to be appointed by the Chief Justice:
Provided that no compensation shall be payable by
reason of the operation of a general Order under this section
prohibiting flying in the Republic or any part thereof.
6. (1) The Minister may make regulations providing for the investigation of any accident arising out of or in the course of
air navigation and either occurring in or over the Republic or
occurring elsewhere to aircraft registered in the Republic.
(2) Regulations under this section may contain provisions
–
(a) requiring notice to be given of any such accident as
aforesaid in such manner and by such persons as may be
specified;
(b) applying, with or without modification, for the purpose
of investigations held with respect to any such accidents any
Dangerous flying
of the provisions of any law in force in the Republic relating to
the investigation of deaths or accidents;
(c) prohibiting, pending investigation, access to or
interference with aircraft to which an accident has occurred,
and authorizing any person, so for as may be necessary for
the purposes of an investigation, to have access to, examine,
remove, take measures for the preservation of, or otherwise
deal with, any such aircraft;
(d) authorizing or requiring the cancellation, suspension,
endorsement or surrender of any licence or certificate
granted in the Republic under this Act or any Regulation or
Order made under this Act, or the withdrawal or suspension
of any validation conferred in the Republic of licence granted
by a competent authority elsewhere, where it appears on an
investigation that the licence or certificate ought to be
cancelled, suspended, endorsed or surrendered, or the
validation withdrawn or suspended as the case may be, and
requiring the production of any such licence or certificate for
the purpose of being so dealt with:
Provided that nothing in this section shall limit the
powers of any authority under any law relating to merchant
shipping.
(3) If any person contravenes or fails to comply with any
regulation under this section, he shall be liable, on
convection, to be fine not exceeding R100,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year.
Licensing of air
transport and
commercial flying
7. (1) Where an aircraft is flown in such a manner as to be the cause of unnecessary danger to any person or property
on land or water, the pilot or the person in charge of the
aircraft, and also the owner thereof unless he proves to the
satisfaction of the court that the aircraft was so flown without
his actual fault or privity, shall be liable on conviction to a fine
not exceeding R200,000 or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 2 years or to both such fine and such
imprisonment.
In this section, the expression “owner” in relation to an
aircraft includes any person by whom the aircraft is hired at
the time of the offence.
(2) The provisions of this section shall be in addition to and
not in derogation of the powers conferred on the Minister by
section 3 of this Act.
8. (1) The Minister may make regulations –
(a) to secure that aircraft shall not be used in the Republic
by any person –
(i) for plying, while carrying passengers or goods
for hire or reward, on such journeys or classes of journeys
(whether beginning and ending at the same point or at
different points) as may be specified in the regulations; or
(ii) for such flying undertaken for the purpose of
any trade or business as may be so specified, except under
the authority of, and in accordance with a licence granted to
the said person by the licensing authority specified in the
regulations;
(b) as to the circumstances in which a licence under the
regulations may or shall be granted, refused, revoked or
suspended, and in particular as to the matters to which the
licensing authority specified in the regulations is to have
regard in deciding whether to grant or refuse such a licence.
(c) as to appeals from the licensing authority by persons
interested in the grant, refusal, revocation or suspension of
any licence under the regulations;
(d) as to the conditions which may be attached to such a
licence (including conditions as to the fares, freight or other
charges to be charged by the holder of the licence), and for
securing compliance with any conditions so attached;
(e) as to the information to be furnished by an applicant
for, or the holder of, such a licence to such authorities as may
be specified in the regulations;
(f) prescribing the fees to be paid in respect of the grant
of any licence under the regulations, or enabling such fees to
be prescribed by any person or authority specified in that
behalf by the regulations;
and such regulations may make different provision as
respects different classes of aircraft and different classes of
licences.
Information as to air
transport undertakings
and use of customs
aerodromes
(2) Regulations made under this section may, for the
purpose of securing compliance with the regulations, provide
for the imposition of the following penalties, namely –
(a) in the case of a first offence against the regulations, a
fine not exceeding R200,000 or imprisonment for a term no
exceeding 2 years or both such fine and such imprisonment;
and
(b) in the case of a second or subsequent offence against
the regulations, a fine not exceeding R1,000,000 or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both such
fine and such imprisonment.
9. (1) The Minister may make regulations -
(a) requiring person –
(i) who carries on the business of carrying
passengers or goods in aircraft for hire or reward on such
journeys (whether beginning and ending at the same point or
at different points) as may be specified in the regulations, or
(ii) who is the holder of a licence in respect of a
customs aerodrome,
to furnish to such authorities as may be specified in
the regulations such information relating to the use of aircraft
fro the purpose of his said business and to the persons
employed in connection with that use, or, as the case may
be, relating to the use of aerodrome and to the persons
employed in aircraft arriving thereat or departing therefrom,
as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(b) requiring the owner, or the pilot or other person in
charge of any aircraft arriving at, or departing from, any
customs aerodrome to furnish to the holder of the licence in
respect of that aerodrome such information as may be
necessary to enable the holder of the said licence to comply
with such of the provisions of the regulations as relate to him;
(c) prescribing the times at which, and the form and
manner in which, any information required under the
regulations is to be furnished:
Provided that a person carrying on such a business as
is mentioned in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of this
subsection shall not be required to furnish information relating
to the use of aircraft on journeys wholly outside the Republic
unless the person carrying on the business is either a citizen
of the Republic or a body corporate incorporated under the
law of the Republic.
(2) Regulations under this section may provide for
imposing on any person who contravenes or fails to comply
with any provision of the regulations such penalties (not
exceeding a fine of R100,000 and a further fine of R25,000
for every day on which the contravention or non-compliance
continues after conviction therefore) as may be specified in
the regulations.
(3) No information with respect to any particular
undertaking which has been obtained by virtue of regulations
under this section shall, without the consent of the person
carrying on that undertaking, be disclosed otherwise than in
connection in the execution of such regulations, and if any
person discloses any such information in contravention of this
subsection, he shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding
R100,000 or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
Nothing in this subsection shall apply to the disclosure
of a any information for the purposes of any legal
proceedings which may be taken by virtue of this subsection
or regulations made under this section or for the purpose of
any report of any such proceedings, but, save as aforesaid,
the restriction imposed by this subsection shall, in relation to
any legal proceedings (including arbitration), extend so as to
prohibit and prevent any person who is in possession of any
such information so obtained from disclosing, and from being
required by any court or arbitrator to disclose, that information
(whether as a witness or otherwise) except with the consent
of the person carrying on the undertaking to which the
information relates.
(4) In this section, the expression “customs aerodrome”
means an aerodrome for the time being appointed as a place
of landing or departure of aircraft for the purposes of the
enactments relating to customs.
Indication of presence
of obstructions near
aerodromes
Part III – Aerodromes and Other Land
10. (1) If the Minister is satisfied, with respect to any building, structure or erection in the vicinity of any aerodrome to which
this section applies that, in order to avoid danger to aircraft
flying in that vicinity in darkness or conditions of poor
visibility, provision ought to be made (whether by lighting or
otherwise) for giving to such aircraft warning of the presence
of that building, structure or erection, he may by order in
writing authorize (subject to any conditions specified in the
order) the proprietor of the aerodrome, and any person acting
under the proprietor’s instruction –
(a) to execute, install, maintain, operate, and, as occasion
requires, to repair and alter, such works and apparatus as
may be necessary for enabling such warning to be given in
the manner specified in the order; and
(b) so far as may be necessary for exercising any of the
powers conferred by the order to enter upon and pass over
(with or without vehicles) any such land as may be specified
in the order:
Provided that no such order shall be made in relation
to any building, structure or erection if it appears to the
Minister that there have been made, and are being carried
out, satisfactory arrangements for the giving of such warning
as aforesaid of the presence of the building, structure or
erection.
(2) The Minister shall, before making any such order as
aforesaid cause to be published, in such manner as he thinks
best for informing persons concerned, notice of the proposal
to make the order and of the place where copies of the draft
order may be obtained free of charge, and take into
consideration any representations with respect t the order
which may, within such period not being less than two
months after the publication of the notice as may be specified
therein, be made to him by any person appearing to him to
have an interest in any land which would be affected by the
order; and at the end of that period the order may, subject to
the provisions of this section, be made with such modification
(if any) of the original draft as the Minister thinks proper.
(3) Every such order as aforesaid shall provide –
(a) that, except in a case of emergency, no works shall be
executed on any land in pursuance of the order unless, at
least fourteen days previously, the proprietor of the
aerodrome to which the order relates has served in the
manner prescribed by the order on the occupier of that land,
and on every other person known by the proprietor to have
an interest therein, a written notice containing such
particulars of the nature of the proposed works, and the
manner in which and the time at which it is proposed to
execute them, as may be prescribed by or in accordance with
the order; and
(b) that if, within fourteen days after service of the said
notice and any person having such an interest, the proprietor
of the aerodrome receives a written intimation of objection on
the part of that person to the proposals contained in the
notice, being an intimation which specifies the grounds of
objection, then, unless and except in so far as the objection is
withdrawn, no step shall be taken in pursuance of the notice
without the specific sanction of the Minister,
and shall also provide for requiring the proprietor of the
aerodrome to which the order relates to pay to any person
having an interest in any land affected by the order such
compensation for any loss or damage which that person may
suffer in consequence of the order as may, in default of
agreement, be determined from time to time by a single
arbitrator appointed by the Chief Justice and, for the
purposes of this subsection, any expense reasonably
incurred in connection with the lawful removel of any
apparatus installed in pursuance of such an order, and so
much of any expense incurred in connection with the repair,
alteration, demolition or removal of any building, structure or
erection to which such an order relates as is attributable to
the operation of the order, shall be deemed to be loss or
damage suffered in consequence of the order.
(4) The ownership of anything shall not be taken to be
affected by reason only that it is placed in, or affixed to, any
land in pursuance of such an order as aforesaid; and (subject
to the provisions of the next following subsection) so long as
such order in respect of any aerodrome is in force, no person
shall, except with the consent of the proprietor of the
aerodrome, willfully interfere with any works or things which,
to the knowledge of that person, are works or things executed
or placed, in, on or over any land in pursuance of the order.
If any person contravenes the foregoing provisions of
this subsection, he shall be liable, on conviction, to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not
exceeding R100,000 or to both such fine and such
imprisonment; and every person who willfully obstructs a
person in the exercise of any of the powers conferred by such
an order as aforesaid shall be liable on conviction to a fine
not exceeding R50,000.
(5) Nothing in this section shall operate, in relation to any
building, structure or erection, so as to restrict the doing of
any work for the purpose of repairing, altering, demolishing or
removing the building, structure or erection:
Provided that –
(a) notice of the doing of that work is given as soon as
may be to the proprietor of that aerodrome; and
(b) the giving of warning of the presence of the building,
structure or erection in the manner provided by any order
under this section in force in relation thereto is not
interrupted.
(6) In this section –
(a) the expression “aerodrome to which this section
applies” means a Government aerodrome or any premises
which, by virtue of regulations made under section 3 of this
Act, are for the time being licensed as an aerodrome for
public use; and
Trespassing on
aerodromes
Liability of aircraft in
respect of trespass,
nuisance and surface
damage
(b) the expression “proprietor of the aerodrome” means, in
relation to any premises used or appropriated for use as an
aerodrome, the person carrying on or entitled to carry on the
business of an aerodrome in those premises or, in the case
of a Government aerodrome, the officer in charge of the
aerodrome.
11. If any person trespasses on any land forming part of a Government aerodrome or an aerodrome licensed in
pursuance of regulations under section 3 of this Act, he shall
be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding R25,000:
Provided that no person shall be liable to any penalty
under this section unless it is proved that, at the material
time, notices warning trespassers of their liability under this
section where posted so as to be readily seen and read by
member so the public in such positions on or near the
boundary of the aerodrome as appear to the court to be
proper.
Part IV – Liability for damage, etc., caused by aircraft
12. (1)No action shall lie in respect of trespass or in respect of nuisance, by reason only of the flight of an aircraft over any
property at a height above the ground, which, having regard
to wind, weather and all the circumstances of the case, is
reasonable or the ordinary incidents of such flight so long as
the provisions of Part II and this Part of this Act and any
regulations or order made thereunder being provisions which
extend to the Republic, are duty complied with.
Nuisance caused by
aircraft on aerodromes
(2) Where material loss or damage is caused to any
person or property on land or water by, or by a person in, or
an article or person falling from, an aircraft while in flight,
taking off or landing, then unless the loss or damage was
caused or contributed to by the negligence of the person by
whom it was suffered, damages in respect of the loss or
damage shall be recoverable without proof of negligence or
intention or other cause of action, as if the loss or damage
had been caused by the willful act, neglect or default of the
owner of the aircraft:
Provided that where material loss or damage is
caused as aforesaid in circumstances in which –
(a) damages are recoverable in respect of the said loss or
damage by virtue only of the foregoing provisions of this
subsection, and
(b) a legal liability is created in some person other than
the owner to pay damages in respect of the said loss or
damage,
the owner shall be entitled to be indemnified by that
other person against any claim in respect of the said loss or
damage.
13. (1) Regulations under section 3 of this Act may provide for regulating the conditions under which noise and vibration
may be caused by aircraft on aerodromes and may provide
that subsection (2) of this section shall apply to any
Detention and sale of
aircraft and unpaid
airport charges or air
navigation charges
aerodrome as respects which provision as to noise and
vibration caused by aircraft is so made.
(2) No action shall lie in respect of nuisance by reason
only of the noise and vibration caused by aircraft on an
aerodrome to which this subsection applies by virtue of
regulations under section 3 of this Act as long as the
provisions of any such regulations are duly complied with.
Part V – Miscellaneous
14. (1) Where default is made in the payment of airport charges or air navigation charges incurred in respect of any
aircraft at an aerodrome to which this section applies, the
aerodrome authority may, subject to the provisions of this
section –
(a) detain, pending payment, either –
(i) the aircraft in respect of which the charges
where incurred (whether or not they were incurred by the
person who is the operator of the aircraft at the time when the
detention begins); or
(ii) any other aircraft of which the person in default
is the operator at the time when the detention begins; and
(b) if the charges are not paid within 56 days of the date
when the detention begins, sell the aircraft in order to satisfy
the charges.
(2) An aerodrome authority shall not detain or continue to
detain an aircraft under this section by reason of any alleged
default in the payment of airport charges or air navigation
charges if the operator of the aircraft or any other person
claiming an interest therein –
(a) disputes that the charges, or any of them, are due or, if
the aircraft is detained under subsection (1)(a)(i) above, that
the charges in question were incurred in respect of that
aircraft; and
(b) gives to the aerodrome authority, pending the
determination of the dispute, sufficient security for the
payment of the charges which are alleged to be due.
(3) An aerodrome authority shall not sell an aircraft under
this section without the leave of the court and the court shall
not give leave except on proof –
(a) that a sum is due to the aerodrome authority for
airport charges or air navigation charges;
(b) that default has been made in the payment thereof;
and
(c) that the aircraft which the aerodrome authority seeks
leave to sell is liable to sale under this section by reason of
the default.
(4) An aerodrome authority proposing to apply for leave to
sell an aircraft under this section shall take such steps as
may be prescribed –
(a) for bringing the proposed application to the notice of
persons whose interests may be affected by the
determination of the court thereon; and
(b) for affording to any such person an opportunity of
becoming a party to the proceedings on the application,
and, if leave is given, the aerodrome authority shall
secure that the aircraft is sold for the best price that can
reasonably be obtained.
(5) Failure to comply with any requirement of subsection
(4) above in respect of any sale, while actionable as against
the aerodrome authority concerned at the suit of any person
suffering loss in consequence thereof, shall not, after the sale
has taken place, be a ground for impugning its validity.
(6) The proceeds of any sale under this section shall be
applied as follows, and in the following order, that is to say –
(a) in payment of any tax chargeable on imported goods
which is due in consequence of the aircraft’s having been
brought into Seychelles;
(b) in payment of the expenses incurred by the aerodrome
authority in detaining, keeping and selling the aircraft,
including their expenses in connection with the application to
the court;
(c) in payment of the airport charges and air navigation
charges which the court has found to be due,
and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to or among the
person or persons whose interests in the aircraft have been
divested by reason of the sale.
(7) The power of detention and sale conferred by this
section in respect of an aircraft extends to the equipment of
the aircraft and any stores for use in connection with its
operation (being equipment and stores carried in the aircraft)
whether or not the property of the person who is its operator,
and references to the aircraft in subsections (2) to (6) above
include, except where the context otherwise requires,
references to any such equipment and stores.
(8) The power of detention conferred by this section in
respect of an aircraft extends to any aircraft documents
carried in it, and any such documents may, if the aircraft is
sold under this section, be transferred by the aerodrome
authority to the purchaser.
(9) The power conferred by this section to detain an
aircraft in respect of which charges have been incurred may
be exercised on the occasion on which the charges have
been incurred or on any subsequent occasion when the
aircraft is on any aerodrome in Seychelles.
(10) This section applies to any Government aerodrome or
any aerodrome licensed in pursuance of regulations under
Application of law of
wreck and salvage to
aircraft
section 3 of this Act; and in this section –
“aerodrome authority” in relation to any aerodrome,
means the person owning or managing it;
“airport charges” means charges payable to an
aerodrome authority for the use of, or for services provided
at, an aerodrome;
“air navigation charges” means any fees or charges
payable by virtue of regulations made under this Act;
“aircraft documents”, in relation to any aircraft, means
any certificate of registration, maintenance or airworthiness of
the aircraft, any log book relating to the use of the aircraft or
its equipment and any similar document.
(11) Nothing in this section shall prejudice any rights of an
aerodrome authority to recover any charges, or any part
thereof, by action.
15. (1) Any services rendered in assisting, or in saving life from, or in saving the cargo or apparel of, an aircraft in, on
or over the sea or any tidal water, or on or over the shores of
the sea oar any tidal water shall be deemed to be salvage
services in all cases in which they would have been salvage
services if they had been rendered in relation to a vessel; and
where salvage services are rendered by an aircraft to any
property or person, the owner of the aircraft shall be entitled
to the same reward for those services as he would have been
Exemption of aircraft
and parts thereof from
seizure on patent
claims
entitled to if the aircraft had been a vessel.
The forgoing provisions of this subsection shall have
effect notwithstanding that the aircraft concerned is a foreign
aircraft and notwithstanding that the services in question are
rendered elsewhere than within the limits of the territorial
waters adjacent to any part of the Republic.
(2) The Minister may by regulations direct that any
provisions of any law of the Republic for the time being in
force which relate to wreck, to salvage of life or property or to
the duty of rending assistance to vessels in distress shall,
with such exceptions, adaptations and modifications, if any,
as may be specified in the regulations, applied in relations to
aircraft as those provisions apply in relation to vessels.
(3) For the purposes of this section, any provisions of any
law of the Republic which relate to vessels laid by or
neglected as unfit for sea service shall be deemed to be
provisions relating to wreck.
16. (1) Any lawful entry in the Republic or any lawful
transit across the Republic, with or without landings, of an
aircraft to which this section applies shall not entail any
seizure or detention of the aircraft or any proceedings being
brought against the owner or operator thereof or any other
interference therewith by or on behalf of any person in the
Republic on the ground that the construction, mechanism,
parts, accessories or operation of the aircraft is or are an
infringement of any patent, design or model.
(2) The importation into, and storage in, the Republic of
spare parts and spare equipment for an aircraft to which this
section applies and the use and installation thereof in the
repair of such an aircraft shall not entail any seizure or
detention of the aircraft or of the spare parts or spare
equipment or any proceedings being brought against the
owner or operator of the aircraft or the owner of the spare
parts or spare equipment or any other interference with the
aircraft by or on behalf of any person in the Republic on the
ground that the spare parts or spare equipment or their
installation are or is an infringement of any patent, design or
model:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply in relation
to any spare parts or spare equipment which are sold or
distributed in the Republic or are exported from the Republic
for sale or distribution.
(3) This section applies –
(a) to an aircraft, other than an aircraft used in military,
customs or police services, registered in any country or
territory in the case of which there is for the time being in
force a declaration made by the Minister, with a view to the
fulfillment of the provisions of the Chicago Convention to
which this section relates, that the benefits of those
provisions apply to that country or territory, and
(b) to such other aircraft as the Minister may by
regulations specify.
Orders and regulations
Detention of aircraft
Extra-territorial effect
Part VI – Supplemental
17. (1) Any order or regulation made under this Act, or instructions given by the Minister thereunder, may contain
such incidental and supplementary provisions as appear to
the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of
the order, regulation or instructions; an any such regulation
may authorize the Minister to give instructions for the
purposes of the regulation in respect of such matters as may
be specified in the regulation.
(2) Any reference in this Act to the provisions of
regulations shall include a reference to the provisions of any
order or regulation made or instruction given under the
regulations.
18. Any order or regulation made under this Act in relation
to aircraft may provide for the detention of aircraft to secure
compliance with the order or regulation, as the case may be,
or with any provision of this Act and may make such further
provision as appears to the Minister to be necessary or
expedient for securing such detention.
19. Notwithstanding that any regulation or order made
under this Act by the Minister has effect only as part of the
law of the Republic, no provision contained in the order or
regulation shall, on the ground that it would have extra-
territorial operation, be deemed to be invalid in so far as it
applies to aircraft registered in the Republic wherever they
Offences under the Act
Application of criminal
law to aircraft
may be, or prohibits, requires or regulates –
(a) the doing of anything by persons in, or any of the
personnel of, such aircraft as aforesaid, wherever they may
be, or
(b) the doing of anything in relation to such aircraft as
aforesaid by other persons being citizens of the Republic,
wherever they may be.
For the purposes of this section, the personnel of an
aircraft shall be deemed to include the commander or other
person in charge of the aircraft and all other members of the
crew of the aircraft.
20. Any offence under this Act or under an order or regulation made thereunder shall, for the purpose of
conferring jurisdiction, be deemed to have been committed in
any place where the offender may for the time being be.
21. (1) Any act or omission taking place on board an aircraft under the control of the Republic which is in flight
elsewhere than in or over the Republic, which if taking place
in the Republic would constitute an offence under the law in
force in the Republic shall constitute that offence but this
section shall not apply to any act or omission which is
expressly or impliedly authorized by or under that law when
taking place outside the Republic.
(2) No proceeding for any offence under the law in force in
the Republic committed on board an aircraft which is in flight
elsewhere than in or over the Republic (other than an offence
under this Act or any order or regulation made thereunder)
shall be instituted except by or with the consent of the
Attorney General.
(3) For the purpose of conferring jurisdiction, any offence
under the law in force in the Republic committed on board an
aircraft in flight shall be deemed to have been committed in
any place in the Republic where the offender may for the time
being be.
(4) For the purpose of this section, the period during
which an aircraft is in flight shall be deemed to include any
period from the moment when power is applied for the
purpose of the aircraft taking off on a flight until the moment
when landing run (if any) at the termination of that flight ends;
and any reference in this section to an aircraft in flight shall
include a reference to an aircraft during any period when it is
on the surface of the sea or land but not within the territorial
limits of any country.
(5) In this section –
“an aircraft under the control of the Republic” means
an aircraft –
(a) which is for the time being registered in the Republic;
(b) which is not for the time being registered in the any
Savings
country but in the case of which either the operator of the
aircraft or each person entitled as owner to any legal or
beneficial interest in it satisfied the following requirements,
namely –
(i) that he is a person qualified to be the owner of
a legal or beneficial interest in an aircraft registered in
the Republic; and
(ii) that he resides or has his principal place of
business in the Republic; or
(c) which being for the time being registered in another
country is for the time being chartered by demise to a person
who or to person each of whom satisfies the requirements
aforesaid.
22. (1) Subject to subsection (2), nothing in this Act shall apply to any aircraft belonging to, or exclusively
employed in the service of, the Republic.
(2) The Minister may, by regulation, apply to any such
aircraft as is referred to in subsection (1), with or without
medication, any of the provisions of this Act or any orders or
regulations made thereunder.
(3) Nothing in this Act or in any instrument made
thereunder shall prejudice or affect the rights, powers or
privileges of any general or local lighthouse authority.
Part VII – General
Payment of fines
Transitional
Repeal
23. Where a person who is not a resident of Seychelles or
a body corporate that is incorporated outside Seychelles is
convicted of an offence under this Act or an order or
regulation made thereunder and a fine is imposed, the Court
may order the person or body corporate to pay the equivalent
sum in any foreign currency specified by the Court.
24. The provisions of the Air Navigation (Overseas
Territories) Order –
(a) shall have effect as they were provisions of regulations
made under this Act; and
may be amended by the Minister in exercise of the powers
conferred by this Act.
25. The Civil Aviation Act 1949 (Overseas Territories) Order, 1969 is repealed.