Keywords
International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, International Maritime Organization, IMO, terrorism, diplomatic conferences, Suppresion of Unlawful Acts of Violence
Abstract
In February and March 1988, two diplomatic conferences were convened under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (hereinafter referred to as "ICAO") and the International Maritime Organization (hereinafter referred to as "IMO") respectively, to develop new instruments aimed at preventing and punishing terrorist acts not covered by previous conventions. On 21 February, the ICAO Conference adopted by consensus the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving International Civil Aviation, Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, Done at Montreal on 23 September 1971 (hereinafter referred to as "ICAO Protocol"). Fortyseven States signed the Protocol on the day it was opened for signature, or almost two-thirds of those which signed the Final Act. On 9 March, the IMO Conference adopted, also by consensus, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (hereinafter referred to as "IMO Convention") and the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf (hereinafter referred to as "IMO Protocol"). The next day, 23 States signed the Convention and all but two land-locked States among them also signed the Protocol. These were the first anti-terrorist instruments to be adopted since the 1979 International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages.
Recommended Citation
Phillipe Kirsch, "The 1988 ICAO and IMO Conferences: An International Consensus Against Terrorism" (1989) 12:1 Dal LJ 5.
