An audience of leading aviation lawyers and policymakers gathered in London on September 11 to celebrate the publication of International Aviation Law Institute Director Brian Havel's new book (co-authored with Gabriel S. Sanchez), “The Principles and Practice of International Aviation Law,” published by Cambridge University Press.
The event was hosted by Quadrant, one of the UK’s top barristers’ chambers specializing in aviation and maritime law, in the main hall of their historic Fleet Street headquarters. After an introduction by Robert Lawson, Q.C., Professor Havel spoke on the autonomy of international aviation law as an academic discipline. He also briefly surveyed some recent topical issues in the field including the double Malaysian Airlines tragedies, Russian restrictions on overflights and the attempt by a Norwegian airline to set up an Irish low-cost subsidiary to fly routes to the United States from other EU countries.
Finishing on a somewhat lighter note, Professor Havel weighed up the respective legal rights of passengers who wish to recline their seats and passengers behind them who use anti-recline “knee defender” devices. All of these issues, he concluded, can be analyzed within the framework of his new book.