ECAC's legal activities support the work in other fields of civil aviation, such as safety, environment and security
Established in 1996 as the Legal Task Force, the group was renamed the Legal Working Group in May 2026. It examines legal issues and develops proposals related to the role and various activities of ECAC.
It mainly performs the following functions:
- To advise Directors General of Civil Aviation on matters relating to the interpretation and amendment of the ECAC Constitution, the legal status of ECAC and its relationship with other international organisations.
- To study and make recommendations on matters relating to public international air law.
- To discuss legal issues relevant to the work of ICAO with a view to facilitating and supporting the participation of ECAC Member States in the legal work of ICAO (e.g. ICAO Legal Committee) as well as coordinating ECAC common positions, where possible and appropriate, including but not limited to the preparation and implementation of international legal instruments (e.g. conventions, resolutions) and submitting reports and recommendations thereon to Directors General of Civil Aviation.
- To discuss other legal issues relevant to the work of ECAC or of interest to ECAC Member States, as appropriate. This includes, for example, the legal analysis of draft cooperation agreements with international partners.
The Legal Working Group holds three meetings a year and reports to Directors General.
From 2022 to 2025, the Legal Working Group (then Task Force) contributed significantly to the following activities:
- Supporting ECAC Directors General, for example by providing legal advice on new procedures for contributions in arrears.
- Supporting ECAC’s development as an organisation, for example: by contributing to the task group on ECAC’s legal status (LEGS); by reviewing the draft cooperation arrangement between ECAC and Airports Council International for the implementation of peer reviews under the CASE II Project; by organising a survey on confidentiality and public sharing of information policies in ECAC Member States; and by addressing questions regarding the confidentiality of the summary of discussions of meetings of ECAC Directors General and other relevant meetings.
- Promoting the sharing of information among members of the task force, as the group is considered to be a valuable network in the day-to-day activity of aviation lawyers, through for example the creation of a (question-driven) information-sharing database.
- Monitoring the status of ratification of international legal instruments, and providing support as requested.
- Preparing contributions to the ICAO Legal Committee meetings and sharing information about on-going developments in ICAO Legal Committee working groups.
- Preparing contributions to the ICAO Assembly and analysing all relevant working papers from a legal perspective.
This work continues in the 2025-2027 triennium.
Convention on the Bureau of the European Civil Aviation Conference
At their 163rd meeting in Paris in December 2024, the Directors General of Civil Aviation agreed to convene a Diplomatic Conference aimed at finalising and signing a Convention designed to strengthen ECAC’s institutional framework. The conference was held in Paris from 20 to 22 May 2025 and successfully concluded with the adoption of the Convention on the Bureau of the European Civil Aviation Conference. The Final Act was signed by 27 ECAC Member States.
In August 2025, the Convention was opened for signature by all Member States in Bern, on the margins of the Special meeting of Directors General (DGCA/74(SP)), and was signed by 11 Member States. Five more States signed the Convention on the margins of the 165th meeting of Directors General in Belgrade in December 2025, followed by nine States in 2026, bringing the total number of signatories to 25.
