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Statute of the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC)

Done at: Mexico City

Date enacted: 1973-12-14

In force: 1975-10-21

Content

Chapter I - Constitution

Article 1

The civil aviation authorities of the States participating in the deliberations of the Second Latin American Conference of Aeronautical Authorities, held at Mexico City in December 1973, establish by this instrument the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission, in order to achieve the broadest co-operation for resolving civil aviation problems in the geographical area described in article 2.

Article 2

Membership in the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission, hereinafter referred to as either the Commission or LACAC, shall be restricted to the States of South America, Central America (including Panama), Mexico and the Caribbean, a geographical area which, for the purposes of this instrument, shall be called "Latin America".

Article 3

LACAC is a consultative body and its conclusions, recommendations and resolutions shall be subject to the approval of each of the Governments.

Chapter II - Objectives and functions

Article 4

The primary objective of the Commission is to provide the civil aviation authorities of the member States with a suitable framework within which to discuss and plan all the necessary measures for co-operation and co-ordination of civil aviation activities.

Article 5

In order to fulfil its purposes, the Commission shall develop all the requisite functions and, in particular, the following:

a.

Encouraging and supporting co-ordination and co-operation between the States of the region with a view to the orderly development and most effective use of air transport within, to and from Latin America;

b.

Carrying out economic studies on air transport in the region;

c.

Promoting a broader exchange of statistical information between member States through an improved and timely dissemination of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) questionnaires and reporting forms and the provision of other statistical information which it may be decided to compile on a regional basis;

d.

Fostering the implementation of ICAO standards and recommended practices on facilitation of the movement of passengers, cargo and mail within the region, and proposing additional measures to achieve a more speedy development in this regard;

e.

Promoting between the States of the region agreements which lead to a more effective implementation of the ICAO regional plan for the establishment of air navigation facilities and services and to the adoption of ICAO standards relating to airworthiness, aircraft maintenance and operation, personnel licensing and aircraft accident investigation;
f.

Promoting agreements for personnel training in all the specialized fields of civil aviation;

g.

Promoting joint technical co-operation agreements in Latin America in the area of civil aviation with a view to the most effective use of all available resources, particularly those provided within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme.

Chapter III - Relations with ICAO and other International Organizations

Article 6

The Commission shall maintain close relations with ICAO in order to ensure the harmonization and co-ordination of its activities with the objectives and plans of ICAO.

Article 7

The Commission may maintain relations of a consultative nature with the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA), the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA), the Board of the Cartagena Agreement (Andean Pact), the Central American Common Market (CACM) and the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA), in order to co-operate with those organizations, providing them with assistance in the field of civil aviation. It may also establish relations with the European Civil Aviation Commission (ECAC) and the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and with such other organization as it deems fitting or necessary.

Chapter IV - Structure and procedures

Article 8

An Assembly and an Executive Committee are established as organs of the Commission.

Article 9

The Assembly, made up of the representatives of the member States, shall hold regular meetings at least once every two years.

Article 10

The Assembly shall hold extraordinary meetings on the initiative of the Executive Committee or whenever the Executive Committee receives a request endorsed by a majority of the member States of the Commission.

Article 11

A majority of the member States is required to constitute a quorum for the regular and extraordinary meetings of the Assembly.

Article 12

The conclusions, recommendations or resolutions of LACAC shall be adopted through deliberation of the Assembly, in which each State shall be entitled to one vote. Except as provided in article 25, the decisions of the Assembly shall be taken by a majority of the States represented.

Article 13

At each regular meeting, the Assembly shall:

a.

Elect its President and three Vice-Présidents, with due regard to appropriate geographical representation;

b.

Establish the work programme to be carried out until the end of the year in which the Assembly is expected to hold its next regular meeting.

Article 14

The Assembly shall determine its own internal organization and procedures. It may establish committees, working groups and expert groups to study specific aspects of the matters referred to in articles 4 and 5 of this Statute. It may also establish working groups to study and discuss such matters referred to in those articles as are of interest solely to a specific group of member States of LACAC.

Article 15

The Executive Committee, made up of the President and the Vice-Présidents elected by the Assembly, shall administer, co-ordinate and direct the work programme drawn up by the Assembly. It may establish committees, working groups or expert groups whenever necessary.

Article 16

A Secretariat shall be organized by the Executive Committee in accordance with rules and instructions issued by the Assembly and the provisions of this Statute.

Article 17

In their proceedings and decisions, the organs of LACAC shall take into account the specific and common needs and aspirations of the subregions and shall consider the proposals and conclusions of the subregional commissions set up for or entrusted with the discussion of subregional issues and interests.

Article 18

The States should be represented at the meetings of LACAC by representatives whose number, rank and competence shall reflect the importance of the issues to be discussed. The chairmen of delegations attending the meetings of the Assembly should, as a rule, be the highest-ranking officials directly responsible for the international civil aviation administration in their respective countries. At other meetings, they should be high-ranking civil aviation officials.

Chapter V - Financial matters

Article 19

At every regular meeting, the Assembly shall prepare and adopt budget estimates of the direct costs of its activities, in accordance with the work programme planned for the following years, until the end of the year in which the Assembly is expected to hold its next regular meeting.

Article 20

The Executive Committee of LACAC may modify the budget subject to prior consultations with the member States. Should it be necessary to increase the budget, the prior approval of a majority of the member States shall be required.

Chapter VI - Signature, approval and amendment

Article 21

This Statute shall be open for signature by all of the States mentioned in article 2 as from 14 December 1973 at Mexico City, D.F.

Article 22

This Statute shall be subject to ratification by the signatory States. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States.

Article 23

This Statute shall enter into force provisionally on 14 December 1973 and definitively upon being ratified by 12 of the States mentioned in article 2.

Article 24

A State wishing to withdraw from the Commission shall address a notification to that effect to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Mexican States, which shall transmit the necessary communications to the Commission and the member States. The withdrawal shall take effect six months after the notification has been received.

Article 25

This Statute may be amended by a majority of two thirds of the member States.

Chapter VI - Final and transitional provisions

Article 26

The working languages of the Commission shall be Spanish, Portuguese and English.

Article 27

Subject to the approval of the Council of ICAO, LACAC secretariat services for studies, meetings, correspondence, maintenance of archives and similar matters shall be provided by the secretariat of ICAO through the South American Regional Office.

Article 28

Subject to the approval of the Council of ICAO, the indirect costs of LACAC activities shall be borne by ICAO. The direct costs shall be borne by the member States of the Commission, although ICAO may advance the necessary funds.

Article 29

The direct costs incurred by ICAO for the activities of LACAC shall be apportioned among the member States of the Commission on the basis of their percentage contributions to the budget of ICAO for the fiscal year corresponding to those costs.

Article 30

The direct costs incurred by ICAO, in conformity with the provisions of the preceding article, shall be recovered from the member States of the Commission by means of a contribution supplementary to that which they normally pay to cover the costs of ICAO.

Article 31

During the Conference of Aeronautical Authorities referred to in article 1 of this Statute, LACAC shall elect a temporary President and three temporary Vice-Présidents who shall carry out their duties until the closure of the first regular meeting of the Assembly of LACAC.

Article 32

The first regular meeting of the Assembly of LACAC shall be held at the place and time decided by the Conference of Aeronautical Authorities referred to in article 1 of this Statute and, if possible, shall be convened not later than the third quarter of 1974 and prior to the opening of the twenty-first session of the Assembly of ICAO.

Article 33

The Executive Committee, constituted in accordance with article 31, shall prepare draft rules of procedure for the meetings of LACAC, which shall be submitted to the member States for consideration. On the basis of the draft rules and the comments received from member States, the Executive Com mittee shall adopt the provisional rules of procedure for the meetings of LACAC to be applied during the first regular meeting of the Assembly, in the course of which the final rules of procedure shall be adopted.

Article 34

The Executive Committee, constituted in accordance with article 31, shall prepare and submit at the first regular meeting of the Assembly of LACAC for consideration the work programme and the budget estimates of direct costs for the years 1975 and 1976.

Done at Mexico City, D.F., on 14 December 1973.