Description

Abstract

International aviation financing is facing challenging times. The Cape Town Convention and the AircraftProtocol – together, the “CTC” – have long provided confidence for lenders and lessors that they will be able toenforce security interests over aircraft. However, Russia’s re-registration and effective nationalization of morethan 500 foreign-owned aircraft has shaken this confidence. More recently, lessors have struggled to keepaircraft out of the bankruptcy estate of Go First airlines after filing for bankruptcy protection in India in May2023. Considering the challenges facing the CTC, how can we reinforce the legitimacy and authority of the CTC? This presentation argues for a novel approach: strengthening the CTC by reconceptualising it asembodying what international law refers to as ‘community interests.’ This reconceptualisation expands thescope of the CTC beyond sovereign and commercial concerns and repositions it among global issues such ashuman rights, environmental preservation, and the development of global markets. By doing so, thispresentation aims to situate the CTC as an active participant in ongoing debates within international legalscholarship – as well as bolster legal arguments to be deployed in the national courts that interpret and applythe CTC.

About the Speaker

Jack Wright Nelson is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Centre for Banking andFinance Law at the National University of Singapore, and a Doctoral Candidate atMcGill University. He holds degrees in law from the University of Melbourne, theChinese University of Hong Kong, and McGill University. He is the Editor of the Annalsof Air and Space Law, published by the Institute for Air and Space Law. Before joiningMcGill, Jack practiced as a lawyer with King & Wood Mallesons in Hong Kong and inSingapore, and remains affiliated with the firm. For the 2020 – 2021 academic year,Jack was a Research Associate at the Centre for Banking and Finance Law, where hisresearch focused on satellite financing across the Asia-Pacific.