Recent Amendments to the Aviation Legal Framework
Recent Amendments to the Aviation Legal Framework
The Aircraft Registration Act (ARA), Cap. 503 of the laws of Malta, has been recently amended pursuant to Act XXXVII of 2021 being signed into law by the President of Malta on the 6th of June 2021. The Civil Aviation Directorate operating within Transport Malta and responsible for the regulation of all aviation activities commissioned the revision of the ARA following various feedback presented by key players in the aviation industry. The updates serve to align Maltese legislation with EASA’s rules and with relevant and existing EU regulations, creating more commonality across rules, while noticeably facilitating the process of registering an aircraft.
What’s new?
Changes related to Aircraft Registration
One amendment to the ARA serves to clarify what data is required of registrants and owners of aircraft, which whilst confirming the data that has always been required, also introduces the requirement of data that was not required previous to the amendments.
Another significant amendment broadens the availability of registration marks whereby a registrant is not limited to three capital letters in Roman characters, but can now select between 3 and 5 characters which may be a combination of capital letters in Roman characters and Arabic numbers, albeit the designation of the 9H as the national mark for Malta remained unchanged.
The ARA now features a definition of unmanned aircraft, thereby allowing for the registration of such aircraft, established as crafts “operating or designed to operate autonomously or to be piloted remotely without a pilot on board’. The design of such aircraft remains subject to certification in terms of EASA regulations.
Lastly, the Registrar General has been given discretionary authority to proceed with an aircraft's registration without the submission of certain documents, although the discretion is limited, such that certain documents must be submitted.
forNNN Changes to the IDERA
A new framework has been formalised in relation to registered IDERAs whereby a request for the cancellation of the registration shall only be honoured if there is the consent of the holder of the registered irrevocable de-registration and export request, or of such person’s delegate, authorised attorney or certified designee. Moreover, only one irrevocable de-registration and export request authorisation or power of attorney shall be recorded, which shall only be issued by the registrant of the aircraft.
New warrant for Ejectment or Expulsion
The new article 384A in the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure, Chapter 12 of the law of Malta, serves to allow aircraft and vessel owners or mortgagees to request a warrant of ejectment or expulsion, in order to enforce all occupants to vacate the aircraft within a specific timeframe. A completely new article; 384A, has been introduced to allow aircraft and vessel owners or mortgagees to request a warrant of ejectment or expulsion that shall enforce all occupants to evacuate the aircraft or seagoing vessel within a specific timeframe.
Our multilingual professionals at DZ Advisory would be glad to assist you with your enquiries. If you would like to receive more information, please provide us with your contact details and a member of our shall be in contact with you promptly.
