Background
The significance of civil aviation in the present world needs no explanation; a statement which is also correct with respect to the contribution of airports in civil aviation. The aviation industry has widened the scope of markets, enriched human lifestyles and altered the fundamentals of economic, commercial and cultural activities. However, aviation is a capital-intensive sector, and concerted efforts to develop every sub-sector of the aviation industry attain significance in the process of strong value generation. With increased flights and passenger flow across the globe, the old aerodromes and their limited infrastructure are found grossly inadequate in modern times. Uplifting the aerodromes and maintaining requisite facilities are found absolutely essential to ensure safe, economical and efficient air transport. Accordingly, the International Civil Aviation (ICAO) has made efforts to develop norms in the direction of improving the standards of aerodromes. This has been supplemented by the efforts of IATA and Airports Council International.
Airport governance patterns in different States have taken different shapes with the private sector investments. While the process of privatization of airports has not been a recent phenomenon in the developed States, it has percolated into developing countries in the recent past. Since private participation in airport ownership differs from State to State and airport to airport, a lot of difference is also witnessed in terms of administration, environmental compliance, safety standards and availability of infrastructural facilities in the airports. These differences raise suspicion about the compliance of relevant international standards applicable to aerodromes. Interestingly, the Indian statistics unveil the fact that almost every airport is loss-making, which is a matter of grave concern especially in the wake of India not having a good track record in aerodrome infrastructure, services and facilities.
In the wake of these issues, the Centre for Aviation and Space Laws of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences is currently conducting a major research project on the concerns of airport governance in India. While the research is at the stage of completion and the draft report is prepared, it is found essential to supplement the work with an international deliberation to receive inputs on best practices to further fine-tune the report. Accordingly, this conference is intended to be a platform for deliberation of international standards and best practices in connection with airport administration. Selected papers of the conference will also be published in the course of time.
* The Conference will be held in the physical mode at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
Major Sub-Themes of the Conference
The conference is focused on receiving inputs on compliance with international standards and the adoption of best practices relating to aerodrome administration. Hence, papers that are focused on the administration of a specific airport relating to the following areas are highly preferred:
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Compliance with aerodrome requirements under Annex 14 of the Chicago Convention
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Compliance with aerodrome safety management under Annex 19 of the Chicago Convention
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Compliance with standards of facilitation in aerodromes under Annex 9 of the Chicago Convention
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Compliance with environmental standards in aerodromes under Annex 16 of the Chicago Convention
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Best practices in airport governance
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Role of IATA in airport governance
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Role of Airports Council International in airport governance
Call for Papers
Those who are interested in presenting a paper on any of the above themes must send an abstract of 400 words along with a brief biographical note (not more than 100 words) on or before 24 February 2024. The acceptance of the paper for presentation will be informed by 28 February 2024. Upon acceptance, an extended write-up of a minimum 2,000 words (not exceeding 8,000 words) must be sent by 25 March 2024 in the format available at https://caslnujs.in/70-2/. If the extended write-up is not submitted before the last date, authors will not be allowed to present the paper at the Conference. Submission of the extended write-up will be presumed as unconditional consent of the author/s for a possible subsequent publication by the organisers. The feasibility of publishing an edited book in due course will also be explored by contacting an internationally renowned publisher.
Last date for submission of Abstract: 24 February 2024
Last date for submission of Extended Write-up: 25 March 2024
E-mail id for Submissions: casl@nujs.edu [copy to sandeep@nujs.edu]
Contact Numbers:
+918981079230 (Mr. Ankur Ghosh)
+917604047575 (Ms. Neha Banerjee)
Last date for Registration: 25 March 2024
Conference Date: 30 March 2024
Venue: The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
Registration Details:
[A nominal registration fee is charged in connection with the lunch and refreshments]
Registration Fee for Paper Presenters/Participants (within India): Rs. 500/-
Registration Fee for Paper Presenters/Participants (outside India): USD 20/-
* All charges relating to the payment of the registration fee are to be borne by the paper presenter/participant.
** A screenshot of the payment details should be uploaded during registration. Those who are exempted from payment of the registration fee may upload their NUJS identity card or CASL membership letter.
*** Registration fee, once paid, will not be refunded for any reason.
The registration fee has to be paid via online transfer to the following account:
Name: WBNUJS Centre for Aviation and Space Law
Account No: 066322010001131
Bank & Branch: Union Bank of India, Kolkata NUJS Branch
IFSC Code: UBIN0906638
SWIFT Code: UBININBBKOD
Invited resource persons, external members of CASL (NUJS), and employees and students of NUJS are exempted from the payment of the registration fee.
All presenters and observers are requested to mandatorily register themselves using this link for the purpose of the Conference [Copy paste the link on the web browser in case of any difficulty in the direct access].
Any communication regarding the Conference shall only be shared with those registered herein.
Expected Participants: As this conference is focused on both theoretical and practical aspects of aerodrome administration, participation from various segments of society is expected. While academicians, students and researchers will benefit immensely from the discussions, the airport administrators and legal practitioners will also be able to acquaint themselves with various aspects of aerodrome administration and compliance with legal norms. Representatives from the airport administration and aviation industries at all levels are expected to participate to benefit from scholarly discussions. With the participation of internationally renowned aviation law experts as resource persons, even law-makers and other government representatives would be benefitted out of their participation in this international conference.
* Note: Certificate will be issued only to those paper presenters/participants who attend all sessions.
Chief Patron:
Prof. Dr. N.K. Chakrabarti (Vice-Chancellor, NUJS)
Organising Committee:
Prof. Dr. Sandeepa Bhat B. (Director – CASL & Coordinator)
Ms. Barsha Sinha Ms. Apurva Singhi
Mr. Ankur Ghosh Mr. Devpriya Saswata,
Mr. Kevin Davis Ms. Navya Bhayana
Ms. Neha Banerjee Mr. Shashank Tiwari
