E. E. Akhigbe

In Nigeria today the Laws of the Federation is regarded as the source from which all laws emanate. Interestingly however, the Carriage by Air (Colonies, Protectorates Trust Territories ) Order1, which encompasses the Warsaw convention of 1929, has been omitted from the current edition of the Laws of the Federation, brings into focus the need to examine the consequences thereto as this is the main law governing international carriage by air in Nigeria, and so this paper will examine its current status taking into consideration its omission from the Laws of the Federation 1990 and 2004 editions and the effect if any this has on the law as it relates to international carriage by air. Carriage by air has come a long way, dating back to 1783. It was in that year that an aircraft, a hot-air balloon first left the ground2. Balloons were the first aircraft to be used for aerial transport, including the carriage of mails, and for military purposes such as reconnaissance and bombing, however balloons have continued to be in use for meteorological purposes. The era of modern aviation began on 17th December, 1903 when the first authenticated flight by man in a power driven heavier than-air machine was achieved by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States of America and since then man has moved ahead even to outer space. It is important to note that the advent of the Air Age also brought along its own legal problems and as air travel became complex the need for regulating the activities associated with air travel became obvious. It is on record that the first air law was promulgated in 1784 in Paris, France3. It was also in Paris, France in 1889 that the first international conference on air law was held under the auspices of the government of France. In the same year the first reported case of damage caused by aviation was litigated in the United Kingdom and by 1906 airplanes were flown in Europe. Initially the use of the airplane was limited for a number of reasons, first, that a lot of expense went into manufacturing an airplane which was then still being regarded by many as an experiment and considering the effort required it could only be handled by governments. Second, there was the unavailability of skilled personnel to man these airplanes and it took sometime to be trained in the operation and maintenance of these airplanes. Third, at this point in time the airplanes available were the small ones which could not carry many persons and could only fly short distances and this restricted the use to which they were put. Finally, as the use of the airplane was novel, people were afraid and not enthusiastic about it. Nevertheless, the airplane was being used for transportation of goods, mails and passengers in addition to military purposes4 and with the rapid industrialization that took place in the early decades of the 20th century, the importance of the airplane soared most especially as its early defects had been rectified and it was now seen as a reliable if not the most reliable means of transport.