Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

2.   Interpretation

1.  

   (1)   In this Act—

“aircraft” means any aircraft, whether or not a Saint Lucia – controlled aircraft, other than—

1.  

   (a)     a military aircraft; or

1.  

   (b)     an aircraft which, not being a military aircraft, belongs to or is exclusively employed in service of the Government,

1.  

   but the Minister responsible for civil aviation may by order provide that any of the provisions of this Act applies with or without modifications to aircraft such as are mentioned in paragraph (b);

“commander”, in relation to an aircraft, means the member of the crew designated as commander of that aircraft by the operator thereof, or, failing such a person, the person who is the pilot in command of the aircraft;

“Convention country” means a country in which the Tokyo Convention is in force; and a certificate of the Minister responsible for foreign affairs that any country specified in the certificate is a Convention country for the purposes of this Act is conclusive evidence of the fact certified;

“military aircraft” means an aircraft of the naval, military or air forces of any country; and a certificate of the Minister responsible for defence that any aircraft is or is not a military aircraft for the purposes of this Act is conclusive evidence of the fact certified;

“operator”, in relation to any aircraft at any time, means the person who at that time has the management of that aircraft,

“pilot in command”, in relation to an aircraft, means the person who is in charge of the piloting of the aircraft without being under the direction of any other pilot in the aircraft;

“Saint Lucia-controlled aircraft” means an aircraft which—

1.  

   (a)     is registered in Saint Lucia;

1.  

   (b)     is not registered in any country but in the case of which either the operator of the aircraft or each person entitled as owner to any legal or beneficial interest in it—

   1.  

      (i)     is a person qualified to be the owner of a legal or beneficial interest in an aircraft registered in Saint Lucia, and

   1.  

      (ii)     resides or has his or her principal place of business in Saint Lucia; or

1.  

   (c)     being registered in some other country is chartered by demise, let or hired out to a person who, or to persons each of whom, satisfies the requirements mentioned in paragraphs (b)(i) and (b)(ii);

“Tokyo Convention” means the Convention on Offences and certain other Acts committed on board Aircraft signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963.

1.  

   (2)   For the purposes of this Act, the period during which an aircraft is in flight includes—

   1.  

      (a)     any period from the moment when power is applied for the purpose of the aircraft taking off on a flight until the moment when the landing run (if any) at the termination of the flight ends; and

   1.  

      (b)     for the purposes of section 5—

      1.  

         (i)     any further period from the moment when all external doors, if any, of the aircraft are closed following embarkation for a flight until the moment when any such door is opened for disembarkation after that flight, and

      1.  

         (ii)     if the aircraft makes a forced landing, any period thereafter until the time when the competent authorities of the country in which that landing takes place take over the responsibility for the aircraft and for the persons and property on board the aircraft (being, if the forced landing takes place in Saint Lucia the time when a police officer arrives at the place of landing),

1.  

   and any reference in this Act to an aircraft in flight includes a reference to an aircraft during any period when it is on the surface of sea or land but not within the territorial limits of any country.

1.  

   (3)   In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a country or its territorial limits shall be construed as including a reference to the territorial waters or territorial sea, if any, of that country.

1.  

   (4)   If the Minister responsible for civil aviation is satisfied that the requirements of Article 18 of the Tokyo Convention have been satisfied (which Article makes provision as to the country which is to be treated as the country of registration of certain aircraft operated by joint air transport organisations or international operating agencies established by 2 or more Convention countries) he or she may by order provide that for the purposes of this Act such aircraft as are specified in the order shall be treated as registered in the Convention country so specified.