Justifications and Limits of ADIZs under Public International Law

Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZs) are designated areas of airspace partly including and/or contiguous to a State's territorial airspace, within which a State imposes identification reporting obligations on all or civil aircraft and exercises "certain control" of these aircraft. As a strategic regime of airspace and an early warning mechanism, ADIZs first emerged during the early years of the Cold War for national security purposes. As there is no positive legal basis that directly supports this kind of State practice under public international law, the validity and legality of ADIZs are hotly debated. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, where civil aircraft were used as weapons of mass destruction, the impetus of establishing and maintaining ADIZs has changed to some extent and has provoked new concerns. The debate and tensions have been further provoked by the announcement of China on establishing its first ADIZ in the East China Sea on November 23, 2013. This paper mainly focuses on the legal justifications and their limits for ADIZs under public international law. By examining the ADIZ rules and practices of the United States, Canada, and China as typical examples under the legal context of airspace, the paper first demonstrates possible justifications for ADIZs based on the differentiated legal regimes within and outside of sovereign airspace, then discusses the limits of these justifications in respect of the types of aircraft to which the ADIZ rules may apply, the legality of aerial interception, and use of force within ADIZs. The paper concludes that while, under public international law, the rules and practices of ADIZs as related to civil aircraft can be partially justified, those as related to State aircraft - in particular, military aircraft - can hardly be justified, and States have limited legal power in respect of aerial interception and use of force within ADIZs.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/19347170
• Authors:
  • Zheng, Pai
• Publication Date: 2015

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 183-216
• Serial:
  • Issues in Aviation Law and Policy
  • Volume: 14
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: International Aviation Law Institute
  • ISSN: 1934-7170
  • Serial URL: https://las.depaul.edu/centers-and-institutes/chaddick-institute-for-metropolitan-development/research-and-publications/Pages/issues-aviation-law-policy.aspx

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airspace (Law); Aviation law; Civil aircraft; International law; Legal factors; Military aircraft; National security
• Identifier Terms: Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)
• Geographic Terms: Canada; China; United States
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Law; Policy; Security and Emergencies; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01570162
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 20 2015 3:48PM