Viewing page 87 of 91

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

16

very precise discovery motions can be prepared which cite foreign requirements for the manufacturer and/or airline to maintain certain records. Aviation, both foreign and domestic, is interlaced and superimposed with government regulations. Generally those laws and rules are available as a foundation for discovery.

Also, you may be able to obtain a record of foreign accidents involving the aircraft or airline by a review of the ICAO accident reports which are published periodically by the organization at Montreal, Canada.

Standard of Care - The Reasonably Prudent Foreign Airline/Manufacturer

There are international standards of acceptable operating practices in the ICAO Annexes. It will be very helpful to understand the United States regulations and industry practices, for the international rules are essentially bottomed on our requirements. Some differences, however, are most germane. For example, in the United Kingdom the process of aircraft certification is essentially accomplished by the manufacturer as a "designated organization" by the Air Ministry. This means that a British manufacturer designs and tests the aircraft and then reports to the government that the aircraft meets all requirements. This practice should virtually eliminate the affirmative defense of government certification often raised by U.S. manufacturers. As mentioned above, knowledge of foreign law is essential to establish relevant facts, but knowledge of the law is not enough. There is no unqualified right to judicial notice of the law of a foreign nation, it usually must be proved.

I call your attention to an excerpt from Telephore Couture v. Watkins (1958, EDNY) 162 F Supp 727, at p. 730: