Rights and Obligations of States Relating to GNSS Services

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CHARTER
on the Rights and Obligations of States
Relating to GNSS Services
Assembly Resolution A32-19

            Whereas Article 44 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed on 7 December 1944 (the Chicago Convention), mamdates the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to develop the principles and techniques of international air navigation and to foster the planning and development of international air transport;
            Whereas the concept of the ICAO communications, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems utilizing satellite based technology was endorsed by States and international organizations at the ICAO Tenth Air Navigation Conference, and was approved by the 29th Session of the Assembly as the ICAO CNS/ATM systems;
            Whereas the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), as an important element of the CNS/ATM systems, is intended to provide worldwide coverage and is to be used for aircraft navigation;
            Whereas GNSS shall be compatible with international law, including the Chicago Convention, its Annexes, and the relevant rules applicable to outer space activities;
            Whereas it is appropriate, taking into account current State practice, to establish and affirm the fundamental legal principles governing GNSS;
Whereas the integrity of any legal framework for the implementation and operation of GNSS requires observance of fundamental principles, which should by established in a Charter;
            The Assembly:
            Solemnly declares that the following principles of this Charter on the Rights and Obligations of States Relating to GNSS Services shall apply in the implementation and operation of GNSS:
            1. States recognize that in the provision and use of GNSS services, the safety of international civil aviation shall be the paramount principle.
            2. Every State and aircraft of all States shall have access, on a nondiscriminatory basis under uniform conditions, to the use of GNSS services, including regional augmentation systems for aeronautical use within the area of coverage of such systems.
            3. (a) Every State preserves its authority and responsibility to control operations of aircraft and to enforce safety and other regulations within its sovereign airspace.
                 (b) The implementation and operation of GNSS shall neither infringe nor impose restrictions upon States' sovereignty, authority or responsibility in the control of air navigation and the promulgation and enforcement of safety regulations. States' authority shall also be preserved in the coordination and control of communications and in the augmentation, as necessary, of satellite based air navigation services.
            4. Every State providing GNSS services, including signals, or under whose jurisdiction such services are provided, shall ensure the continuity, availability, integrity, accuracy and reliability of such services, including effective arrangements to minimize the operational impact of system malfunctions or failure, and to achieve expeditious service recovery. Such state shall ensure that the services are in accordance with ICAO Standards. States shall provide in due time aeronautical information on any modification of the GNSS services that may affect the provision of the services.
            5. States shall cooperate to secure the highest practicable degree of uniformity in the provision and operation of GNSS services.
            States shall ensure that regional or subregional arrangements are compatible with the principles and rules set out in this Charter and with the global planning and implementation process for GNSS.
            6. States recognize that any charges for GNSS services shall be made in accordance with Article 15 of the Chicago Convention.
            7. With a view to facilitating global planning and implementation of GNSS, States shall be guided by the principle of cooperation and mutual assistance whether on a bilateral or multilateral basis.
            8. Every State shall conduct its GNSS activities with due regard for the interests of other States.
            9. Nothing in this Charter shall prevent two or more States from jointly providing GNSS services.