The Impact of EU Membership on Ireland's Sovereignty over its Airspace and the Implications for Government Regulation of the Irish Air Industry

AuthorJoan Donnelly
PositionLL.B, M.Phil candidate (Sheffield University)
Pages26-40
26
(2009) COLR
THE IMPACT OF EU MEMBERSHIP ON IRELAND’S SOVEREIGNTY OVER
ITS AIRSPACE AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR GOVERNMENT
REGULATION OF THE IRISH AIR INDUSTRY.1
Joan Donnelly *
A INTRODUCTION
Ireland’s accession to the European Union has had a substantial impact on
Ireland’s sovereignty over its airspace. EU membership brought about a profound change
in the character of the Irish constitutional and legal order. Arising from the doctrine of the
supremacy of EU law, the provisions of the Constitution may not be invoked to invalidate
EU legislation and where a conflict arises between EU law and domestic law, the
domestic provision must be disapplied. The dramatic change triggered in Ireland’s
constitutional arrangements by EU membership has had far-reaching effects and has
substantially ousted Ireland’s competence in the regulation of air law. The Community is
empowered by Article 80 paragraph 2 of the EC Treaty to assume responsibility in
relation to the regulation of aviation matters and, by virtue of Article 94, the Commission
is entrusted with the necessary powers to unify technical standards and regulations
throughout the Community. Two major initiatives by the institutions of the European
Union have had profound implications for the Member States with respect to the
regulation of air law. The first involved the proceedings brought before the ECJ by the
Commission against eight Member States resulting in the ‘Open Skies’ judgment, the
effect of which was to invalidate certain provisions in bilateral air services agreements
between Member States and the US. The second was the decision by the European Union
to negotiate an Open Aviation Areas Agreement with the United States with the aim of
bringing about liberalisation in the air transport market between the US and the European
Union. In this article, it is intended to demonstrate that, despite the apparent diminution
in Ireland’s law-creating competence that has taken place arising from these initiatives,
Ireland’s membership of the EU has, in fact, had the paradoxical effect of removing
constraints which inhibited the development of its aviation industry, facilitating the
replacement of outdated, anti-competitive regulatory structures with open market
economic models enabling the indigenous aviation industry to restructure and prosper.
* LL.B, M.Phil candidate (Sheffield University).
1 See generally ICAO CD-Rom World’s Air Services Agreements; Jacob Schenkman International Civil
Aviation Organisation (E Droz Geneva 1955); Brian Havel In Search of Open Skies (Kluwer Law
International The Hague 1997); PS Dempsey European Aviation Law (Kluwer Law International 2004); A
Dukes & F Sorensen EU/US Air Transport Agreement – Potential Impact on Ireland (Dublin Chamber of
Commerce/Air Transport Users Council); House of Commons Select Committee on Environment,
Transport and Regional Affairs 18th Report Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the
United States.

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT