Studies Of The Defense Of Aviation Product Liability In The U.S.

The air transportation industry has grown substantially but there are still many open areas of high risks. Therefore it is necessary to adjust the legal system to cover all risks. The America aviation legislation has the longest history and is the most developed in the world. The aviation legal system developed gradually to what we see today. Their system pays a considerable amount of attention to aviation tort caused by product liability. To effectively solve the problem of aviation product liability, proper handling of the aviation law relationship between the aircraft manufacturers, carriers and the passengers, the United States has formulated the Commercial Aviation Act, the Federal Aviation Act, the Airlines Deregulation Act and the General Aviation Revitalization Act. The legislation was introduced to ensure the normal operation of the air transport industry and the implementation of the aviation industry achieves the evolution from the strict regulation to deregulation. The product liability defense problem is viewed as the breakthrough point, according to the legislation, combined with the related judicial practice; namely, analyzing the justifications, applicable scope, applicable conditions, etc.This dissertation is divided into five chapters.The first chapter analyzes the questions of preemption. America's preemption has a rather lengthy history. The constitution initially made provisions of the Supremacy Clause. The guarantee for aviation safety in the field of aviation law which successively formulated the related laws regulated the industry and promoted the development of the aviation industry. The United States legislation made room for certain preemption and divided it into two types, namely, express and implied preemption. The main section is in the judicial practice and the division of federal law and state law. This suggests that the regulation of aviation product liability in the United States has changed from former federal law and to a certain extent given full control to state laws.The second chapter discusses the reasons for government contractor defense. After several years of development and evolution the court gradually cleared its meaning to determine the applicable base. Boyle's case is a typical case, the applicable conditions of American courts system has great uncertainty. The Supreme Court has been clear about the applicable conditions. Since then, it has continuously expanded the scope of judicial practice to promote the development of the system. However, they have failed to solve many issues in the judicial practice. Therefore, this chapter summarizes the specific requirements in terms of meaning and factor in typical case is important for judicial practice. The Government Contractor Defense reduces or exempts liability of contractor by government exemption. This would allow the achievement of the deregulation of airline industry.The third chapter discusses the problems of statute of repose. This chapter starts with the current situation of general aircraft manufacturing industry. The author analyzes the necessity of the General Aviation Revitalization Act, and the purpose and the provisions of the different views on the limitation of rights. It combines the specific case of applicable scope; applicable object and exceptions are analyzed and summarized. The broad scope of application and the object reflects that the Americans reduced the time that aircraft manufacturers bear the liability by law. That therefore reduces their responsibility and further promotes the development of aircraft manufacturing and gradually realizes the deregulation.The fourth chapter summarizes and demonstrates the theoretical basis of defense. This chapter explores the constitutional and rational of the former three specific defenses from the perspective of jurisprudence and constitution foundation. The constitutional structure in the United States provides the different conditions of preemption, properly using the principle of sovereign immunity in the due process of law under the premise of promoting the fair interests and to maintain commercial custom. This is also reflected in the field of aviation product liability through the constitutional principle of separation of powers. This justifies the inspection and reviews the government action and power at the same time which then protects the rights of the individuals.The fifth chapter briefs the research conclusion. This chapter combines the defenses and summarizes its essence. It also offers points on regularity, then refining and analyzing product liability regulations in the field of American airlines. Finally, combining the needs of the development of civil aviation in China and also examining the current legislations. Lastly, the author formulates the relevant provisions in order to revise the Civil Aviation Act of the People's Republic of China and then offers suggestions on aviation product liability legislation.