Catalogue description Civil Aviation Authority and predecessors: International Civil Aviation Organisation Papers

The development of the aeroplane as a major instrument of transport brought international problems such as the co-ordination of techniques and laws and the dissemination of technical and economic information which were far beyond the ability of individual governments to solve. There were other concerns with regard to the legal and economic conflicts that might come with peacetime flying across national borders, and the maintenance of existing navigation facilities.

In 1944 a meeting was held in Chicago of fifty-two countries, including the UK, the outcome of which was the Convention on International Civil Aviation or the 'Chicago Convention'. A Provisional International Civil Aviation Organisation (PICAO) was set up until the convention was ratified and was superseded by the Montreal based International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on 4 April 1947. The aims and objectives of the organisation are to develop the principles and techniques of international air navigation and to foster the planning and development of international air transport.

The ICAO is an agency of the United Nations, it has a sovereign body, the Assembly, and a governing body, the Council. One of the major duties of the Council is to adopt international standards and recommended practices and to incorporate these as annexes to the Chicago Convention. The Council may act as an arbiter between member states on matters concerning aviation and implementation of the Convention and may investigate any situation which presents avoidable obstacles to the development of international air navigation and, in general, it may take whatever steps are necessary to maintain the safety and regulation of the operation of international air transport.