E-Commerce Hearing

The EU Commission held a meeting in Brussels on 4-5 November to address the legal issues involved in e- commerce. Representatives of businesses, consumers' groups and regulatory bodies attended to address issues such as conflicts of jurisdiction, application of Contract Law and consumer protection. A copy of the background paper prepared by the Commission is available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/scic/conferences/991104/991104_info.htm

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Review of the Implementation of the Package Travel Directive

Consumer Affairs Commissioner David Byrne submitted a report to the Consumer Affairs Council on the implementation of the Package Travel Directive. Member States are invited to comment by April 2000.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Legal Action raised in Egypt Air Flight 990 Case

A legal action has been raised by relatives of a Syrian passenger killed as a result of the Egypt Air Flight 990 crash. The action has been raised in New York. The Syrian victim was working as a chef in New Jersey. The action is based on a claim for $50m wrongful death compensation alleging that Egypt Air were in breach of their responsibility to provide the hoghest level of safety to passengers. The action also accuses Boeing of negligence in design, repair and maintenance of the plane

(Originally posted by John Downes)

IATA's DG Calls for a Balance to the Benefits of Air Liberalization

Pierre Jeanniot (DG of IATA) stated on 16 November 1999 "There is no question that the air transport industry will continue to liberalise. Our main concern is that liberalisation proceeds in a manner which produces the best balance of benefits to consumers, airlines and the public interest". IATA has issued a discussion paper on Air Transport and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). At present GATS covers repair and maintenance, provision of computer reservation systems and sales and marketing of air services. These may be added to at the next WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle (USA) on 3 December 1999.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

IATA Presents Eagle Award to Airservices Australia

IATA Director General presented the Eagle Award to Airservices Australia. The award is made annually to airports and air navigation services which provide good value and good services to airlines. Last year's recipients were the Irish Aviation authority for air navigation services and the British Airports Authority for the airport category.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Lockerbie trial Judges Named

The three judges that will hear the Lockerbie Trial, according to Scots Law, in the Netherlands have been named as Lords Sutherland, Coulsfield and MacLean. Lord Abernethy will also participate and will act as a substitute if necessary. There will be a preliminary hearing of the case at the High Court of Justiciary in Edinburgh before Lord Sutherland on 22 November 1999. Nb. There is a Lockerbie Trial wedsite provided by the University of Glasgow Law School at: http://www.law.gla.ac.ik/Lockerbie/index.htm

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Train Bomb

13 people were killed and nearly 50 injured after a bomb exploded on the Pooja Express which had left Jammu, Kashmir's winter capital, bound for Delhi. the train was carrying Hindu pilgrims who had been visiting the Vaishno Devi Temple near Jammu. Indian police officials were also on board.

(Originally posted John Downes)

Egypt Air Flight 990

The search for the voice cockpit recorder continues. The plane crashed into the Atlantic soon after taking off from JFK Airport in New York on October 31. All 217 passengers and crew were killed. The US National Transportation Safety Board has made a preliminary report on the flight data recorder. the plane had been cruising normally at 9900 metres (33000 feet) when the autopilot disconnected. Although the plane had previously had a fault with the thrust reverser device, there was no evidence that this device had deployed accidentally.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Transfer of Powers in the UK

The Devolution of power in the UK means that new bodies are now responsible for travel and tourism matters. The UK Parliament has power to make laws governing all matters relating to travel and tourism in England and Wales. It also enacts legislation on the British Tourist Authority, the English and Welsh Tourist Boards, travel documents (passports and visas), regulation of trade associations (e.g.ABTA), consumer protection and employment law for the whole of the UK. The Scottish Parliament has powers in relation to all other travel and tourism law matters, including setting tourism policy in scotland and the functions and powers of the Scottish Tourist Board. No change may be made by the UK Parliament re the functions and powers of the BTA without prior consultation with Scottish Ministers. The Welsh National Assembly (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) took over the functions and powers previously excercised by the Secretary Of State for Wales and this included tourism in the Principality. The Assembly has powers to set tourism policy and has a budget to support and encourage tourism development. It does not have legislative powers, however. The Northern Ireland Assembly will have similar legislative powers to the Scottish Parliament and provision is made in the Peace Agreement (Northern Ireland Act 1998) for cross-border cooperation with the Irish Republic on tourism matters. The UK Government has introduced a Bill to establish a Greater London Assembly which will have specific powers and duties on tourism, economic development, transport, planning, emergency services, environment and culture. The directly elected Mayor will have executive powers in these matters and a budget.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Air Agreement Dispute

The Air Agreement between the Philippines and Taiwan collapsed in July when the Philippines accused Taiwanese carriers of failing to stick to the agreed 3000 passengers per week. Philippines Airlines (PAL) has announced that it is cancelling scheduled flights to and from Taiwan on Friday 1 October unless agreement is reached.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

European Commission blocks Airtours Takeover of First Choice

The EU Commission rejected the proposed takeover because it would leave the three largest tour operators in the UK with 80% share of the package holiday market (Airtours, Thomson and Thomas Cook). These companies are also vertically integrated and the Commission believed that the proposed merger would restrict competition in the UK package holiday market.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Holy See Prepares for 30 million visitors in 2000

The Vatican has created a new website to provide advice for the estimated 30 million pilgrims expected to visit the Holy See in 2000. The site is available in Italian, French, English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Latin and Polish. Russian, Chinese and Arabic are expected to be added. It has also issued a new "smart card", a computerised Pilgrim's Card which can be used to purchase transport, food, insurance, phone calls and other services. A microchip on the card can also contain essential information on the health of the bearer.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Transfer of Powers in the UK

The Devolution of power in the UK means that new bodies are now responsible for travel and tourism matters. The UK Parliament has power to make laws governing all matters relating to travel and tourism in England and Wales. It also enacts legislation on the British Tourist Authority, the English and Welsh Tourist Boards, travel documents (passports and visas), regulation of trade associations (e.g.ABTA), consumer protection and employment law for the whole of the UK. The Scottish Parliament has powers in relation to all other travel and tourism law matters, including setting tourism policy in scotland and the functions and powers of the Scottish Tourist Board. No change may be made by the UK Parliament re the functions and powers of the BTA without prior consultation with Scottish Ministers. The Welsh National Assembly (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) took over the functions and powers previously excercised by the Secretary Of State for Wales and this included tourism in the Principality. The Assembly has powers to set tourism policy and has a budget to support and encourage tourism development. It does not have legislative powers, however. The Northern Ireland Assembly will have similar legislative powers to the Scottish Parliament and provision is made in the Peace Agreement (Northern Ireland Act 1998) for cross-border cooperation with the Irish Republic on tourism matters. The UK Government has introduced a Bill to establish a Greater London Assembly which will have specific powers and duties on tourism, economic development, transport, planning, emergency services, environment and culture. The directly elected Mayor will have executive powers in these matters and a budget.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Diana Ross Arrested at Heathrow Airport During Security Check

The legendary singer, Diana Ross was arrested at Heathrow Airport and detained for 5 hours after an alleged assault on a female security officer. The officer claimed that Miss Ross assaulted her after she had carried out a routine security check at the airport. Miss Ross objected to the intrusive nature of the search and said that she retaliated at what she regarded was degrading treatment. She questined why she could not have been searched using a hand held detector. The airport authority said that security officers are required by law to conduct a hand search in those circumstances.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

New Transport Regulations Following Death of Tourists in Bus Crash

The South African Transport Ministry has announced new measures to combat the country's high road deaths rate. 26 British tourists were killed on Monday 27 September 1999 when the tour bus on which they were travelling left the road and tumbled down a mountainside. Another 9 people travelling on the bus were badly injured. Most of those killed were retired people. The coach had a "black box" similar to those used on aircraft to record the sequence of events leading up to the crash. The Department of Transport has set up a Commission of Inquiry which is expected to report within 60 days. A total of 59 people have been killed in bus crashes in South Africa in the last 7 days. The measures proposed include: - vehicle fitness testing - lower speed limits for buses - regulations governing maximum driver's hours - mandatory advance courses for long distance drivers.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Gerona Action Group formed after Crash

235 Welsh passengers walked free when their holiday aircraft from Cardiff broke into three pieces as it lurched off the runway at Gerona Airport on Tuesday 14 September 1999. One 83 year old passenger died three days later at his hotel. The Gerona Action Group has been established by a firm of lawyers in response to a request by 30 of the passengers. The aim of the group is to ask questions about the safety of holiday airports. Passengers claimed that it took emergency services one hour to come to their assistance. The Spanish authorities deny that it took so long but point to the poor visibility at the time which meant that it took them 10 minutes before they realised that the jet had left the runway and even longer to locate the plane.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

New Hotel Ratings System

The English Tourism Council, the RACT and AA have collaborated to produce a new rating system for hotels in England. There is no statutory system currently in operation in the UK but the new system is expected to replace the plethora of grades and symbols that currently exist and cause confusion for tourists. The new system is based on star ratings 1-5 depending on level of service, range of facilities and level of guest care. Scotland and Wales are also expected to devise their own systems.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Arbitration

In August, the Turkish government approved new arbitration regulations which amend existing regulations and which provide for international arbitration to take place for the first time. The new regulations are expected to come into force in October.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Growth in Tourism

Tourism continued to boom in 1998. Receipts from tourism in the EU grew by 6.5% to 155.6 bn (£101.9 bn / $163.04 bn) in 1998. France and Spain remain the most popular destinations in the EU but Greece had the biggest increse in travel (37.2%) and expenditure (33.4%).

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Abolition of Duty Free

EU Commissioner Mario Monti welcomed the abolition of duty-free sales as excellent news for EU taxpayers. This ends the massive subsidies of Euro 2 bn (£1.3 bn / $2.08 bn) which were paid to air and sea travel in the EU. [IP/99/432)

(Originally posted by John Downes)

New Commissioners

The new Commission President, Romano Prodi, announced his nominations for the new Commission in July. These include: Loyola de Palacio (Spain) - Transport and Energy; David Byrne (Ireland) - Health and Consumer Protection; Mario Monti (Italy) - Competition; and Antonio Vitorino (Portugal) - Justice and Home Affairs.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

E-Commerce

Amendments have been made to a proposed EU Directive on E-Commerce which aims to establish a coherent legal framework for e-commerce within the single market. The amendments clarify some of the definitions used and clarifies the link between this Directive and existing Directives on Data Protection. It also clarifies when an e-commerce transaction is legally concluded. The full text can be downloaded from http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg15/en/media/eleccomm/eleccomm.htm. [IP/99/652]

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Clampdown on Sex Tourism

The Japanese parliament has approved a new law to prohibit the sexual exploitation of children. It prohibits commercial sexual relations with persons under 18 years of age and prevents Japanese tour operators from organising sex tours abroad. The unanimous vote of the parliament on 18 May addresses the criticism which has been made that Japan was 'soft' on child pornography and sex tourism. The new law means that Japanese law is now in conformity to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Offer of Compensation

Swissair and Boeing have offered compensation to relatives of the 229 people who died after their flight was lost off the coast of Nova Scotia (Canada) in September 1998. The offer was made in a pre-trial meeting in a Philadelphia federal court. As part of the deal, the relatives would have to waive their "16bn (£10bn) claim for punitive damages. The companies have stressed that this does not amount to an admission of guilt. The case is due for its next hearing on 13 September.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Compensation for Bombing of Plane

Libya provided FF 200m ($31m/£50m) to compensate families of those killed in the bombing of a UTA DC-10 over Niger on a flight from Brazzaville (Congo) to Paris on 19 September 1989. 170 people were killed. A Paris court sentence 6 Libyans in absentia in March for placing the bomb on the plane. The French Foreign Ministry said that the sum was "an acknowledgement by the Libyan authorities of the responsibility of their citizens in accordance with the rulings of French justice".

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Sex Tourism Charge

Philip Williams from Edinburgh has been charged with having sex or perfomring sexual acts with under age children whilst working as a school teacher in Cambodia. The case has been raised under a law introduced in 1992 which enables the Scots courts to hear cases of child sex abuse committed whilst the accused was abroad.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Lockerbie: Update

The trial of the two men accused of the Lockerbie bombing is now scheduled to take place on 4 February 2000. Permission has been given to extend the 110 day rule whereby the accused must be brought before a Scottish court within 110 days of being charged. The extension was agreed because of the complexities of the case. The case will take place at Camp Zeist in the Netherlands which, for the purpose, will become Scottish territory and the case will be tried according to Scots law. The accused attempted to have the Sunday Times held in contempt of court, arguing that an article in the paper would jeopardise a fair hearing of their case. However, this was rejected by the High Court in Edinburgh on the grounds that, since the case would be before three judges rather than a jury, the accused would suffer no prejudice.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Conviction for Sex Tourism

John Arthur Lee has become the first person to be sentence in Australia for sexual abuse of children abroad. His conviction was secured under a law passed in 1994 which enabled authorities to prosecute for sex abuse crimes committed abroad. Lee was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment on one count of sexual intercourse and four counts of indecent relations with under age girls. There were no witnesses or testimony from the victims. The court relied entirely on a series of pornographic photographs and undeveloped film which Lee had taken whilst in Cambodia. Although his face did not appear in the photogrphs he was identified from them by forensic experts.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Warsaw Convention

On 22 April 1999 Mr Justice Howitt in the English High Court ruled that the EC Regulation on Passenger Liability is in conflict with the Warsaw Convention obligations of the UK and thus concluded that the Regulation was "in suspense". The Regulation imposed stricter obligations on air carriers than those provided under the Warsaw system.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Package Travel Directive

The Package Travel (Amendment) Regulations 1998 were introduced to deal with the anomaly in the UK's implementation fo the Package Travel Directive. Article 4 of the Directive requires the organiser to provide the consumer, before the contract is made, with, inter alia, general information on passports and visa requirements applicable to nationals of Member States. Article 3 also requires such information to be contained in any brochures. The UK Regulations only required information for British citizens. The amendment extends the provision to cover all European Ecomonic Area citizens, i.e. EU citizens and citizens of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Competition

British Airways has been fined Euro 6.8m (£4.45m / $7.12m) by the EU for breach of EU competition rules. British Airways offered extra commission to travel agents who promoted its tickets over those of its rivals. This created an illegal barrier to airlines wishing to compete with BA's dominant position.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (UK Carriers) Order 1998

This Order increses the limit of liability of UK sea carriers to 300 units of account per passenger.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Travel Agents Provide Poor Advice

A report by the Consumers' Association, following tests of 240 travel agents throughout the UK, found that more than 2/3 failed to find the chapest fare available for a flight between London and Paris. They also failed to give advice on safety in Jamaica despite the information being available from the Foreign Office. The Consumers' Association say that the report highlights the poor level of advice on offer from travel agents. Despite this, ABTA point out that a MORI poll concluded in 1998 that 92% of holidaymakers rated the travel agnecy they most recently used as either 'very good' or 'fairly good'.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

European Airlines Improve Financial Performance

A Commission report (The European airline industry: from single market to worldwide challenges) issued on 21 May states that European airlines have improved their financial performance in response to market liberalisation. It also states that fares have been brought down by 10-24% as a result of competition. The Commission says that further streamlining of the regularory regime is necessary however, with bilateral agreements between Member States and non-EU countries hampering further restructuring.

(Originally posted by Jason Campbell)

Potential Growth in EU Tourism Employment

A Commission Communication of 28 April reports that 2.2m-3.3m extra jobs could be created in the EU by 2010, if a positive climate for investment is encouraged. The Commission proposes a three stranded strategy - better use of information, easier information facilities, and structured consultation with relevant bodies. 9m jobs in the EU are in the tourism industry, in 2m businesses. It generates 5.5% of overall GDP, 6% of employment and 30% of external trade in services. [IP/99/267]

(Originally posted by Jason Campbell)

Aircraft Noise and the Council of the EU

Europe's proposal to ban planes fitted with 'hush kits' from flying in the EU after April 2002 has been postponed until the end of April in order to allow negotiation between the Commission and the US, after the US threatened to ban Concorde in retaliation.

(Originally posted by Jason Campbell)

English High Court Clears Payment for Airport Slots

The High Court in London ruled on Thursday, 25 March, that EU Regulations do not prevent money being paid as part of an exchange of takeoff and landing slots between airlines. BA had exchanged slots with KLM, paying compensation to the Dutch airline in recognition of the greater value of its slots. The judgment does not however go so far as to permit airlines to sell their slots outright - a pair of takeoff and landing slots at Heathrow being estimated as being worth up to £3m ($5m)

(Originally posted by Jason Campbell)

Tsunami Recovery Program

The World Travel and Tourism Council has reported that the economic slump in South East Asia led to a loss of approximately 2m jobs in the industry and at least $7billion. At the ASEAN meeting in Singapore, the Minister for Trade and Industry. Lee Yock Suan, urged the public and private sectors to work closely together to promote the region's attractions, as tourism is critical to the region's recovery.

(Originally posted John Downes)

Government

In February, the Lower House of the Dutch Parliament voted to legalise brothels for the first time since 1912. Whilst prostitution was already legal, brothels were merely tolerated. Those promoting the new law argued that it would make it harder for criminals to use sex clubs as a cover and for illegal immigrants to work there.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Jamaica

The Jamaican army is to be deployed at tourist resorts to crack down on crime and harassment of tourists. The measure followed a recommendation from the Jamaican Hotel and Tourist Association. The Opposition has criticised the measure as detrimental to the country's image and point to a dramatic decrease in the number of crimes against tourists in the last 6 years.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

China and Cambodia

The Chinese and Cambodian Governments have signed two accords, one on economic co-operation, the other on tourism. This followed the visit of Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, to Beijing in March.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

British Dependent Territories

The UK Government has announced that it intends to give citizens of the British Dependent Territories the right of abode in the UK. This will apply to approximately 150 000 people in the following territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Pitcairn Island, Saint Helena and its dependencies and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The people of the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar already have this right. In exchange, these territories will have to change some of their laws to meet international standards on law enforcement co-operation, money laundering, transparency and independent financial regulation. They will also have to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Heathrow Airport Extension

The four-year public enquiry into the building of a fifth terminal at Heathrow Airport ended on 17 March 1999. The cost of the enquiry is estimated at £80m ($128m), with over 700 witnesses and yet a decision on whether to go ahead with the terminal will not be made until after the report is submitted in March 2001. The earliest possible date for completion of the terminal is 2006.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Lord Denning

Lord Denning, of Jarvis v Swan Tours fame, died at the age of 100 on 5 March 1999. He was one of the best known and, for many, greatest English judges of the twentieth century. He was famed for his clear, succinct style in giving judgement. He described his approach to his role, "If there is any rule of law which impairs the doing of justice, then it is the province of the judge to do all that he legitimately can to avoid that rule – or even to change it – so as to do justice in the instant case before him. He need not wait for the legislature to intervene".

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Germany takes over the Presidency

Germany took over the presidency of the EU on 1 January 1999. It has set as its priorities: job creation; internal consolidation and further development of the Union; and strengthening the development of the EU'' profile in relations with other countries. The European Council will take place in Cologne on 3-4 June. The website for the German presidency is at http://www.eu-presidency.de

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)

The Transport Commissioner announced that the Commission is working on recommendations to enable the EU to take decisions on this early in 1999. Within a few years many transport systems will rely on GNSS. The Commission is consulting with the industry, transport users and others in order to define a possible EU role in GNSS.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Railway Services

The Commission has set out proposals "to save Europe's railways from extinction". Included are proposals to liberalise the freight market. The White Paper proposes to speed up modification of the existing legislation (Directive 91/440/EC) so as to extend the rights to railway infrastructure for freight and for international passenger services. Existing legislation will be modified to require the separation of infrastructure management and transport operations into distinct business units, with separate management and balance sheets. Further study will be made of the principles for infrastructure charging and capacity allocation prior to making fresh proposals. They have also recommended the establishment of a European Railway Authority. (NB European Commission White Paper 'A Strategy for Revitalising the Community's Railways - COM (96) 421 final)

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Railway Services

Tourism and Employment: The High Level Group on Tourism and Employment have stated that the tourism sector is expected to grow faster than the economy as a whole, increasing turnover by 2.5-4% per annum and creating 2.2-3m jobs in the EU by 2010.
http://europa.eu.int/en/comm/dg23/whatsnew.htm.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Trans-European Transport Networks

Significant progress has been made and, on completion, the programme is expected to increase EU GDP by 0.5bn ecu by 2030 and create 600 000 jobs. The Vienna European Council emphasised the importance of protecting funding for this despite the need for cuts in public expenditure.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Air Agreements with the USA

The Commission referred eight Member States to the European Court of Justice for having concluded "open skies" agreements with the USA. The states are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden and the UK. The Commission argues that these agreements distort competition and disadvantage EU airlines. The Commission itself had been negotiating an agreement with the USA but this was halted by the Council of Ministers.

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Working Time Directive

The Commission announced proposals to extend the provisions of the Directive to more EU workers in the road, rail, sea, air and inland waterways transport industries. The Directive provides protection against adverse health and safety effects of long hours, inadequate rests and disruptive working patterns. (IP/98/1004).

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Euro Update

Banks have indicated that no charges will be levied for converting accounts and payments into euros. The Commission intends to keep the situation under review and have invited persons who have been charged to notify them. The euro operates in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The ecu has been replaced by the euro at a rate of 1:1. The new currency can be used by way of cheques, credit cards, bank transfer etc. but the new euro notes and coins will not come into use until 1 January 2002. The fixed conversion rates for participant currencies can be found at http//europa.eu.int/eurobirth/index_en.html

(Originally posted by John Downes)

Lockerbie: Update

n 13 January 1999, the UK Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, visited Camp Zeist in the Netherlands which is to be used for the trial of the two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing. The former US airbase currently used by the Dutch, will technically become part of Scotland for the purposes of the trial, which will be held according to Scots Criminal Law. Negotiations are continuing with the Libyan authorities who have expressed reservations about the men serving their prison sentences, if convicted, in a Scottish jail. One of the concerns is that they might be subject to UK and US intelligence' interrogations whilst in the prison. However, Mr Cook said that standards in Scottish prisons were as good as any in the world and Libyan and international bodies would be able to monitor the men's conditions. As soon as the men arrive in the Netherlands, the sanctions against Libya would be lifted. On 13 January, JANA, the Libyan news agency reported a "major headway" in the negotiations.

Charter Flights

President Clinton announced new measures to increase contact between ordinary US citizens and Cubans. These do not amount to the lifting of the general embargo against the Cuban Government but inter alia permits more charter flights between the two countries. These flights are intended to provide for visits by athletics, social, religious and other groups and are not intended for tourists. The 37 year US bar on tourism continues.

(Originally posted by John Downes)