Assent: 
Commencement: 

REPUBLIC OF VANUATU

CIVIL AVIATION CORPORATION ACT
NO. 21 of 1998

Arrangement of Sections

PART I – PRELIMINARY

1. Purpose
2. Interpretation
3. Civil Aviation Corporation

PART II – RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF CORPORATION AND DEPARTMENT

4. Division of responsibilities between Corporation and Department
5. Functions and responsibilities of the Corporation
6. Functions and responsibilities of Department

PART III – MISCELLANEOUS

7. Regulations
8. Consequential amendment
9. Commencement

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REPUBLIC OF VANUATU

CIVIL AVIATION CORPORATION ACT
NO. 21 OF 1998

An Act to provide for the control of civil aviation in Vanuatu and matters relating thereto.

BE IT ENACTED by the President and Parliament as follows:

PART I
PRELIMINARY

PURPOSE

1. The purpose of this Act is to establish a civil aviation corporation and to identify what civil aviation functions will be undertaken by the Corporation and what civil aviation functions will be undertaken by the Department of Civil Aviation.

INTERPRETATION

2. In this Act unless the context otherwise requires:

“Corporation” means the Civil Aviation Corporation established under section 3;

“Department” means the Department of Civil Aviation;

“Minister” means the Minister responsible for civil aviation.

CIVIL AVIATION CORPORATION

3.(1) There is established a corporation to be called the Civil Aviation Corporation.

(2) The Corporation will be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and shall be capable of acquiring, holding, and disposing of real and personal property, suing and being sued and subject to the provisions of this Act, of doing all such other acts and things as a body corporate may lawfully do and suffer and, shall be bound by and follow the provisions of the Companies Act [CAP 191] as if it were a company incorporated under that Act.

(3) The Board of the Corporation shall comprise not more than five persons to be appointed by the Minister as follows:

(a) one member nominated by the Minister;

(b) one member representing the tourist industry, nominated by the President of the Chamber of Commerce;

(c) one member representing the hotel and resort industry, nominated by the Chairman of the Vanuatu Hotel and Resorts Association Limited;

(d) one member nominated by the Chairperson of the Vanuatu Financial Centre Association Limited;

(e) one member nominated by the Director-General of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management.

(4) Every member of the Board shall be under the same obligations, responsibilities, and duties as if he or she were a director of a company under the Companies Act [CAP 191].

PART II
RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE
CORPORATION AND DEPARTMENT

DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITIES BETWEEN CORPORATION AND DEPARTMENT

4.(1) The Corporation shall be vested with the commercial functions listed in section 5 and the Department shall be vested with the regulatory functions listed in section 6.

(2) Where the functions or responsibilities of the Corporation or the Department under this Act conflict with any other enactment that allocates such functions and responsibilities the provisions of this Act shall prevail.

FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CORPORATION

5. The functions and responsibilities of the Corporation are:

(a) the provision of air navigation services;

(b) the operation of the commercial activities of civil aviation in Vanuatu;

(c) to provide facilities for the operations of quarantine, customs, and immigration;

(d) to provide such fire security and rescue services, both within an airport and elsewhere, as may be deemed necessary by the Corporation or required under any Act or regulations for the purpose of extinguishing fires and preserving life and property;

(e) to operate and manage airports in an efficient, effective and business like manner;

(f) to provide at airports such services and facilities as are in the opinion of the Corporation necessary or desirable to their operation;

(g) to provide at an airport when applicable, or to enter into an agreement with any other person to provide facilities for:

(i) passenger handling;

(ii) aircraft handling;

(iii) baggage handling;

(iv) the provision of fuel;

(v) catering services for aircraft operators;

(vi) catering services for passengers and visitors to airports;

(vii) the sale of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages;

(viii) the sale of books, magazines and newspapers;

(ix) the sale of duty free and other goods to arriving, departing and transit passengers;

(x) such other services as are incidental to or connected with the commercial operation of an airport;

(h) airworthiness and operations;

(i) to contract out commercial activities undertaken by the Corporation to third parties.

FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF DEPARTMENT

6. The functions and responsibilities of the Department include:

(a) the power to give effect to international air conventions, including the Chicago Convention and to regulate air navigation;

(b) investigation of accidents;

(c) regulate, investigate and prosecute dangerous flying;

(d) licensing of air transport and commercial flying;

(e) provision of information as to air transport and the use of airports;

(f) power to remove dangerous obstructions;

(g) power to restrict the use of land;

(h) power to regulate the required display of lights;

(i) power to make provision for aids for the safe navigation and control of aircraft;

(j) power to acquire land when required for civil aviation purposes;

(k) power to make regulations through the Minister in matters pertaining to civil aviation such as nuisance caused by aircraft, wrecked aircraft or the salvage of aircraft, aerial advertising and propaganda, detention of aircraft, and offences generally;

(l) such other powers functions and responsibilities that may be conferred by any other enactment including the Civil Aviation Act [CAP 159] or by any Act that replaces it.

PART III
MISCELLANEOUS

REGULATIONS

7. The Minister may from time to time by Order make regulations so as to give effect to all or any of the purposes of this Act, including regulations for all or any of the following:

(a) for securing the safety of aircraft, vehicles and persons using the airport, and preventing danger to the public arising from the use and operation of airports;

(b) for preventing obstruction within an airport;

(c) for regulating vehicular traffic within an airport and in particular for imposing speed limits on vehicles therein and for restricting or regulating the parking of vehicles or their use for any purpose or in any manner specified in the regulations;

(d) for prohibiting or restricting access to any part of the airport;

(e) adopting any safety or other requirements agreed under any international air agreement or convention to which Vanuatu is a member;

(f) prescribing offences and penalties for offences.

CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENT

8. Section 2 of the Civil Aviation Act [CAP 159] is amended by adding after paragraph (k) the following paragraph:

“(l) to transfer the commercial activities of civil aviation in Vanuatu to the Civil Aviation Corporation and to foster contracting out of the activities of the Corporation to third parties.”

COMMENCEMENT

9. This Act will come into force on the date of its publication in the Gazette.

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