On 16 December 1970, at The Hague, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft was signed, at the close of the International Conference on Air Law (1–16 December). Three originals, each drawn up in four authentic texts: English, French, Russian and Spanish. Depositaries: the Governments of the USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States (Article 13(2)). After 31 December 1970 it was open for signature in Moscow, London and Washington. Registration: UNTS 12325, volume 860, p. 105.

Article 1 defines, in law, the offence: any person who on board an aircraft in flight unlawfully, by force or threat thereof, or by any other form of intimidation, seizes or exercises control of that aircraft, or attempts such an act, and any accomplice. This is not a handbook of seizure; it is a framework of international criminal law. Article 2: each Contracting State undertakes to make the offence punishable by severe penalties. Article 3(1): an aircraft is in flight from the moment all its external doors are closed following embarkation until any such door is opened for disembarkation; in the case of a forced landing, the flight continues until the competent authorities take over responsibility.

Article 3(2): the Convention does not apply to aircraft used in military, customs or police services. Article 3(3): it applies only if the place of take-off or the place of actual landing is situated outside the territory of the State of registration; it is immaterial whether the flight is international or domestic. Article 3(5): Articles 6, 7, 8 and 10 nevertheless apply, whatever the places of take-off and landing, if the offender is found in the territory of a State other than the State of registration.

Article 4: jurisdiction when the offence is committed on board an aircraft registered in that State; when the aircraft lands in its territory with the alleged offender still on board; when the aircraft is leased without crew to a lessee whose principal place of business or permanent residence is there; and, if it does not extradite, when the alleged offender is present in its territory. Article 7: aut dedere aut judicare — the State in whose territory the alleged offender is found shall, if it does not extradite him, be obliged, without exception whatsoever, to submit the case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution. Article 8: the offence shall be deemed an extraditable offence.

Article 9: Contracting States shall take all appropriate measures to restore control of the aircraft to its lawful commander and shall facilitate the continuation of the journey of the passengers and crew; the aircraft and its cargo shall be returned to the persons lawfully entitled to possession. Article 11: reports to the Council of ICAO. Article 12: disputes to negotiation, then arbitration or the ICJ, with a permitted reservation to Article 12(1). Article 13(3): the Convention enters into force thirty days following the deposit of instruments of ratification by ten States signatory which participated in The Hague Conference. Entry into force: 14 October 1971. Article 14: denunciation takes effect six months after notification.

The 2010 Beijing Protocol, which supplements the Convention, is a separate instrument (entry into force 1 January 2018). The 1971 Montreal Convention on unlawful acts against the safety of civil aviation is likewise distinct.

The Peace Palace, The Hague, the city of the conference and of signature, not the signing room. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

For context: Hague Hijacking Convention. The text: United Nations Treaty Series, vol. 860, I-12325.