On 23 September 1971, in Montreal, the International Conference on Air Law adopts the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation — the Montreal Convention (or Sabotage Convention).

The treaty criminalises violence on board, destroying or damaging aircraft in service, placing devices, attacks on air-navigation facilities and communicating false information that endangers flight safety, as well as attempts and complicity. It requires aut dedere aut judicare. It applies only to civil aviation.

Entry into force: 26 January 1973. About 190 parties. The text appears in UNTS vol. 974 (No. 14118). The 1988 Protocol extends offences to airports.

It complements the Tokyo (1963) and Hague (1970) conventions.

For aviation counter-terrorism law, 23 September 1971 marks the Montreal signature.

The document is available on the ICAO website and in UNTS.

The Montreal Convention of 23 September 1971 remains the aviation-sabotage suppression milestone.

Image: Montreal / aviation; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Montreal Convention (1971 Sabotage). Treaty text: UN — Montreal Convention 1971.