Interpellation
Concerning the infringement of the Convention on International Civil Aviation by the Russian Interstate Aviation Committee
On 28 September 2010 Mr Jerzy Polaczek, MP, directed an interpellation concerning the stand of the government in case of the infringement of the convention on international civil aviation to Prime Minister Donald Tusk through the Speaker Grzegorz Schetyna. The question was related to the information of the Polish representative accredited to the Interstate Aviation Committee in Moscow (IAC), which has been investigating the plane crash of the aircraft TU 154M, registered by the Ministry of National Defence, on 10 April 2010. Below we publish the whole text of the interpellation.
Dear Mr Prime Minister,
Recently the Polish special envoy accredited to the IAC has informed the Polish public opinion about the completion of the investigation conducted by the Interstate Aviation Committee in Moscow and its draft report according to the international norms, methods and rules included in Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
The Russian Federation is one of the countries that has ratified the Chicago Convention and is obliged to prepare the final report according to the format included in Annex 13.
The key matter for a legal Final Report is its completeness.
According to the information given publically the accredited Polish representative Colonel Edmund Klich has not received some important information concerning the Severny airport, the condition of its equipment, its status and procedures as well as the normative acts and procedures concerning the air traffic management in the Russian Federation.
The international regulations included in Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention define in detail the format and content of the Final Report.
The annex defining the format of the Final Report assumes in a precise and undoubting way that according to
– 1.8 Aid to navigation – it should include the information about their effectiveness at the time,
– 1.10 Aerodrome information – it should include data concerning landing aids and their equipment at the time,
– 1.17 Organisational and management information – it should include data about the organisations and their management, referring to the operation of the aircraft. The organisations embrace, e.g. operator, air traffic services, service agencies, meteorological services as well as the regulatory authority. The information can include in particular the news about the organisational structure and functions, resources, economic status, management policies and practices and the regulatory framework.
Referring to the above mentioned regulations I appeal to you, Mr Prime Minister, to take a stand and answer the following questions:
1. Do you confirm the public information of the accredited representative of Poland about the lack of access to some key data in the course of the examination of the causes of the plane crash, which has been conducted so far, and about the fact that the authorities of the Russian Federation have not given these data despite his earlier written requests? If yes, please present a precise ‘catalogue’ of the documents that the authorities of the Russian Federation have not delivered till the end of September.
2. Are the authorities of the Republic of Poland going to inform the authorities of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) about these facts in the light of the available information concerning the lack of access of the accredited Polish representative to some key data?
3. What stand will the Government of the Republic of Poland take considering the situation that the project of the Final Report of the Interstate Aviation Committee, investigating the causes of the crash of 10 April in which the President of the Republic of Poland and all the remaining representatives of the state delegation lost their lives, will be incomplete and prepared in the way that is not in accordance with the international norms, methods and principles of behaviour, included in Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention?
Sincerely yours,
Jerzy Polaczek, MP
"Niedziela" 41/2010