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Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the French Republic on Airworthiness [1987] CATSer 22 (28 September 1987)

E100053 - CTS 1987 No. 37

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC ON AIRWORTHINESS

The Government of Canada and the Government of the French Republic, referred to hereafter as the "Parties",

Considering that:

- Each Party has determined, by a long practice of technical exchanges that the standards and systems of the other Party for the airworthiness and environmental certification or acceptance of civil aeronautical products are sufficiently equivalent to its own to make an Agreement practicable;

- Each Party wishes to develop and employ procedures for granting airworthiness and environmental certification or acceptance for civil aeronautical products exported from the other State such as to give maximum practicable credit for technical evaluations, tests, results, inspections, conformity statements, marks of conformity, and certificates accepted or issued by or on behalf of the civil airworthiness authority of the exporting Party in granting its own domestic certification of the products; and

- In the interest of promoting aviation safety and environmental quality, each Party wishes to encourage cooperation and assistance between its civil airworthiness authority and that of the other Party toward achieving common safety and environmental quality objectives, to establish and maintain airworthiness and environmental standards and certification systems which are as similar to those of the other Party as in practicable taking into account commitments to joint agreements and to cooperate to reduce, to the minimum, the economic burden imposed on each State's aviation industries and operators by avoiding redundant technical evaluations, tests and inspections.

Have agreed on the following:

ARTICLE 1

The objectives of this Agreement are:

a) to define, consistent with the legislation in force within each State, on certain principles and arrangements in order to facilitate the airworthiness and environmental certification, approval, or acceptance by the civil airworthiness authority of the importing Party of civil aeronautical products, including maintenance services, exchanged between the two States;

b) to provide, to this end, for the development of procedures between the two airworthiness authorities;

c) to allow the Parties to adapt to the emerging trend toward multinational design, manufacture, maintenance, and interchange of civil aeronautical products, involving the common interests of the Parties concerning airworthiness and environmental certification;

d) to promote cooperation toward sustaining safety and environmental quality objectives.

ARTICLE 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Agreement:

a) "Additional Technical Conditions" means the terms notified by the importing Party for the approval of the type design of an aeronautical product or for the acceptance of an aeronautical product to account for differences between the Parties in:

(i) Adopted airworthiness and environmental standards;

(ii) Special conditions relating to novel or unusual features of the product design which are not covered by the adopted airworthiness and environmental standards;

(iii) Application of exemptions or equivalent safety findings from the adopted airworthiness and environmental standards;

(iv) Maintenance requirements; and

(v) Mandatory airworthiness action taken to correct unsafe conditions.

b) "Airworthiness Criteria" means criteria governing the design, performance, materials, workmanship, manufacture, maintenance or modification of civil aeronautical products as prescribed by the civil airworthiness authority of a Party to enable it to find that the design, manufacture, and condition of these products comply with the laws, regulations, standards, and requirements of this Party concerning airworthiness.

c) "Civil Aeronautical Product" herein also referred to as "product" means any civil aircraft, or aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, material, part or component to be installed thereon, new or used.

d) "Civil Airworthiness Authority" herein also referred to as "Airworthiness Authority' means the national organization of the Party which is charged by the laws of that Party with regulating the airworthiness and environmental certification, approval, or acceptance of civil aeronautical products.

e) "Design-related operational requirements" means the operational or environmental requirements affecting either the design features of the product or data on the design relating to the operations or maintenance of the product that make it eligible for a particular kind of operation in one of the States.

f) "Environmental Criteria" means criteria governing the design, performance, materials, workmanship, manufacture, maintenance and modification of civil aeronautical products as prescribed by the civil airworthiness authority of a Party, to enable it to find that these products comply with the laws, regulations, standards, and requirements of this Party concerning noise abatement and emissions.

g) "Exporting State" means the State exporting a type design, or a modification thereof or a product under the provisions of this agreement. The airworthiness authority of the exporting State will be referred to as the exporting authority.

h) "Importing State" means the State importing a type design, or a modification thereof, or a product under the provisions of this agreement. The airworthiness authority of the importing State will be referred to as the importing authority.

i) "Maintenance" means the performance of actions to assure the airworthiness of a product, including inspections, but excludes modifications.

j) "Modification" means making a change to the type design.

k) "Party regulating the airworthiness of an aircraft" means either the Party responsible for the issuance of certificate of airworthiness for an aircraft; or the Party which has been granted an airworthiness delegation of responsibility from the Party responsible for the issuance of the certificate of airworthiness of an aircraft operating under lease or charter.

l) "Product Airworthiness Approval" means the issuance of an airworthiness certificate, approval, or acceptance, as appropriate, by or on behalf of an airworthiness authority for a particular civil aeronautical product to permit operation or use of the product under the laws, regulations, standards and requirements of the issuing Party.

m) "Time of first application" means the time that the application was received for the approval of the product type design either: by the exporting authority; or by the authority of a third State, in the case of a product type design introduced and manufactured into the exporting State from a third State with whom each of the two Parties has in effect a bilateral agreement or arrangements similar in scope.

n) "Type design" means the description of all characteristics of a product including its design, manufacture, limitations and continued airworthiness instructions which determine its airworthiness.

o) "Type Design Approval" means the issuance of a certificate, approval or acceptance, as appropriate, by or on behalf of an airworthiness authority for the type design of a product.

ARTICLE 3

Scope of Coverage

This Agreement applies to:

a) The acceptance by the importing authority of the type design approval, including environmental approval, and the finding of compliance made by the exporting authority with the importing authority's design related operational requirements for civil aeronautical products, for which the exporting authority is the basic type certification authority.

b) The acceptance by the importing authority of the airworthiness certification, approval, or acceptance of civil aeronautical products that may be exported from the other State, including both new and used products which were designed or manufactured partially or wholly in other States.

c) The acceptance by one of the Parties of maintenance or modifications performed under the authority of the other Party on aircraft, or on aircraft engines, propellers, appliances, materials, parts, or components installed or intended to be installed thereon.

d) Cooperation and assistance on continued airworthiness of in service aircraft.

e) Cooperation, assistance and exchange of information regarding safety and environmental standards and certification systems.

ARTICLE 4

Design Approval

1. If the exporting authority certifies to the importing authority that the type design of a product, or a change to a product type design previously approved by the importing authority, complies with airworthiness and environmental criteria prescribed by the importing authority, the importing authority shall, in finding compliance with its own laws, regulations, standards, and requirements for granting type design approval, give the same validity to the technical evaluations, determinations, tests and inspections made by the exporting authority as if it had made them itself, provided that the certification by the exporting authority was based on an evaluation of the type design using the same certification system it would apply to products designed in its own State.

2. The importing authority shall prescribe the airworthiness and environmental criteria for the type design approval of a particular product, in terms of the laws, regulations, standards, requirements and certification system applied by the exporting authority in granting its own type design approval together with the additional technical conditions identified below.

3. The importing authority shall have the right to become familiar with the product to be imported and with the laws, regulations, standards, requirements, and certification system applied by the exporting authority; and to identify the additional technical conditions which it finds necessary to ensure that the product meets the airworthiness and environmental standards equivalent to that which would be required for a similar product designed or manufactured in the importing State at the time of first application.

4. The airworthiness and environmental criteria specified, by the importing authority for its type design approval of a product shall be communicated to the exporting authority as soon as practicable after becoming familiar with the design of the product.

5. The importing authority, on request from the exporting authority, shall advise the exporting authority of its current design-related operational requirements. If by mutual consent between the authorities, the exporting authority certifies to the importing authority that the design of the product or data on the design relating to the operations or maintenance of the product comply with those design-related operational requirements prescribed by the importing authority, the importing authority, in finding compliance with its own operational requirements, shall give the same validity to the technical evaluations, determinations, tests and inspections made by the exporting authority as if it had made them itself. The mutual consent between the authorities may be accomplished, either on a case by case basis, or by the development of a list of specific current design related operational requirements for certain categories of products and/or operations.

ARTICLE 5

Product Airworthiness Acceptance

If the exporting authority certifies to the importing authority that a product, for which a type design approval has been issued, or is in the process of being issued by the importing authority conforms in construction to a type design description notified by the importing authority and is in a condition for safe operation, the importing authority shall give the same validity to the technical evaluations, tests, and inspections made by the exporting authority as if it had made them itself on the date of the certification by the exporting authority.

ARTICLE 6

Maintenance and Performance of Modifications

1. If maintenance or a modification is performed and certified, under the authority of one Party in accordance with the system approved by that Party with regard to the performance of the work and its certification, on an aircraft, or on any product for installation thereon, for which the other Party is the party regulating the airworthiness, the other Party shall give the same validity to the work performed and to the certifications made therefor as if they were made in its State according to its own laws, regulations, standards and requirements, providing the maintenance or modification to be performed is approved directly, or by delegation by its own airworthiness authority.

2. The two Parties may jointly determine which Party shall be the Party regulating the airworthiness of an aircraft, in the circumstances where an aircraft registered in one State is operated by an operator in the other State.

ARTICLE 7

Continued Airworthiness

1. The airworthiness authorities of both Parties shall cooperate in analyzing airworthiness aspects of accidents and incidents occurring on products to which this Agreement applies and which are such as would raise questions concerning the airworthiness of such products.

2. The exporting authority shall, in respect of products designed or manufactured in that State, accept the responsibility to specify any appropriate action, as it finds necessary to correct any unsafe condition of the type design that may be discovered after the product is placed in service, including any actions in respect of components designed and/or manufactures by a supplier under contract to a prime contractor in its State.

3. The exporting authority, shall in respect of products designed or manufactured in that State, assist the importing authority in determining any action considered to be necessary by the importing authority for the continued airworthiness of the product.

4. The airworthiness authority of each Party shall keep the airworthiness authority of the other Party informed of all mandatory airworthiness modifications, special inspections, special operating limitations, or other actions which it determines are necessary for the continued airworthiness of products designed or manufactured in either Party, that have been imported or exported under this Agreement.

ARTICLE 8

Mutual Cooperation and Assistance

1. The exporting authority shall, in respect of products designed or manufactured in that State, assist the importing authority in determining whether the design of major changes or repairs made under the control of the importing authority comply with the airworthiness and environmental standards under which the product was originally approved by the exporting authority.

2. The airworthiness authority of each Party shall ensure that the airworthiness authority of the other Party is kept informed of all relevant airworthiness and environmental laws, regulations, standards, and requirements, and of the airworthiness certification system of their Party. The airworthiness authority of each Party shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the airworthiness authority of the other Party is notified of proposed significant revisions to its standards and system for airworthiness and environmental certification or approval. To the maximum extent practicable, it shall offer the other authority an opportunity to comment. It shall give due consideration to the comments made by the other authority on the intended revision, insofar as they have an impact on the intent of this Agreement.

3. The airworthiness authorities of both Parties may agree to variations in procedures in respect to joint projects for products covered by this Agreement.

ARTICLE 9

Prevailing Interpretation

In the case of conflicting interpretations of the airworthiness or environmental criteria or design-related operational requirements prescribed by the importing authority pertaining to certifications, approvals, or acceptances under this Agreement, the interpretation of the importing authority shall prevail.

ARTICLE 10

Implementation

1. This Agreement may be implemented in accordance with procedures and conditions agreed by the airworthiness authorities of each Party and set out in a Schedule of Implementation Procedures. The procedures and conditions shall be within the basis and scope of this Agreement. The airworthiness authorities of both Parties shall jointly review these procedures and conditions from time to time and shall amend these procedures and conditions by written agreement as may be necessary to fulfil the intent of this Agreement.

2. Each Party shall keep the other Party advised as to the identity of its civil airworthiness authority. On the date of this Agreement, the civil airworthiness authority of Canada is the Aviation Regulation Directorate, Aviation Group, Department of Transport, and, on the date of this Agreement, the civil airworthiness authority of the French Republic is the Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile.

ARTICLE 11

Entry into Force

1. Each Party shall notify the other of the completing of the constitutional procedures required for this Agreement to come into force.

2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the last such notification.

ARTICLE 12

Termination

Either Party may terminate this Agreement subject to a one year prior notice.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned duly authorized to that effect, have signed this Agreement.

DONE, in duplicate in Paris, this 15th day of June 1987, in the French and English languages, each version being equally authentic.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

Lucien Bouchard

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

Jacques Douffiagues