Report No. 156

Tokyo Convention, 1963

10.18. According to Article 1, when a person on board has unlawfully committed, by force or threat thereof, an act of interference, seizure or wrongful exercise of control of an aircraft in flight or when such an act is about to the committed, contracting States shall take all appropriate measures to restore control of the aircraft to its lawful commander or to preserve its control of the aircraft.

Further, the contracting State, when the aircraft lands, shall permit its passengers and crew to continue their journey as soon as practicable and shall return the aircraft and its cargo to the persons lawfully entitled to the possession. Article 13 further provides that any contracting. State shall take the delivery of any person whom the aircraft commander delivers and that it shall immediately make a preliminary enquiry into the facts.

It is clear from the above provisions that an attempt to define the term 'hijacking' has not been made, but it simply imposes certain obligations upon a contracting State and lays more emphasis in the return of the hijacked aircraft and its passengers to those persons who are entitled to its possession and to permit its passengers and crew to continue their journey as soon as practicable.