The International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, (in a fashion not exactly common to government-created regulatory bodies) seems to do exactly what it's name implies. It is an international organization that oversees civil aviation. Wow.
Function
When the ICAO was first provisionally created (see History below), it was created with the following intent:
"WHEREAS the future development of international civil aviation can greatly help to create and preserve friendship and understanding among the nations and peoples of the world, yet its abuse can become a threat to the general security; and
WHEREAS it is desirable to avoid friction and to promote that co-operation between nations and peoples upon which the peace of the world depends;
THEREFORE, the undersigned governments having agreed on certain principles and arrangements in order that international civil aviation may be developed in a safe and orderly manner and that international air transport services may be established on the basis of equality of opportunity and operated soundly and economically;
Have accordingly concluded this Convention to that end."
The ICAO attempts to meet these goals by standardizing every aspect of civil aviation, from air traffic control equipment to the laws governing air traffic in member states. Basically, the philosophy is if everybody behaves the same, we'll have less problems. I'm not so sure if everything is going as smoothly as they hoped, but hey, at least they had good intentions, right?
History
The ICAO were provisionally founded December 7, 1944 in Chicago when the Convention of International Civil Aviation put forth a proposal to create a body known as the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO). At that convention, the purpose of PICAO (and the ICAO) was described. PICAO existed from June 6, 1945 to April 4, 1947 when it became the ICAO as it is today. By October of 1947, the United Nations linked the ICAO to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Online
The ICAO can be found online at <http://www.icao.int/>.
References
Anonymous. ICAO's Aims. <http://www.icao.int/cgi/goto.pl?icao/en/about.htm>
Anonymous. Take-off. <http://www.icao.int/icao/en/takeoff.htm> |
