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DSR 11C
efinition of ivilege as a ole in the rst half and
us means "any ich exclusive
ivilege which is ecifically 'anted".
6. The Text
The words in the second sentence that cause controversy are "specifically" and "on an exclusive basis" in the phrase "specifically grant any such privilege (ie cabotage rights] on an exclusive basis". Further uncertainty is engendered by the omission of "specifically" from the phrase "and not to obtain any such exclusive privilege". The inconsistency between the two halves of the sentence can be reconciled by saying that "any such privilege" must refer back to the
7. It can be argued that the inclusion of "specifically" permits the grant of cabotage rights on an exclusive basis provided that it is not "specified" in the air services agreement that these are exclusive rights (see Cheng, Law This argument of International Air Transport, page 315). favours interpretation (5).
The
8. On the other hand "specifically" could serve to remove any impression, which might arise from the wording of the first sentence of Article 7, that the grant of cabotage privileges was to be assumed unless permission was specifically refused, or, more plausibly, that cabotage would result from a general grant of traffic rights. word "specifically" would relate to the grant, while the exclusive character would be an adjunct of the privilege specifically granted. This argument is expounded in paragraph 5.1 to 5.6 of the ICAO Secretary-General's paper This favours C-WP/4460 of 24/10/66 (attached as Annex 3). interpretation (a).
1.
&
9. The principal defect with the argument in paragraph 7 above is that the word "specifically" clearly qualifies "grant" rather than "on an exclusive basis", and does not re-appear in conjunction with the last ning words of the
paragraph is also difficult. sentence. However,Examining solely the text of Article 7, reading the use of "specifically" as counter-balancing an impression not derived from any express reference to rights
9025 granted "generally" beyond mere intrepretation of
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/of the words