Awford Legal - Aerospace, Product Liability, Insurance & Re-Insurance, Commercial Litigation, Arbitration, & Alternative Dispute Resolution
Professional Qualifications
Ian Awford LL.B, FRAeS, FSALS.
| 1963 | LL.B (Hons) |
|---|---|
| 1988 | FRAeS (Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society) |
| 1998 | FSALS (Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies University of London) |
| Solicitor: | England and Wales Hong Kong |
| Legal Practitioner: | New South Wales Tasmania The Federal Court of Australia The High Court of Australia |
| Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution: | Appointed by IATA as an arbitrator Arbitrator on the Royal Aeronautical Society Panel of Arbitrators CEDR accredited mediator |
Career
| July 1967 | Admitted as a Solicitor (England & Wales) |
|---|---|
| 1967-1969 | Assistant Solicitor - Richardson Sadler & Co (London, W1) |
| 1969-1973 | Assistant Solicitor - Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (London, EC4) |
| 1973-2001 | Partner: Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (London, Hong Kong and Shanghai) |
| 2002 to August 2006 | Partner - Ebsworth & Ebsworth - then Special Counsel Ebsworth & Ebsworth / HWL Ebsworth |
| July 2009 to date | Principal - Awford Legal |
Legal Specialties
| Aviation Extending to a wide area of aviation law and practically all aspects of | Extending to a wide area of aviation law and practically all aspects of the aviation industry - ranging from product liability (manufacturing and design defects through to software errors) to legal issues relating to airports, air traffic control, engineering and maintenance MROs/FBOs, international air law conventions, commercial agreements of all kinds (ground handling through to code sharing and aircraft acquisition, leases and repossessions), conflict of laws, forum shopping, the application of foreign laws and all relevant aspects of aviation insurance and reinsurance (including the interpretation of policy terms, Conditions, warranties and exclusions, non-disclosure, misrepresentation, declinature and avoidance, double insurance, salvage provisions, conflict of laws, subrogation, reinsurance and regulatory issues). |
|---|---|
| Product Liability | Covering an extensive range of products from bicycles to warships, aircraft (aircraft engines, landing gears and all other aircraft components) to power station generators, motor vehicles to space satellites. Involving such matters as contract interpretation, international private law issues (choice of law, jurisdiction, forum non conveniens,anti-suit injunctions), product recall, together with the myriad of other legal issues that can arise. |
| Outer Space | Dealing with various kinds of launch and in-orbit insurance, reinsurance and retrocession contract interpretation, application and disputes. |
| Insurance & Reinsurance | All forms of insurance and reinsurance dispute and coverage issues. Insurance & reinsurance policy drafting, interpretation and application, covering the areas mentioned above and also professional indemnity, directors and officers and other specialised forms of insurance. |
Significant international experience in aerospace cases including investigations in,
and legal analysis of the laws of, many countries other than the United Kingdom and
Australia including:
Aden/Yemen, Austria, Belgium, Borneo, Brunei, Cook Islands, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece,
Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Macedonia, Malta, Mauritius,
Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, the Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, the Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan,
Tonga, Turkey, the UAE, the Ukraine, the USA and Zambia.
Notable Cases
Acting for various interests in major aviation accident and space law cases.
[Key: Representation of:
AC = the air carrier;
ATC = Air Traffic Control or Airport;
M = Manufacturer (of the aircraft or component part);
I = Insurance dispute;
II = Inter-insurer dispute;
CFIT = Controlled flight into terrain.]
Aviation
- British Airways Trident -- Heathrow (M)
- Turkish Airlines DC10 - Ermanville Forest near Paris (Structural failure) (M)
- Sumburgh HS148 (Runway excursion) (M)
- Zagreb - British Airways Trident and Inex Adria DC9 (Mid-air collision) (AC)
- Tenerife - KLM B747 and PanAm B747 (Ground collision) (ATC)
- Zambian Airways - Lusaka (Structural failure of horizontal stabiliser) (M)
- Saudi Arabian L-1011 at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Fire) (AC)
- Boeing Chinook - Aschaffenburg, Germany (Rotor Blade clash and detachment) (M)
- British Airtours B737 - Manchester (Fire) (M)
- South African Airways - B747 (Helderberg (Fire) (AC)
- Avianca B747 - Madrid (CFIT) (ATC)
- Dan Air Boeing 727 - 100 - Tenerife (CFIT) (ATC)
- Iberia/Spantax - Madrid (Ground collision) (ATC)
- Bell 212/Puma - Abu Dhabi (Mid Air Collision) (AC)
- Air India B747 - The Atlantic off southern Ireland (Bomb) (Arbitration) (II)
- Surinam Airways DC8 - Paramaribo (CFIT) (AC)
- PanAm Lockerbie disaster (Bomb) (Air Malta) (AC)
- Kuwait Airways B747 out of Bangkok (Hijack) (AC)
- Martinair DC10 - Faro (Crash on Landing - Wind shear and Microbursts) (ATC)
- MiL8 - The Maldives (Excessive Rate of Descent) (M)
- PIA A300 - Kathmandu (CFIT) (Approach Plate design) (M)
- Turkish Airlines B737 - Lake Van, Turkey (CFIT) (AC)
- Saudi Arabian Airlines B747 - Kazakhstan Airways IL76 - Delhi . (Mid-air collision) (AC)
- Virgin Atlantic A340 (MLG failure) (M)
- Sabena A340 - Brussels (MLG failure) (M)
- Air Lviv/ Aerosweet Airlines - Thessaloniki (CFIT) (AC)
- Concorde - Paris (Fire) (M)
- Lockhart River Aircrash Queensland, Australia (CFIT) (Approach plate) (I)
Outer Space
- Arabsat 1A (Non operative "DIRAs") (I)
- Arabsat 1B (Fuel quantitydispute) (I)
- Insat IC (EIectrical depletion) (I)
- Asiasat IB (Anomalous transmission footprint) (I)
- BSS 702 Series Satellites - retrocession dispute - (Solar array concentrator problems) (II)
Other
- Fire on HMAS Westralia - Litigation in the Federal Court of Australia (Diesel fuel pipe problems) (I) (Marine product liability)
- Directors & Officers issues in the aftermath of the collapse of Ansett Airlines (I)
Associations
| Past Chairman | The Outer Space Committee of the International Bar Association The Aerospace Law Committee of the Inter Pacific Bar Association |
|---|---|
| Member | The Aviation Law Association of Australia and New Zealand The International Institute of Space Law (regular pro bono presiding judge of the Asia Pacific Regional Finals of the IISL Manfred Lachs international university space law moot competition) The American Bar Association (TIPS, Air Law, Air and Space Law Forum) Asia Pacific Bar Association (Founding member) International Astronautical Federation International Bar Association |
Publications
Developments in Aviation Product Liability Lloyds of London Press
Numerous papers, articles and conference presentations on Air Law, Product Liability, Private International law and Space law