Privileged and Priority Claims
The Geneva Convention sets up clear priority rules for rights in aircraft.
The ranking is as follows: 1) claims based on customs, immigration and air navigation charges imposed by national law (Art. XII);
2) costs of judicial sale (Art. VII(6)b);
3) sale in respect of spare parts (Art. X);
4) salvage and preservation claims (Art. IV(1)a & b), These “priority claims” are rights in rem which have to be respected only if the lex situs (the law of the state where the rescue and preservation took place) recognises them as having priority
5) claims arising from damage to
persons on the ground (Art. VII(5)), 6) Article I rights, and 7) other rights
according to their status under the national law of the aircraft.
The question which of the registered rights in Article I takes priority is
left open by the Geneva Convention.
It merely requires the Contracting State to recognise the registered rights whereby their priority is left to national law.
It is therefore questionable, whether the state in which the enforcement
proceedings will take place will respect the priority rules of the registration
state.