Analysis of Non-Consensual Rights and Interests
under Article 39 of the Cape Town Convention
John Pritchard and David Lloyd*
This article will analyse how Article 39 entitled ‘Rights having priority without registration’ should be understood and
applied under the Convention to aircraft objects. It begins with a review of the general history and policies behind both
generic and aircraft-specific non-consensual rights and interests, and rights of detention with respect to aircraft, and how
they have related in terms of priority to consensual interests. The article discusses the Article 39 policy objectives and
conflicts within the purposes and intended benefits of the Convention and the Aircraft Protocol. It then compares the
priority rules in Articles 29, 39 and 40 in relation to non-consensual rights and interests and describes how Article 39
works within the Convention. We then focus on the differing categories of non-consensual rights or interests that have been
declared to date and conclude with policy suggestions for Contracting States in making their declarations under Article 39.
The final section analyzes practical examples of enforcement of the Convention where non-consensual rights or interests
may arise.