Working arrangement - Switzerland

Working Arrangement between the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Department of Transport of Canada and the Federal Office of Civil Aviation of Switzerland for the Promotion of Aviation Safety

The Civil Aviation Directorate of the Department of Transport of Canada and the Federal Office of Civil Aviation of Switzerland (the Participants),

Desiring to promote aviation safety and environmental quality and compatibility and facilitate the exchange of Civil Aeronautical Products;

Noting common concerns for the safe operation of civil aircraft;

Recognising the emerging trend toward multinational design, production, and interchange of civil aeronautical products;

Desiring to enhance cooperation and increase efficiency in matters relating to civil aviation and its safety;

Considering the possible reduction of the economic burden imposed on the aviation industry and operators by redundant technical inspections, evaluations, and testing;

Recognising that the standards and systems for airworthiness approvals and environmental certification or acceptance of Civil Aeronautical Products are sufficiently similar to make this Arrangement practicable;

Recognising the mutual benefit of improved procedures for the reciprocal acceptance of approvals and testing as regards airworthiness, environmental protection, aircraft maintenance facilities, and continuing airworthiness;

Recognising that any such reciprocal acceptance needs to offer an assurance of conformity with applicable technical regulations or standards equivalent to the assurance offered by a Participant’s own procedures;

Recognising that any such reciprocal acceptance also requires confidence by each Participant in the continued reliability of the other Participant’s conformity assessments;

Recognising the respective commitments of the Participants under bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements and arrangements dealing with civil aviation safety and environmental compatibility;

Considering the Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the European Community on Air Transport, signed on 21 June 1999;

Considering the full participation of Switzerland in the Management Board of the European Aviation Safety Agency (hereinafter referred to as “EASA”) based on Decision 3/2006 of 27 October 2006 of the Community/Switzerland Air Transport Committee;

Considering the Agreement on Civil Aviation Safety between Canada and the European Community, signed on 6 May 2009 (the Agreement);

Anticipating the mutual benefits of concluding a similar Agreement on Civil Aviation Safety between Canada and the Swiss Confederation;

Recognising the need for a temporary administrative solution to ensure the continuity of aviation safety activities until such time as a similar Agreement on Civil Aviation Safety between Canada and the Swiss Confederation has entered into force;

Have reached the following understanding:

I. Purpose of This Arrangement

1. To recognise the mutual benefits of entering into an arrangement which will reflect the technical elements related to aviation safety contained in the Agreement;
2. To facilitate the recognition and the acceptance by each Participant of the other Participant's approvals and testing as regards, airworthiness, environmental protection, aircraft maintenance facilities and continuing airworthiness; and
3. To provide for cooperation in sustaining an equivalent level of safety and environmental objectives with respect to aviation safety.

II. Arrangements and Understandings

1. The Participants concur that similar technical elements related to aviation safety as those contained in the Agreement, attached in Annex I, will be administratively applied by the Participants.
2. Unless otherwise specified, this Arrangement will apply, on the one hand, to the territory of Switzerland and on the other hand, to the territory of Canada.
3. The Competent Authorities of Switzerland will take any measure necessary to ensure the timely application of all relevant EU aviation safety regulatory requirements in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the European Community on Air Transport, signed on 21 June 1999.

III. Definition

In order to apply this Arrangement, when the text of the Agreement refers to “Technical Agent”, it means for the purpose of this Arrangement, for Canada, the Canadian organization responsible for civil aviation and for Switzerland, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

IV. Additional Arrangements

Upon the incorporation into the Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the European Community on Air Transport, signed on 21 June 1999, of legal acts extending the European Aviation Safety Agency’s competence to air operations, flight crew licensing and the approval of synthetic training devices, or any other areas, the Participants may decide on additional annexes, including transitional arrangements, specific to each area in accordance with the procedure in Paragraph XI of this Arrangement.

V. Agreements

Except where otherwise specified in future Annexes or required by Switzerland’s obligations under the Agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the European Community on Air Transport, signed on 21 June 1999, obligations contained in agreements concluded by either Party with a third country not party to this Arrangement will not have effect with regard to the other Participant in terms of acceptance of the results of conformity assessment procedures in the third country.

VI. Competent authorities for design approvals and production oversight

1. Competent authorities as regards design approvals
   
   for Canada: the Canadian organisation responsible for civil aviation.
   for Switzerland: the European Aviation Safety Agency
2. Competent authorities as regards production oversight
   
   for Canada: the Canadian organisation responsible for civil aviation.
   for Switzerland: the Federal Office of Civil Aviation and the European Aviation Safety Agency.

VII. Competent authority to certify maintenance organisations

For Canada: the Canadian organization responsible for civil aviation.
For Switzerland: the Federal Office of Civil Aviation.

VIII. Differences of Interpretation or Application

Any difference regarding the interpretation or application of this Arrangement will be resolved by consultation between the Participants.

IX. Consultation

Each Participant may at any time request a meeting with the other Participant for the purposes of consulting on any matter related to this Arrangement. The Participants will make all reasonable efforts to accommodate these requests.

X. Point of Contact

The Participants designate as their respective points of contact:

For the Civil Aviation Directorate of Transport Canada:

Director, Standards
330 Sparks Street
Place de Ville, Tower C
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0N5

For the Federal Office of Civil Aviation of Switzerland:

Director General
Mühlestrasse 2, 3063 Ittigen
Postal address: 3003 Bern, Switzerland

XI. Amendment

1. The Participants may amend in writing this Arrangement by mutual consent.
2. With the aim to ensure a coherent application of similar technical elements as those contained in the Agreement and this Arrangement, the Participants will shall, immediately after amendments have been proposed to the Agreement, initiate a procedure with a view to identifying corresponding amendments that should be made, when possible, in this Arrangement and come into effect at the same time as the amendments to the Agreement.
3. An amendment to this Arrangement will come into effect on the date of the latest written notification by one Participant to the other Participant to that effect.

XII. Withdrawal and Termination

1. Either Participant may terminate this Arrangement at any time upon six months’ written notification to the other Participant, unless the notice of termination is withdrawn by mutual consent of the Participants before the expiry of the six months’ notification period.
2. Following termination of this Arrangement, each Participant shall maintain the validity of any Airworthiness Approvals, Environmental Approvals or certificates issued under this Arrangement prior to its termination subject to their continued compliance with that Participant’s applicable laws and regulations.

XIII. Effective Date and Signature

This Arrangement will come into effect on the later of the date of the last signature and the date of the entry into force of the Agreement.

Signed at Montreal, in duplicate, on this 7th day of October 2010, in the English and French languages, each version being equally valid.

For the Federal Office of Civil Aviation

Annex I

Agreement on Civil Aviation Safety between Canada and the European Community

[...insert final text of the agreement of 6 May 2009 between the European Community and Canada...]