Navigating the Skies of Legal Research: Aviation Law: A Legal Research Guide
The law of the skies is as intricate as the activity it governs. From commercial airlines and aircraft manufacturers to student pilots and aviation hobbyists, aviation law touches a wide range of participants. For researchers entering this specialized field, Robert Linz’s Aviation Law: A Legal Research Guide offers a clear and practical starting point.
About the Author — Robert M. Linz
Robert M. Linz currently serves as Associate Director of the Law Library at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, where he teaches legal research and assists in library administration. Linz’s combined experience as a legal researcher, librarian, and educator positions him well for guiding others into a complex field like aviation law, making his research guide particularly credible and user-oriented.
A Comprehensive Introduction to Aviation Law
Linz begins his guide with a broad historical and conceptual overview, tracing aviation law’s evolution from early flight innovations through to modern international conventions. He discusses treaties such as the Paris Convention of 1919, the Warsaw Convention of 1929, and the Montreal Convention of 1999, showing how nations balance sovereignty with international standards on safety, liability, and passenger rights.
In the U.S., Linz recounts how Congress, the Civil Aeronautics Authority, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other regulatory bodies have shaped aviation law via statutes, administrative rules, and regulatory guidance. These layered sources—international, federal, and agency—form the complex legal ecosystem that aviation law researchers must navigate.
Guidance for Researchers
Recognizing the challenge of navigating such a layered field, Linz offers detailed strategies for locating relevant sources:
- Primary sources: He directs researchers to statutes, regulations, treaties, and agency guidance documents.
- Secondary sources: He highlights useful secondary materials such as ALR annotations, scholarly symposia, and specialized aviation law–oriented guides maintained by law libraries and universities.
In Part IV, the guide is organized around substantive topics, including:
- Accidents and investigations
- Pilot and aircraft certifications
- Airports and enforcement actions
- Passenger rights (delays, baggage, disabilities, service animals)
- Hobbyist concerns, such as light-sport aviation
This structure helps researchers quickly identify the legal authorities most relevant to their queries, whether involving regulatory compliance, international liability, or consumer protections in air travel.
Practical Tools and Appendices
To make the guide not just theoretical but also usable, Linz includes four appendices that gather curated resources:
- Airline policies
- Aviation lawyer associations
- Pilot associations
- Aircraft manufacturers
These appendices offer ready access to relevant organizations and documents, enabling legal researchers to move seamlessly from theory to practice.
A Valuable Starting Point
As Linz states, the aim of Aviation Law: A Legal Research Guide is to provide “an overview of aviation law and [a] useful starting point for … aviation law legal research journeys.” For lawyers, researchers, and law students new to or working within this field, the guide combines clarity, structure, and depth. It demystifies a specialized area of law while helping readers build confidence in their research approach.
If you’re preparing to navigate the legal skies, Robert Linz’s research guide is a reliable compass. Additional information regarding Aviation Law: A Legal Research Guide is available at https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/fac_books/74/.