Although we prefer not to think about it, we unfortunately might end up having to defend one of our decisions in front of a court. However, the judiciary does not always have the necessary expertise to fully understand aviation cases. This is why we need to work hand-in-hand with them, in order to provide them with all the tools to help them make the right decision. Every year, the Eurocontrol Just Culture task force, in collaboration with IFATCA (International Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations) and ECA (European Cockpit Association), organises a 3-day prosecutor expert course.

Even with the definition at hand, the concept of Just Culture is so broad that it is easy to get confused and – especially – confuse others. This workshop therefore aims at creating a European pool of experts who can assist prosecutors and judges in gaining relevant expertise in aviation cases and explain to them the importance of applying Just Culture principles.

During this year’s edition (May 2015), representatives of Eurocontrol, ECA, IFATCA and prosecutors made excellent and hopeful speeches that confirmed a shared belief on the importance of Just Culture. After presenting real-life cases, the Eurocontrol conference room was converted into a true court room where

• real prosecutors and defence solicitors tried to convince a real judge using real pilot/ATM experts. This exercise was a superb platform to:
• prepare experts for their neutral and informative role in a court case
• give the judiciary insights in the technical complexity of aviation matters

In less than 3 days, this course managed to convince judiciary people of the values of Just Culture, while showing pilots and ATM experts that prosecutors are not per se ‘the bad guys’, but are looking for relevant expertise to ensure correct administration of justice. This workshop is a prime example of international interdisciplinary communication. And – as we all know – communication is a pre-requisite for trust.

How is BeCA involved?

The 376/2014 regulation urges Civil Aviation Authorities to make ‘advance arrangements with their judiciary counterparts’. This is indeed critical, if we want to build and maintain the trust of reporters. We only need one (mishandled) court case to blow away the tremendous efforts that have been made to implement this piece of legislation. BeCA remains in close contact with the BCAA to monitor the progress on these advance arrangements.