Aviation Anthology Vol 1 2026 - Digital Version - Flipbook - Page 8
The amendment does not introduce sanctions. Instead,
it narrows the scope for delay or non-publication by
clarifying responsibilities, reinforcing investigative
independence and addressing evidential and reporting
barriers.
Amendment 20 has been circulated to Contracting
States by ICAO State Letter. A consolidated edition of
Annex 13 incorporating the amendment has not yet
been published. Accordingly, current analysis of the
amendment necessarily relies on ICAO explanatory
material and on Council Decision (EU) 2026/714 of
17 March 2026, which sets out the European Union’s
position on adoption. While that Decision does not
reproduce the amended text, it describes the purpose,
scope and legal effects of the amendment with sufficient
clarity.[6] The principal features of Amendment 20
include:
O Reaffirmation of State of Occurrence responsibility:
Amendment 20 re-affirms responsibility squarely with
the State of Occurrence. It clarifies, in unequivocal
terms, that the obligation imposed by Annex 13 is
not simply to initiate an investigation, but to institute,
conduct, complete and publish it. Investigations are
no longer to be treated as open-ended processes
that can lapse into inertia. The purpose of this
clarification is explicit: to prevent investigations
being prematurely terminated, indefinitely paused,
or concluded in substance but never brought to
publication by the stalling of a final report.
O Explicit treatment of conflicts of interest: For the
first time, Annex 13 confronts conflicts of interest
directly and explicitly. Amendment 20 acknowledges
that such situations do arise and that, where they do,
continued investigation by the State of Occurrence
may undermine confidence in the process and its
outcomes. Formal delegation—whether to another
state or to a regional investigation body—is therefore
reframed as a legitimate and necessary tool to
preserve credibility. This represents a substantive
shift. Delegation was previously permitted but
loosely framed. Crucially, because delegation is now
explicitly tied to the continuing duty to complete
and publish a final report, it can no longer be used—
expressly or by default—as a means of distancing
the State of Occurrence from accountability or
explaining non-compliance.
O Strengthening evidential access: Amendment
20 removes language that had, in practice,
been relied upon to justify delayed, restricted or
qualified disclosure of accident evidence. In its
place, Amendment 20 makes clear that accident
investigation authorities must be afforded
unrestricted and timely access to all relevant
evidential material. This change is directed squarely
at scenarios in which access to wreckage, recordings,
data or witness material has been subject to
judicial, security or administrative controls, with
consequential delay or erosion of investigative
findings.
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DAC Beachcroft
O Independence from criminal proceedings:
Amendment 20 reinforces the principle that the
existence of criminal or other judicial investigation
does not justify suspension of the Annex 13
investigation nor the non-publication of a final
report. Safety investigation is no longer to be treated
as contingent upon the resolution of other legal
processes. Where such proceedings exist, they must
be managed alongside—not in substitution for—
the obligation to complete and publish the safety
investigation in accordance with Annex 13.
Most substantive Amendment 20 changes will come
into force from November 2028. In the intervening
period, ICAO is to provide updated manuals and
regional workshops, where needed, to help member
states implement these changes into national law by
the 2028 deadline. Taken as a whole, the significance
of Amendment 20 lies in tightening expectations and
narrowing the discretion historically relied upon to justify
delay or non-publication.
Conclusion: a change in expectations
Amendment 20 does not convert Annex 13 into an
enforcement regime. It does, however, reflect a change
in expectations. Prolonged silence following an air
accident is no longer viewed merely as an unfortunate
consequence of investigative process, but as a factor
liable to undermine confidence in the international
aviation safety framework.
It is perhaps interesting to examine the stance of the
Air Accidents Investigation Branch (“AAIB”), the UK
government investigator of aviation incidents and
accidents. In their 2024 Annual Safety Review, they
provided an overview of investigation status – noting
that in a single calendar year they initiated 20 filed
investigations, 57 correspondence investigations
and supported 53 new overseas investigations which
involved UK interests in some way. In the same year,
the AAIB published 36 field investigations, a further 65
conducted by correspondence, and 160 described as
“record-only investigations”.[7]
On its website, the AAIB keeps a running record of its
“current field investigations”. At the time of writing there
are more than 25 ongoing investigations and it is worth
noting that the oldest of these dates back to June 2022.
For aviation insurers and claims handlers, the
absence of a final report does not extinguish liability.
Instead, it prolongs uncertainty, delays resolution and
increases cost. For these reasons, publication remains
indispensable to effective legal and insurance outcomes.
Silence preserves uncertainty; investigation exists to
resolve it.
Aviation Anthology 2026 - Volume I
