“FLYING WITHOUT SOULS” A Comparative Analysis of Laws Governing Drones in Sri Lanka and the European Union

Abstract

This research evaluates whether the degree of consistency and relevancy of drone and UAV laws existing in the Sri Lankan legal regime is sufficient to cater for society's needs compared to the laws governing in the European Union. To reach the objective of the research, it adopted a qualitative research method that includes personnel interviews, a library-based black letter approach, and a comparative analysis of international materials. In the inception of the discussion, this research highlights the challenge of formulating a viable and normative law in character pertaining to drones, which is an inevitably necessary and integral task. In the research, both the European Union Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 of 2019 and the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka's regulation UAS-IS-2022 on Implementing Standards Requirements for the Operation of Pilotless Aircraft were extensively examined to identify the credentials for the operation of unmanned aircraft in the two regimes. In the analysis of EU Regulation (EU) 2019/947, it was found and appreciated that higher consistency prevailed in the regulations governing drones on the regulations affecting registration, certification, privacy rights, assessing operator competency, and commercial utilisation compared to the SL regime. The research concludes that the SL regulation for Implementing Standards UAS-IS-2022, Requirements for the Operation of Pilotless Aircraft, entails significant legal flaws in the areas of registration, certification, privacy rights, assessing operator competency, and commercial utilisation. Finally, the research proposed six recommendations based on its findings to rectify the existing defaults in the prevailing drone regulations in SL.