Plenty of legal pitfalls in drone regulations

South Africa’s drone
regulations, which came
into effect in July 2015,
are considered to be
amongst the strictest in
the world – but they have
also been widely criticised
for being impractical and
lagging behind the rapid
advancement of drone
technology.
Awareness of potential
risks and legal pitfalls is
thus advisable, especially as
drones are set to be deployed
in the logistics arena
following Transnet National
Ports Authority’s successful
drone pilot project, said
Anisa Govender, senior
associate in the Shipping and
Logistics division at legal
firm, Bowmans.
And while there are
obvious benefits of using
drones, there are concerns:
drones could malfunction,
be lost at sea or fall onto a
vessel. And there is also
the ever-present threat of
terrorism.
There are currently no
common or international
rules governing the use of
drones and Govender said
regulations differed from
one country to another
but that failure to comply
with any given legislation
could lead to criminal
prosecution.