Publications History

The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) were responsible for the production and publication of Joint Aviation Requirements (JARs) and the associated guidance and administrative documents.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), formally started its work on 28 September 2003, taking over the responsibility for regulating airworthiness and maintenance issues within the EU Member States.1 EASA was established through Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 July 2002 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency.

During the course of 2003 the airworthiness and maintenance Joint Aviation Requirements (JARs) of the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) were transposed/converted into EASA regulatory measures.  Some (e.g. JAR-21, JAR-145, …) became Implementing Rules (IR) through a Commission Regulation, and others became Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) and Certification Specifications (CS) through Agency decisions.  As they were finalised, these requirements were made available on EASA's website (www.easa.eu.int) as EASA IR, AMC or CS.

JAA retained its function for operations and licensing as well as airworthiness and maintenance issues for the JAA member states outside EASA.

The publications for operations and licensing (JAR-FCL, JAR-OPS, JAR-STD, JAR-26, JAR MMEL/MEL) were not affected by these developments.  JAA also continued with the publication of both JAR-11 (JAA Rulemaking procedures), as well as JAR-1, which had been partly transposed to EASA.

For the airworthiness and maintenance JARs the situation was different; these developments had consequences for the JAA publications for airworthiness and maintenance issues.  It was agreed within the JAA that

• on-going availability of JARs was necessary for some JAA members and, more generally, formed a useful bridge in the transition from JARs to EASA material,
• the primary vehicle for advancing European aviation safety requirements would be through the development of the EASA measures,
• where EASA has taken responsibility for a field of aviation, JAA would not continue developing JARs separately from EASA IR, CS and related material, and
• efforts were made to progress the JARs to achieve harmonisation with EASA IR, AMC, and CS.

Against this background, the JAA continued to publish "JARs", however, in the cases where EASA measures existed, these JARs would consist only of a JAR cover page, as well as a reference to the relevant EASA document.

JAA discontinued developing NPAs on airworthiness and maintenance JARs, but encouraged customers to comment on EASA NPAs, the result of which was adopted by the JAA with a view to their Liaison Function on behalf of non-EASA JAA Members.

With the publication of the revised EC Regulation 1592/2002 on 19 of March 2008 (revised document: EC Regulation 216/2008), EASA also became competent in the fields of Operations and Licensing.

The JAA issued three basic types of documents:

• JARs
  JARs contain both requirements and advisory material (Advisory Circulars Joint (ACJ); Advisory Material Joint (AMJ); Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) and Interpretative and Explanatory Material (IEM)).
• Administrative and Guidance Material (A&GM)
  This material was published to provide further information regarding the various JAA activities and JARs.  This includes the Joint Implementation Procedures as well as Temporary Guidance Material and Interim Policies.
• NPAs (Notice of Proposed Amendments (to JARs) are draft proposals for public consultation).

JAA publications (historic per 30 June 2009) are available for purchase via our publisher IHS.