A Law Library of Congress report titled Regulation of Drones surveys the rules that apply to the operation of civilian drones in twelve countries, as well as the European Union. The report includes individual country studies on Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
It also contains a comparative summary that provides information about the International Civil Aviation Organization’s 2011 circular titled Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (CIR328).
The report notes the criteria selected by the surveyed countries and by the EU for implementing a number of operational requirements. Such criteria often include the weight and/or type of use of drones. It also addresses specific topics such as registration and labeling of drones, flight authorization information, and requirements for drone operator qualifications. Specific attention is given to the coverage of operational requirements, including spatial restrictions, radio communication rules, operating drones within visual line of sight, safety features of drones, insurance, and real-time supervision systems. Laws regarding the protection of privacy, which are often separate from the specific drone regulations but may apply to using drones to record information, are also discussed.
Source: Library of Congress