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air services far beyond the scope of the Yamoussoukro Decision by implementing the following: • Market access (Yamoussoukro Decision, Article 6): Any air carrier is eligible provided it is substantially owned and effectively controlled by a COMESA member state or its nationals. It must demonstrate financial, managerial, and technical ability to perform the services, which is also a condition for receiving an air operator’s certificate (COMESA Secretariat 1999, Article 3). However, in contrast with the Yamoussoukro Decision where traffic rights are notified on a bilateral basis between two or, in cases of fifth freedom flights three, countries, COMESA carriers are able to operate between any destination within COMESA. Carriers can also use aircraft registered in and owned by any COMESA state or its nationals (Article 4). • Traffic rights (Yamoussoukro Decision, Article 3): Legal Notice No. 2 set forth the principle of free movement of air transport services within COMESA (COMESA Secretariat 1999, Article 2 [b]). This explicitly includes cabotage rights, which were only excluded during phase I. • Tariffs (Yamoussoukro Decision, Article 4): No specific regulations are set forth with regard to air services, but the preamble to Legal Notice No. 2 states that all COMESA member states have agreed on the removal of all tariff and nontariff barriers to facilitate the establishment of a free trade area, implying that air services would also be free from any tariff regulation. • Capacity and frequency (Yamoussoukro Decision, Article 5): Legal Notice No. 2 notes that no restriction of capacity shall be imposed during phase II. This is explicitly mentioned in the case of fifth freedom rights even though traffic in COMESA is free, including cabotage. (COMESA Secretariat 1999, Article 5, para. 2 [c]) As concerns equipment, another explicit rule states that no restrictions on types and capacity of aircraft shall be made (Article 7). Nevertheless, similar to Article 11.4 of the Yamoussoukro Decision, COMESA carriers are encouraged to establish intra-COMESA airline alliances and commercial arrangements as long as these arrangements do not undermine COMESA’s competition rules and regulations (Article 6). Despite the clear and concise liberalization program contained in Legal Notice No. 2, its adoption was stalled in 2001 when COMESA’s Council