On February 10th, 2015, Law No. 5400/15 – On Surveillance and Protection of the Paraguayan Airspace –which sets forth a series mechanisms and procedures that enable the Paraguayan Air Forces to monitor, intercept and order the landing of an aircraft, where such aircraft demonstrates an irregular flight, was sanctioned by the Executive Power.
The objective of the law is to establish mechanisms and procedures that enable the Paraguayan Air Forces to utilize its operational elements with the purpose of monitoring and protecting the Paraguayan Airspace. The law defines the four basic duties applicable to the monitoring and protection process, which are: detection, identification, interception and interdiction.
Moreover, the Paraguayan Air Force is entitled, in certain circumstances, to force any aircraft, whether public or private, national or foreign, to land through the implementation of deterrent measures. Such circumstances include the invasion of the Paraguayan Airspace, without permission, or authorization to fly over, from the Air Traffic Authority or where an aircraft has been seen dropping articles within the national territory, infringing current legislation on such matter.
In addition, the Air Forces may employ all the means that it deems necessary in order to force an aircraft to land in the indicated aerodrome, and shall inform the facts to the judicial and prosecution organisms. The owner or operator or any individual or corporation that is affected by the interception or interdiction of the aircraft concerned shall not be entitled to any sort of indemnity from the Paraguayan State.
The Law also foresees the basic steps to be observed by the pilots when intercepting aircrafts and enables them to make use of warning shots in case all legal means for the identification and eventual landing of the offending aircraft have been exhausted. The Law does not foresee the shoot-down of the aircraft.
A copy of the Law (in Spanish), may be found here.