Warsaw / Montreal Convention

Warsaw Convention is one of the earliest in the aviation history. But when we talk about Warsaw convention we must talk about half a dozen of protocols and amendment to it. Eventually, it was replaced and its amendments by the Montreal convention on 1999. 

The convention was signed in Warsaw 1929, a long time ago. It was then amended at The Hague in 1955. Another amendment was made in 1971 in Guatemala City. In 1975 several protocols know as Montreal additional protocols were made to change the convention as well. All those changes were made to modernize and add new provisions to comply with modern requirements. 

In 1999 in Montreal, a new convention with the same name was signed. It was made as a replacement to the old convention with all its amendments. 

The convention’s full name is: “The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air”. From the name, we conclude that it is concerned with unifying and putting standards to air transportation. It applies to all international carriage of persons, baggage or cargo performed by air. 

We have to say that the Warsaw convention was not so popular among passengers. This was because it didn’t only put standards to air traffic; it also had a very important provision to limit the carriers’ liability in case of damage. You, as a passenger, have the right to compensation in case of damage. The Warsaw convention (and its amendments) was used as a legal instrument to limit this liability. So no matter how much the damage costs you, the maximum amount you are entitled to is predefined by this convention. This is why the USA objected to it, and had different provisions for liability which you could see mentioned in the ticket cover. 

Montreal convention 1999 (which was signed by USA) came with a considerable improvement on this issue as it didn’t allow the carrier to limit or exclude its liability in case of death or bodily injury if the damage arising in this case is less than 100,000 SDRs .

In this book I will be discussing the Montreal convention only because it supersedes other conventions and most countries have agreed to it. 

The convention comes in five chapters; the most important of which are the second and the third. The full text of the convention is available in this book.

Documentation and duties:

The second chapter of the convention handles the issue of documentation and duties of air carriers relating to the air carriage. The main issues are the following:

• In the transportation of passengers, the passenger must be given a travel document containing information about the route. The document may be substituted by “any other means which preserves the information”. This means that electronic ticket is allowed. 

• The carrier shall give the passenger a baggage identification tag for each piece of checked baggage. 

• The carrier shall deliver a notice that in case of international transportation the convention is applicable and it may limit the carrier’s liability in case of damage. 

• In the transportation of cargo the carrier shall provide and air waybill. 

Liability and the extent of compensation for damage:

 The third chapter defines carriers’ liability in several cases of damage. Those cases are:

• Death or bodily injury

• Destruction, damage or loss of checked baggage

• Destruction, damage or loss of cargo

• Delay of passengers, baggage or cargo

The limitation of liability amounts are set in units called “Special Drawing Rights”. This unit was made up by the International Monetary Fund in 1969. The SDR is a sort of a virtual currency which has a rate of exchange to most “real” currencies. In the original Warsaw Convention the unit used was the Franc. 

Article 21 of the convention states that the carrier shall not be able to limit or exclude its liability if the damage amounted to less than 100,000 Special Drawing Rights . If the damage exceeded 100,000 SDR the carrier may try to prove that it is not liable for the damage if it can prove that the damage was due negligence or wrongful act by a third party. 

Article 22 discusses other cases of damage. In the case of delay, the carrier’s liability is limited to 4,150 SDR. In case of damage to the baggage the carrier’s liability is limited to 1,000 SDR for each passenger. In case of damage to the cargo, the carrier’s liability is limited to 17 SDR per Kilogram. 

One good thing is that the provisions of limitation do not apply if it was proven that the damage was caused by an agent of the company with the intention to do harm. Of course he should be acting within the scope of his employment. 

I have a tough advice... read the convention text for more details.