Warsaw Convention

The benefit to the shipper in using a Warsaw Convention air waybill is that the shipper does not have to prove that the carrier caused the injury to any lost, damaged, or delayed goods. The shipper has to make a claim within seven days when the bills are governed by the Warsaw Convention and 14 days if the they are governed by The Hague Protocol of 1955, but the burden is then on the carrier to prove that it did not take all necessary measures to avoid the loss,
damage, or delay.

In addition to regulating the carriage of goods, the Warsaw Convention also regulates the carriage of passengers. Again, the liability of the carrier is limited so long as the ticket contains a notice
of the applicability of the Convention. Ray A. August, International Business Law, Texts, Cases and Readings (4th ed. 2004)

The Abnett v. British Airways Plc. case examines whether the liability limits created by the Convention are exclusive.

Summary of Warsaw Convention

An international agreement adopted to provide uniform rules concerning liability and jurisdiction in cases of death, injury, or property damage arising from international carriage by air. It was signed at Warsaw in 1929. More than one hundred nations have adhered to the convention, which applies to virtually all international flights The basic 1929 agreement provides for a carrier liability limitation of 125,000 gold francs per passenger plus 250 gold francs for each kilogram of baggage or effects. Various amendments have modified these limits.

The 1955 Hague Protocol doubled liability for death, injury, or delay of passengers, but did not increase liability for effects. It did, however, abolish the carrier defense of errors in navigation or pilotage.

The 1966 Montreal Intercarrier Agreement (CAB 18900) was adopted in response to U.S. dissatisfaction with the levels of carrier liability for death and injury. The previous year, the United States had given notice of intent to withdraw from

the Warsaw Convention if liability limits were not increased. The air carriers, independent of governmental authority, increased the limits to $75,000, inclusive of legal fees, or $58,000 plus fees. (The agreement was stated in terms of U.S. dollars.) The adoption of this plan prevented U.S. repudiation of the Warsaw Convention. Subsequently, many governments formally adopted the $58,000 standard, under a consensus generally known as the Malta Agreement.

The 1971 Guatemala Protocol proposed to increase death and injury liability to 1.5 million gold francs, with delay liability to be increased to 62,500 gold francs. Under this arrangement, liability for effects would increase to 15,000 gold francs per passenger. In 1984 this amendment had not yet come into force.

The 1975 Montreal Protocol Number 3 amends the convention to employ Special Drawing Rights (read this and related legal terms for further details) as the unit of value. In 1984 this agreement had not yet come into force.

Other amendments include Montreal Protocol Number 2, which substitutes special drawing rights for the gold franc in the 1955 Hague Protocol, and Montreal Protocol Number 4 (1975), which permits a carrier defense, in the loss or damage of goods, of inherent vice on the part of the merchandise, acts of war or conflict, or actions of public authority.

The Warsaw Convention, through its amending protocols, effectively imposes upon the carrier a strict liability for the goods carried from initial receipt until final delivery.

The convention limitations of liability do not apply if the appropriate documents of carriage (e.g., air waybill) have not been delivered by the carrier or if the carrier or its employees engaged in gross deviations from sound practice in the care of passengers or cargo or in the operation of the flight.

See Gold Franc.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)

Author: international

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Warsaw Convention in International Trade

Meaning of Warsaw Convention, according to the Dictionary of International Trade (Global Negotiator): An international agreement defining the responsibilities and limiting the liability of air carriers involved in international transport. Among other things it establishes the international liability of air carriers and the monetary limits o loss, damage, and delay. The formal name is: The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to international Carriage by Air.