- Montreal Convention
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For other similarly named agreements, see Montreal Convention (disambiguation).
Montreal Convention Convention for the Unification of certain rules for international carriage by air Signed May 28, 1999 Location Montreal Effective 4 November 2003 Parties 100 States and the European Union Depositary International Civil Aviation Organization Languages English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish The Montreal Convention, formally the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, is a treaty adopted by a Diplomatic meeting of ICAO member states in 1999. It amended important provisions of the Warsaw Convention's regime concerning compensation for the victims of air disasters. The Convention re-establishes urgently needed uniformity and predictability of rules relating to the international carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo. Whilst maintaining the core provisions which have successfully served the international air transport community for several decades (i.e. the Warsaw regime), the new convention achieves the required modernisation in a number of key areas. It protects passengers by introducing a two-tier liability system and by facilitating the swift recovery of proven damages without the need for lengthy litigation.
Contents
Damages
Under the Montreal Convention, air carriers are strictly liable for proven damages up to 113,100 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) (Updated from 100,000 on December 31 2009), a mix of currency values established by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), approximately $138,000 per passenger at the time of its ratification by the United States in 2003 (as of June 2009, around $154,800). Where damages of more than 113,100 SDR are sought, the airline may avoid liability by proving that the accident which caused the injury or death was not due to their negligence or was attributable to the negligence of a third party. This defence is not available where damages of less than 113,100 SDR are sought. The Convention also amended the jurisdictional provisions of Warsaw and now allows the victim or their families to sue foreign carriers where they maintain their principal residence, and requires all air carriers to carry liability insurance.
The Montreal Convention changes and generally increases the maximum liability of airlines for lost baggage to a fixed amount 1131 SDR (the amount in the Warsaw Convention is based on weight of the baggage).
Montreal Convention was brought about mainly to amend liabilities to be paid to families for death or injury whilst on board an aircraft.
Ratifications
As of July 2010, 97 countries signed the Montreal Protocol treaty which included the United States, members of the European Union (EU), Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, Korea and Mexico.[1]
See also
References
- ^ The complete list of signatories is available through the International Civil Aviation Organization at http://www.icao.int/icao/en/leb/mtl99.pdf
External links
- Text of the Montreal Convention from the United Nations
- Other related sources from the US Department of Transport
Categories:- Aviation law
- Treaties concluded in 1999
- Treaties entered into force in 2003
- Law stubs
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