Montreal Convention// Montreal Protocol// SDR-Special Drawing Rights // Warsaw Protocol
Varun Gupta
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 ofpassengers, 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.
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[edit]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.
[edit]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
Kerala HC: Pay Rs. 75 lakh compensation to Mangalore crash victims
PTI
158 passengers and crew on board the Air India aircraft from Dubai had perished in the terrible air disaster
The families of victims of the Air India Express crash in Mangalore last year are entitled to a minimum compensation of Rs. 75 lakh each, the Kerala High Court held today.
Justice P.R. Ramachandran Menon passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Abdul Salam and Ramla, parents of 24-year-old B. Mohammed Rafi, who was killed in the crash.
158 passengers and crew on board the Air India aircraft from Dubai had perished in the air disaster, when the plane caught fire after one of its wings hit a hillock before landing at Kenjar in Mangalore.
The deceased’s brothers and sisters are also party to the petition. Union government and National Aviation company (erstwhile Air India) are the respondents in the case.
There were 166 persons on board the flight IX-892, piloted by a Serbian national. Operating the Boeing 737-800, the pilot had first tried to land and later attempted to gain altitude.
The court held that the carrier was liable to pay no fault liability of one lakh SDR (Special Drawing Rights equal to Rs. 75 lakh) to the petitioner. The SDR is a special currency issued by IMF. This is apart from whatever other compensation the petitioners are entitled to.
The petitioners prayed for a direction to settle the entire statutory claims made under the provision of the Air Act 1972 from the respondents on the death of Rafi. They had sought Rs. 1.5 crore as compensation.
Noting that India was a signatory to the Montreal Convention, the court said, “It is clear that the intention of lawmakers was to bring about a parity in the matter of payment of compensation to the passengers, irrespective of class of travel, while providing for a ‘two tier system’ of compensation as adopted in Montreal convention.”