Warsaw Convention
Distinguish from the Warsaw Pact.The
Warsaw Convention is an international convention which regulates liability for international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward.
Originally signed in
1929 in
Warsaw (hence the name), it was amended in
1955 at
The Hague and in
1975 in
Montreal. US courts have held that, at least for some purposes, the Warsaw Convention is a different instrument from the Warsaw Convention as Amended by the Hague Protocol.
In particular, the Warsaw Convention:
*mandates carriers to issue passenger tickets;
*requires carriers to issue baggage checks for checked luggage; and
*limits a carrier's liability to:
**16,600
Special Drawing Rights (SDR) for personal damage;
**17 SDR per
kilogram for checked luggage and cargo,
**332 SDR for the hand luggage of a traveller.
These sums are valid in the absence of a differing agreement (on a higher sum) with the carrier. Agreements on
lower sums are null and void.
On September 1,
2005, the exchange rate was 1.00 SDR = 1.189
EUR or1.00 SDR = 1.473
USD.
The
Montreal Convention, signed in
1999, will replace the Warsaw Convention system, once Montreal has been ratified by all States. Until then, however, there will be a patchwork of rules governing international carriage by air, as different States will be parties to different agreements (or no agreement at all).
*
CMR convention*
Kenneth Beaumont*
Aviation Law*
Text of the Warsaw Convention (
PDF) from
IATA.
*
Beginner's guide to the Warsaw Convention
