Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1936

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FIRST SCHEDULE.

International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air.

Chapter 1.—Scope—Definitions.

Article 1.

(1) The present Convention shall apply to all international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward. It shall apply equally to gratuitous carriage by aircraft performed by an air transport undertaking.

(2) The expression “international carriage” within the meaning of the present Convention shall be any carriage in which, according to the contract made by the parties, the place of departure and the place of destination, whether or not there be a break in the carriage or a transhipment, are situated either within the territories of two High Contracting Parties, or within the territory of a single High Contracting Party, if there is an agreed stopping place within a territory subject to the sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority of another Power, even though that Power is not a party to this Convention. A carriage without such an agreed stopping place between territories subject to the sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority of the same High Contracting Party shall not be deemed to be international for the purposes of the present Convention.

(3) A carriage to be performed by several successive air carriers shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Convention, to be one undivided carriage, if it has been regarded by the parties as a single operation, whether it had been agreed upon under the form of a single contract or of a series of contracts, and it shall not lose its international character merely because one contract or a series of contracts is to be performed entirely within a territory subject to the sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority of the same High Contracting Party.

Article 2.

(1) This Convention shall apply to carriage performed by the State or by legally constituted public bodies provided it falls within the conditions laid down in Article 1.

(2) The present Convention shall not apply to carriage performed under the terms of any international postal Convention.

Chapter II.—Documents of Carriage.

Section 1.—Passenger Ticket.

Article 3.

(1) For the carriage of passengers the carrier must deliver a passenger ticket which shall contain the following particulars:—

(a) the place and date of issue;

(b) the place of departure and of destination;

(c) the agreed stopping places, provided that the carrier may, in case of necessity, alter the said stopping places without thereby depriving the carriage of its international character;

(d) the name and address of the carrier or carriers;

(e) a statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to liability established by the present Convention.

(2) The absence, irregularity or loss of the passenger ticket shall not affect the existence or the validity of the contract of carriage, which shall none the less be subject to the rules of the present Convention. Nevertheless, if the carrier accepts a passenger without a passenger ticket having been delivered he shall not be entitled to avail himself of those provisions of this Convention which exclude or limit his liability.

Section 2.—Luggage Ticket.

Article 4.

(1) For the carriage of luggage, other than small personal objects of which the passenger takes charge himself, the carrier must deliver a luggage ticket.

(2) The luggage ticket shall be made out in duplicate, one part for the passenger and the other part for the carrier.

(3) The luggage ticket shall contain the following particulars:—

(a) the place and date of issue;

(b) the place of departure and of destination;

(c) the name and address of the carrier or carriers;

(d) the number of the passenger ticket;

(e) a statement that delivery of the luggage will be made to the bearer of the luggage ticket;

(f) the number and weight of the packages;

(g) the amount of the value declared in accordance with Article 22, paragraph (2);

(h) a statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to liability established by the present Convention.

(4) The absence, irregularity or loss of the luggage ticket shall not affect the existence or the validity of the contract of carriage, which shall none the less be subject to the rules of the present Convention. Nevertheless, if the carrier accepts luggage without a luggage ticket having been delivered, or if the luggage ticket does not contain the particulars set out at (d), (f) and (h) above, the carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of those provisions of the Convention which exclude or limit his liability.

Section 3.—Air Consignment Note.

Article 5.

(1) Every carrier of goods has the right to require the consignor to make out and hand over to him a document called an “air consignment note”; every consignor has the right to require the carrier to accept this document.

(2) Nevertheless, the absence, irregularity or loss of this document shall not affect the existence or the validity of the contract of carriage which shall none the less be governed by the rules of the present Convention subject to the provisions of Article 9.

Article 6.

(1) The air consignment note shall be made out by the consignor in three original parts and be handed over with the goods.

(2) The first part shall be marked “for the carrier,” and shall be signed by the consignor. The second part shall be marked “for the consignee”; it shall be signed by the consignor and by the carrier and shall accompany the goods. The third part shall be signed by the carrier and handed by him to the consignor after the goods have been accepted.

(3) The signature of the carrier shall be affixed on his acceptance of the goods.

(4) The signature of the carrier may be stamped; that of the consignor may be printed or stamped.

(5) If, at the request of the consignor, the carrier makes out the air consignment note, he shall be deemed, subject to proof to the contrary, to have done so on behalf of the consignor.

Article 7.

The carrier of goods is entitled to require the consignor to make out separate consignment notes when there is more than one package.

Article 8.

The air consignment note shall contain the following particulars:—

(a) the place and date of its execution;

(b) the place of departure and of destination;

(c) the agreed stopping places, provided that the carrier may, in case of necessity, alter the said stopping places without thereby depriving the carriage of its international character;

(d) the name and address of the consignor;

(e) the name and address of the first carrier;

(f) the name and address of the consignee, if the case so requires;

(g) the nature of the goods;

(h) the number of the packages, the method of packing and the particular marks or numbers upon them;

(i) the weight, the quantity and the volume or dimensions of the goods;

(j) the apparent condition of the goods and of the packing;

(k) the freight, if it has been agreed upon, the date and place of payment, and the person who is to pay it;

(l) if the goods are sent for payment on delivery, the price of the goods, and, if the case so requires, the amount of the expenses incurred;

(m) the amount of the value declared in accordance with Article 22, paragraph (2);

(n) the number of parts of the air consignment note;

(o) the documents delivered to the carrier to accompany the air consignment note;

(p) the time fixed for the completion of the carriage and a brief indication of the route to be followed (via), if these maters have been arranged;

(q) a statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to liability established by the present Convention.

Article 9.

If the carrier accepts goods without an air consignment note having been made out, or if such note does not contain all the particulars set out in Article 8 (a) to (i) inclusive and (q), the carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of the provisions of this Convention which exclude or limit his liability.

Article 10.

(1) The consignor is responsible for the correctness of the particulars and statements relating to the goods which he inserts in the air consignment note.

(2) He shall be liable for all damage caused to the carrier or to any other person by the irregularity, inexactitude or insufficiency of the said particulars and statements.

Article 11.

(1) In the absence of proof to the contrary the air consignment note shall be evidence of the conclusion of the contract, of the receipt of the goods and of the conditions of carriage.

(2) In the absence of proof to the contrary the statements in the air consignment note relating to the weight, dimensions and packing of the goods, as well as those relating to the number of packages, shall be evidence thereof; those relating to the quantity, volume and condition of the goods shall only constitute evidence against the carrier in so far as they have been, and are stated in the air consignment note to have been, checked by him in the presence of the consignor, or where the statements relate to the apparent condition of the goods.

Article 12.

(1) On condition that he carries out all his obligations under the contract of carriage, the consignor has the right to deal with the goods either by withdrawing them at the aerodrome of departure or destination, or by stopping them in the course of the journey at a landing place, or by requiring them to be delivered at the place of destination or in the course of the journey to a person other than the consignee named in the air consignment note, or by demanding their return to the aerodrome of departure, provided that the exercise of this right shall not prejudice either the carrier or other consignors and that any expenses which result therefrom will be refunded.

(2) If it is impossible to carry out the orders of the consignor the carrier must so inform him forthwith.

(3) If the carrier obeys the orders of the consignor for the disposition of the goods without requiring the production of the part of the air consignment note delivered to the latter, he will be liable, without prejudice to his right of recovery from the consignor, for any damage which may be caused thereby to any person who is lawfully in possession of the air consignment note.

(4) The right conferred on the consignor ceases at the moment when that of the consignee begins in accordance with Article 13. Nevertheless, if the consignee declines to accept the consignment note or the goods, or if he cannot be communicated with, the consignor resumes his right of disposition.

Article 13.

(1) Except in the circumstances set out in the preceding article, the consignee is entitled, on the arrival of the goods at the place of destination, to require the carrier to hand over to him the air consignment note and to deliver the goods to him, on payment of the charges due and on complying with the conditions of carriage set out in the air consignment note.

(2) Unless it is otherwise agreed, the carrier shall notify the consignee on the arrival of the goods.

(3) If the carrier admits the loss of the goods, or if the goods have not arrived on the expiration of a period of seven days after the date on which they ought to have arrived, the consignee shall be entitled to enforce against the carrier the rights which result from the contract of carriage.

Article 14.

The consignor and the consignee can enforce all the rights conferred on them respectively by Articles 12 and 13, each in his own name, whether he is acting in his own interest or in the interest of another, provided that he carries out the obligations imposed by the contract.

Article 15.

(1) Articles 12, 13, and 14 shall not prejudice either the relations of the consignor or the consignee with each other or the relations of third parties whose rights are derived either from the consignor or from the consignee.

(2) Any condition which departs from the provisions of Articles 12, 13 and 14 should be embodied in the air consignment note.

Article 16.

(1) The consignor shall be obliged to furnish such information and attach to the air consignment note such documents as are necessary for the completion of the formalities of customs, octroi or police before the goods can be delivered to the consignee. The consignor is liable to the carrier for any damage which may result from the absence, insufficiency or irregularity of any such information or documents, unless the damage is due to the fault of the carrier or his agents.

(2) The carrier shall not be obliged to inquire into the correctness or sufficiency of such information or documents.

Chapter III.—Liability of the Carrier.

Article 17.

The carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of the death or wounding of a passenger or any other bodily injury suffered by a passenger, if the accident which caused the damage so sustained took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.

Article 18.

(1) The carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of the destruction or loss of, or of damage to, any registered luggage or any goods, if the occurrence which caused the damage so sustained took place during the carriage by air.

(2) The carriage by air within the meaning of the preceding paragraph comprises the period during which the luggage or goods are in charge of the carrier, whether in an aerodrome or on board an aircraft, or, in the case of a landing outside an aerodrome, in any place whatsoever.

(3) The period of the carriage by air does not include any carriage by land, by sea or by river performed outside an aerodrome. If, however, such a carriage takes place in the performance of a contract for carriage by air, for the purpose of loading, delivery or trans-shipment, any damage is presumed, subject to proof to the contrary, to have been the result of an event which occurred during the carriage by air.

Article 19.

The carrier is liable for damage resulting from any delay in the carriage by air of passengers, luggage or goods.

Article 20.

(1) The carrier is not liable if he proves that he and his agents have taken all necessary measures to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for him or them to take such measures.

(2) In the carriage of goods and luggage the carrier is not liable if he proves that the damage was occasioned by negligent pilotage or negligence in the handling of the aircraft or in navigation and that, in all other respects, he and his agents have taken all necessary measures to avoid the damage.

Article 21.

Where the carrier proves that the negligence of the person suffering damage has caused or contributed to the damage the Court may, in accordance with the provisions of its own law, exonerate the carrier or mitigate his liability.

Article 22.

(1) In the carriage of passengers the liability of the carrier for each passenger is limited to the sum of 125,000 francs. Where, in accordance with the law of the Court seised of the case, damages may be awarded in the form of periodical payments, the equivalent capital value of the said payments shall not exceed the aforesaid maximum. Nevertheless, by special agreement with the carrier, the passenger may arrange a higher limit of liability.

(2) In the carriage of registered luggage and of goods, the liability of the carrier is limited to a sum of 250 francs per kilogram, unless the consignor makes, when handing over the package to the carrier, a special declaration of the value at delivery and pays a supplementary sum if so required. In that case the carrier will be liable up to the amount of the declared sum, unless he proves that that sum is greater than the actual value to the consignor at delivery.

(3) As regards objects of which the passenger takes charge himself the liability of the carrier is limited to 5,000 francs per passenger.

(4) The sums mentioned above shall be deemed to refer to the French franc consisting of 651/2 milligrams gold of millesimal fineness 900. These sums may be converted into any national currency in round figures.

Article 23.

Any provision tending to relieve the carrier of liability or to fix a lower limit than that which is laid down in the present Convention shall be null and void, but the nullity of any such provision does not involve the nullity of the whole contract, which shall remain subject to the provisions of the present Convention.

Article 24.

(1) In the cases covered by Articles 18 and 19 any action for damages, however founded, can only be brought subject to the conditions and limits set out in the present Convention.

(2) In the cases covered by Article 17 the provisions of the preceding paragraph also apply, without prejudice to the questions as to who are the persons who have the right of action and what are their respective rights.

Article 25.

(1) The carrier shall not have the right to avail himself of the provisions of the present Convention which exclude or limit his liability, if the damage is due to malice or to such default on his part as, in accordance with the law of the Court seised of the case is considered to involve malice.

(2) This right will be equally denied to him if the damage has been caused in similar conditions by one of his agents in the scope of his employment.

Article 26.

(1) Acceptance of the luggage or goods without complaint by the consignee shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, constitute evidence that the consignment has been delivered in good condition and in accordance with the document of carriage.

(2) In case of damage, the consignee must complain to the carrier forthwith after the discovery of the damage, and, at the latest, within three days from the date of receipt in the case of luggage and seven days from the date of receipt in the case of goods. In case of delay the complaint must be made at the latest within fourteen days from the date on which the luggage or goods have been placed at his disposal.

(3) Every complaint must be made in writing upon the document of carriage or by separate notice in writing despatched within the period prescribed for such complaint.

(4) Failing complaint within the prescribed periods, no action shall lie against the carrier, save in the case of fraud on his part.

Article 27.

In the case of the death of the person liable, an action for damages lies in accordance with the terms of the present Convention against his personal representatives.

Article 28.

(1) An action for damages must be brought, at the option of the plaintiff, in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, either before the Court having jurisdiction where the carrier is domiciled, or has his principal place of business, or has an establishment by which the contract has been made or before the Court having jurisdiction at the place of destination.

(2) Questions of procedure shall be governed by the law of the Court seised of the case.

Article 29.

(1) The right to damages shall be barred if an action is not brought within two years, reckoned from the date of arrival at the destination, or from the date on which the aircraft should have arrived, or from the date on which the carriage stopped.

(2) The method of calculating the aforesaid period shall be determined by the law of the Court seised of the case.

Article 30.

(1) In the case of carriage to be performed by various successive carriers and falling within the definition set out in the third paragraph of Article 1, each carrier accepting passengers' luggage or goods is subject to the rules set out in this Convention and is deemed to be one of the contracting parties to the contract of carriage in so far as that contract deals with such part of the carriage as is performed under his supervision.

(2) In the case of carriage of this nature, the passenger or his representative can take action only against the carrier who performed the carriage during which the accident or the delay occurred, save in the case where, by express agreement, the first carrier has assumed liability for the whole journey.

(3) In the case of luggage or goods, the consignor will have a right of action against the first carrier, and the consignee who is entitled to delivery will have a right of action against the last carrier, and further, each may take action against the carrier who performed the carriage during which the destruction, loss, damage or delay took place. These carriers will be jointly liable to the consignor or consignee.

Chapter IV.—Provisions relating to Combined Carriage.

Article 31.

(1) In the case of combined carriage performed partly by air and partly by any other mode of carriage, the provisions of the present Convention apply only to the carriage by air, if such carriage falls within the terms of Article 1.

(2) Nothing in the present Convention shall prevent the parties in the case of combined carriage from inserting in the document of air carriage conditions relating to other modes of carriage, provided that the provisions of the present Convention are observed as regards the carriage by air.

Chapter V.—General and Final Provisions.

Article 32.

Any clause contained in the contract and all special agreements entered into before the damage by which the parties purport to depart from the rules laid down by the present Convention, whether by deciding the law to be applied, or by altering the rules as to jurisdiction, shall be null and void. Nevertheless, for the carriage of goods arbitration clauses are allowed, subject to the present Convention, if the arbitration is to take place within one of the jurisdictions referred to in the first paragraph of Article 28.

Article 33.

Nothing contained in the present Convention shall prevent the carrier either from refusing to enter into any contract of carriage, or from making regulations which do not conflict with the provisions of the present Convention.

Article 34.

The present Convention shall not apply to international carriage by air performed by way of experimental trial by air navigation undertakings with the view to the establishment of a regular line of air navigation, nor shall it apply to carriage performed in extraordinary circumstances outside the normal scope of an air carrier's business.

article 35.

The expression “days” when used in the present Convention means current days not working days.

Article 36.

The present Convention is drawn up in French in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Poland and of which one duly certified copy shall be sent by the Polish Government to the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties.

article 37.

(1) The present Convention shall be ratified. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited in the archives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Poland, which will notify the deposit to the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties.

(2) As soon as the present Convention shall have been ratified by five of the High Contracting Parties it shall come into force as between them on the ninetieth day after the deposit of the fifth ratification. Thereafter it shall come into force between the High Contracting Parties who shall have ratified and the High Contracting Party who deposits his instruments of ratification on the ninetieth day after such deposit.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Government of the Republic of Poland to notify to the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties the date on which the present Convention comes into force as well as the date of the deposit of each ratification.

article 38.

(1) The present Convention shall, after it has come into force, remain open for accession by any State.

(2) The accession shall be effected by a notification addressed to the Government of the Republic of Poland, which will inform the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties thereof.

(3) The accession shall take effect as from the ninetieth day after the notification made to the Government of the Republic of Poland.

article 39.

(1) Any one of the High Contracting Parties may denounce the present Convention by a notification addressed to the Government of the Republic of Poland which will at once inform the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties.

(2) Denunciation shall take effect six months after the notification of denunciation, and in respect only of the party who shall have proceeded to denunciation.

article 40.

(1) Any High Contracting Party may, at the time of signature or of deposit of ratification or of accession, declare that the acceptance which he gives to the present Convention does not apply to all or any of his colonies, protectorates, territories under mandate, or any other territory subject to his sovereignty or his authority, or any territory under his suzerainty.

(2) Accordingly any High Contracting Party may subsequently accede separately in the name of all or any of his colonies, protectorates, territories under mandate or any other territory subject to his sovereignty or to his authority or any territory under his suzerainty which have been thus excluded by his original declaration.

(3) Any High Contracting Party may denounce the present Convention, in accordance with its provisions, separately or for all or any of his colonies, protectorates, territories under mandate or any other territory subject to his sovereignty or to his authority, or any other territory under his suzerainty.

article 41.

Any High Contracting Party shall be entitled not earlier than two years after the coming into force of the present Convention to call for the assembling of a new international Conference in order to consider any improvements which might be made in the present Convention. To this end he will communicate with the Government of the French Republic which will take the necessary measures to make preparations for such Conference.

The present Convention, done at Warsaw on the 12th October, 1929, shall remain open for signature until the 31st January, 1930.

(Here follow the signatures on behalf of the following countries:—

Germany, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Spain, France, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Union of South Africa, Greece, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Roumania, Switzerland, Czecho-Slovakia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and Yugoslavia.)

Additional Protocol.

(With reference to Article 2.)

The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right to declare at the time of ratification or of accession that paragraph (1) of Article 2 of the present Convention shall not apply to international carriage by air performed directly by the State, its colonies, protectorates or mandated territories or by any other territory under its sovereignty, suzerainty or authority.

[Same signatures as those to the Convention shown above.]