Montreal Convention 1999 Case Law

The 1999 Montreal Convention (MC99) establishes the liability of airlines for the death or injury of passengers, as well as for delay, damage or loss of baggage and cargo. It brings together all the different provisions of international treaties relating to the liability of airlines, which had developed arbitrarily since 1929. MC99 is intended to be a unique and universal contract that regulates the liability of airlines around the world. This article examines recent cases in Australia, scotland and the United States on the controversial issue of liability for psychiatric harm under the Montreal Convention. In both cases, the carrier is only liable for bodily injury. Does this cover emotional or psychological wounds? 1. The liability of air carriers for bodily injury to an international passenger is governed exclusively by Article 17 of the 1999 Montreal Convention: Article 17, paragraph 1, of the Montreal Convention provides: “The Carrier shall be liable for damage caused in the event of the death or bodily injury of a Passenger only on condition that the accident which caused the death or injury: on board the aircraft or during one of the operations. embarkation or disembarkation”. 4. In Barclay (loc. cit.), Laws LJ postulated two hypothetical circumstances at opposite extremes in addition to the facts of the present case – 2. The Carrier shall only be liable for any damage caused in the event of destruction or loss of or damage to Checked Baggage provided that the event causing the destruction, loss or damage is on board the aircraft or during a period during which the Checked Baggage was the responsibility of the Carrier: took place.

However, the Carrier will not be liable if and to the extent that the damage is due to the inherent defect, quality or truck of the Baggage. In the case of unchecked baggage, including personal effects, the carrier is liable if the damage is due to its fault or that of its servants or vicarious agents. The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, signed at Montreal on 28 May 1999 (`the Convention`), was adopted on 29 May 1999. It was ratified by the United Kingdom in April 2004 and entered into force on 28 June 2004 under the Carriage by Air Act (Implementation of the Montreal Convention 1999) Order 2002 – itself provided for in section 8A of the Carriage by Air Act 1961 and section 4A of the Carriage by Air (Supplementary Provisions) Act 1962. It is implemented throughout Europe by Regulation (EC) No 2027/97, as amended by Regulation (EU) No 889/2002. Since the King v Bristow Helicopters plaintiffs could not prove their arguments, a large amount of research has been done on the interaction between brain damage and conditions such as depression, Alzheimer`s disease and other forms of dementia. More recently, a study published last month in the American journal Neurology showed a link between repeated brain damage and depression and dementia later in life, suggesting that at least some depression can be caused by physical injuries to the brain. Other depressive episodes can be caused by stress, which releases hormones associated with the narrowing of the hippocampus and triggers a cascade of mutually reinforcing symptoms. Some depressed patients have measurable biochemical and hormonal changes in their brains. Increasingly sophisticated forms of brain imaging such as positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allow for a closer look at the active brain than before. For example, an fMRI can track changes that occur when a region of the brain reacts during various tasks.

A PET scan or SPECT can map the brain by measuring the distribution and density of neurotransmitter receptors in specific areas. The use of this technology has led to a better understanding of which regions of the brain regulate mood and how other functions such as memory can be affected by depression. Areas that play an important role in depression include the amygdala, thalamus, and hippocampus, and research has shown that the hippocampus is significantly smaller in some depressed people. Animal studies suggest that antidepressants stimulate the growth and increased branching of nerve cells in the hippocampus, suggesting that they create new neurons, strengthen nerve cell connections, and improve the exchange of information between nerve circuits. Ms Casey brought an action against Pel-Air under the Montreal Convention. Pel-Air admitted that Ms. Casey`s physical injuries were compensable. Pel-Air also acknowledged (perhaps surprisingly) that the major depressive order, anxiety disorder and chronic pain syndrome were compensable because they were caused by their physical injuries. However, Pel-Air declined any responsibility for Ms. Casey`s PTSD, saying it was caused by the trauma she suffered in the accident and not by the resulting physical injuries.

The court ruled that PTSD in this case was due to damage to his brain and other parts of his body that were involved in the normal functioning of the brain, causing his brain to no longer function normally. Therefore, ms. Casey`s PTSD was a compensable bodily injury. Mr. Hill: Damage caused by mental injury caused by air accidents is already reimbursable in the United Kingdom if it is associated with bodily injury. In preparation for the Montreal Diplomatic Conference in May 1999, at which the Convention was signed, the United Kingdom supported a proposal by Sweden to bring a separate legal action for mental injury. However, prior to the Conference, this proposal was withdrawn from the draft text of the Convention. Our position was that a separate claim of psychological harm can only be advocated if there is sufficient support to reach a global agreement. As support was not sufficient, it was decided, in the interest of obtaining the best agreement for the United Kingdom, to support the text of the Convention without separate reference to mental injury. However, the travaux préparatoires of the conference stress that damage caused by psychological damage can be recovered in some States and that case law in this area is evolving. On July 31, 2003, the United States Senate ratified the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules For International Carriage by Air (a.k.a.k.a., “Montreal Convention”).

A treaty ratified in the United States becomes the “highest law in the country.” [1] Therefore, in all cases, the tribunal must determine whether a claimant`s claims fall within the scope of the Montreal Convention and, if so, whether the claimant`s claims are appropriate to remedy the situation. [2] However, this raises more questions than it answers; there is no doubt that international conventions should be interpreted harmoniously between the various signatory States, as far as possible. .

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