Global Aviation Agreements, Liability & Freedoms

Paris Convention 1919

First international aviation treaty. Established sovereignty. Created ICAN. Allied states only.

Warsaw Convention 1929

First global liability treaty. Cap ~$10,000

Warsaw carrier defense

Carrier proves all NECESSARY MEASURES taken or damage unavoidable.

Warsaw document rule

If no ticket

Warsaw wilful misconduct

Caps lifted entirely – unlimited liability.

Hague Protocol 1955

Amended Warsaw. Doubled cap (~$20,000).

Guadalajara Convention 1961

Extended Warsaw to wet-lease

Tokyo Convention 1963

Offences ON BOARD. Commander may restrain. State of registry jurisdiction.

Hague Convention 1970

Hijacking. 'Extradite or prosecute' (aut dedere aut judicare).

Montreal Convention 1971

Sabotage and bombing of aircraft.

Rome Convention 1952

Damage to third parties on surface. Strict liability.

Beijing Convention 2010

Criminalizes aircraft-as-weapon, cyber, CBRN.

Beijing Protocol 2010

Amends Hague 1970 – expands seizure definition.

Montreal Convention 1999

Two-tier absolute liability. Current global standard.

Montreal Tier 1

≤128,821 SDR – ABSOLUTE LIABILITY. No defense.

Montreal Tier 2

128,821 SDR – UNLIMITED. Carrier proves no negligence.

SDR

IMF reserve currency. Value based on USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, CNY.

Montreal baggage liability

1,288 SDR per passenger.

Montreal cargo liability

22 SDR per kilogram.

Montreal delay liability

5,346 SDR per passenger.

5th Jurisdiction

Passengers sue in HOME COUNTRY if carrier operates there.

1st Jurisdiction

Domicile of Carrier – principal place of business.

2nd Jurisdiction

Principal Place of Business – primary operations.

3rd Jurisdiction

Place of Business of Purchase – where ticket bought.

4th Jurisdiction

Place of Destination – shown on ticket.

1st Freedom

Overflight – fly over foreign state without landing.

2nd Freedom

Technical stop – land for fuel

3rd Freedom

Set down – carry traffic from home state TO another.

4th Freedom

Pick up – carry traffic FROM another state BACK home.

5th Freedom

Intermediate

6th Freedom

Bridge – carry traffic between two foreign states VIA home state.

7th Freedom

Stand-alone – carry traffic between two foreign states NOT connecting to home.

8th Freedom

Consecutive cabotage – carry traffic within foreign state continuing to

9th Freedom

Pure cabotage – carry traffic within foreign state with NO connection to home. Most restricted.

IASTA

Granted 1st & 2nd Freedoms – widely ratified.

IATA

Attempted all 5 commercial freedoms – only 19 states ratified.

Bilateral ASA

Government treaty specifying airlines, routes, frequency, capacity, fares, 5th Freedom.

Bermuda Model 1946

US-UK template. Capacity

Bermuda II 1977

More restrictive – pre-determined capacity, fare approval.

Open Skies

Removes route, frequency, capacity, pricing restrictions.

US Open Skies partners

120+ states.

Philippine ASAs

Over 90 states.

ASEAN MAAS

Liberalized rights among ASEAN members. Does NOT grant cabotage. In effect 2015.

Warsaw original currency

Poincare gold francs.

Montreal Agreement 1966

$75K waiver for US routes.

IATA IIA 1995

Inter-carrier agreements – uncapped 1st tier.

MH17 families

Claimed under Montreal – no cap applied.

Pan Am 103 1988

Lockerbie bombing. Reinforced passenger-baggage reconciliation (Annex 17).

KAL 007 1983

Led to Article 3 bis – took 15 years to enter force.

MH370 2014

GADSS adopted – position reporting every 15 minutes.

Boeing 737 MAX

Lion Air (Oct 2018) + Ethiopian (Mar 2019) – MCAS failure.

China 737 MAX grounding

First to ground – March 11, 2019 (2 days before FAA).

FAA delegation questioned

States argued fell below Annex 8 standards.

ICAO ANC review

Reviewed type certification standards after 737 MAX.

New SARPs

Flight crew alerting systems and design change assessment.

Warsaw Article 17

Carrier liable for death or bodily injury.

Warsaw Article 18

Carrier liable for destruction

Warsaw Article 19

Carrier liable for delay.

Warsaw Article 20

Carrier defense – all necessary measures.

Warsaw Article 25

Wilful misconduct – unlimited liability.

Montreal Article 17

Death, bodily injury, baggage, cargo liability.

Montreal Article 19

Delay liability.

Montreal Article 20

Unlimited liability above Tier 1.

Montreal Article 21

Compensation limits in SDR.

Montreal Article 22

Specific limits for baggage, cargo, delay.

Montreal Article 28

Advance payments within 15 days.

Montreal Article 29

Basis of claim – 2-year limitation.

Montreal Article 31

Notice of complaint – 7 days baggage, 14 days cargo.

Montreal Article 35

2-year limitation period.

Tokyo Article 6

Commander may restrain persons threatening safety.

Tokyo Article 9

Commander may disembark persons in any state.

Tokyo Article 10

Commander may deliver person to competent authorities.

Hague Article 4

State of registry, landing state, lessor's state have jurisdiction.

Hague Article 7

Extradite or prosecute.

Montreal 1971 Article 1

Offence: unlawful acts against safety of civil aviation.

Montreal 1971 Article 5

Jurisdiction: state of registry, landing state, lessor's state.

Montreal 1971 Article 7

Extradite or prosecute.

Beijing 2010 Article 1

New offences: aircraft-as-weapon, cyber, CBRN.

Beijing Protocol Article 1

Amends Hague 1970 – expands seizure definition.

Security Conventions

Tokyo (1963), Hague (1970), Montreal (1971), Beijing (2010), Beijing Protocol.

USOAP vs USAP

USOAP = safety (public). USAP = security (confidential).

EU Community Safety List

Regulation EC 2111

EU Air Safety List effect

Carriers banned from EU airspace – immediate commercial consequence.

Philippines IASA

Category 2 (2008-2014). Category 1 restored 2014.

Philippines EU List

Not on EU Community Safety List.

Havana Convention 1926

Western Hemisphere regional framework. Superseded by Chicago 1944.

Chicago Conference dates

1 Nov – 7 Dec 1944 (37 days).

Chicago attendees

52 nations. USSR declined.

US air transport control

US controlled ~80% of world civil aviation at war's end.

Provisional PICAO

Created immediately upon signing.

Turkey ratification

26th state – triggered entry into force 4 April 1947.

ICAO HQ selection

Montreal chosen at first Assembly.

Warsaw Convention signatories

Initially many states – became global standard.

Warsaw limitations

Amended multiple times (Hague, Montreal, Guadalajara).

Warsaw vs Montreal key

Warsaw allowed escape. Montreal Tier 1 removes escape.

Montreal 1999 entry

4 November 2003.

Montreal 1999 signatories

140+ contracting states.

EU-US Open Skies 2007

First transatlantic open aviation area.

US Airline Deregulation 1978

Ended CAB control. Influenced global liberalization.

Article 3 bis entry

Took 15 YEARS to enter force (1998).