# Montreal Convention

The Montreal Convention (formally, the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air) is a multilateral 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 attempts to re-establish uniformity and predictability of rules relating to the international carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo. Whilst maintaining the core provisions which have served the international air transport community for several decades (i.e., the Warsaw regime), the treaty achieves modernization in a number of key areas. It protects passengers by introducing a two-tier liability system that eliminates the previous requirement of proving willful neglect by the air carrier to obtain more than US$75,000 in damages, which should eliminate or reduce protracted litigation.

## Damages

Under the Montreal Convention, air carriers are strictly liable for proven damages up to 128,821.00 special drawing rights (SDR), a mix of currency values established by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) equal to roughly US$175,000. Where damages of more than 128,821.00 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 solely to the negligence of a third party. This defense is not available where damages of less than 128,821.00 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 main goal of the Montreal Convention was to increase available damages in relation to death or injury of passengers from the limited and outdated limits under the Warsaw/Hague Convention.

## No compensation purely for psychiatric injury

The Convention does not recognize compensation for psychiatric injury or damage unless linked to physical injury. Article 17 of the Convention refers to "bodily injury" in setting out the liability of the carrier for accidents. Purely psychiatric injury is not eligible for compensation which has been criticised by people injured in plane accidents, legal experts and their families.

### Australia

Australia amended its law to adopt concepts in the Montreal Convention including:
* the removal of references to 'personal injury' and replaced with 'bodily injury' under the CACL Act to ensure consistency with the 1999 Montreal Convention concerning international flights;
* the preclusion of potential claimants from claiming compensation for mental injuries where that person has not suffered additional personal or property damage
Independent Australian senator Nick Xenophon introduced a private member's bill into the Australian Parliament in May 2015 which sought to protect the rights of plane crash survivors to be compensated for psychological trauma.
Leading Australian current affairs TV show 4 Corners on the government owned broadcaster ABC, broadcast a program focusing on the unfairness and injustice of excluding psychiatric injury on 23 March 2015 featuring Karen Casey, a nurse injured when the medical evacuation flight she was nursing on crashed in the waters off Norfolk Island.

## Lost baggage

The Montreal Convention changes and generally increases the maximum liability of airlines for lost baggage to a fixed amount 1,288 SDR per passenger (the amount in the Warsaw Convention is based on weight of the baggage). It requires airlines to fully compensate travelers the cost of replacement items purchased until the baggage is delivered, to a maximum of 1,288 SDR. At 21 days any delayed baggage is considered lost, until the airline finds and delivers it.

## Disabled passengers and mobility equipment

The limitation of compensation for damage to baggage to 1,288 SDRs means that the value of damaged mobility equipment may often significantly exceed available compensation under the Montreal Convention, while the effect of the loss, even temporarily, of mobility equipment places disabled passengers at a substantially increased disadvantage in comparison to other passengers suffering damaged baggage. While for non-disabled people the major issue is the loss of hold baggage, for disabled people the problem tends to be physical damage to wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment due to inappropriate stowage in the hold. Even a basic individually-fitted wheelchair may cost twice the available compensation, with a three-month lead time for replacement. There have been further problems with airlines being reluctant to recognise that cheap mass-market wheelchairs may be unsuitable as even a temporary replacement due to the common need for customised seating solutions among long-term wheelchair users.
The EU in "Communication on the scope of the liability of air carriers and airports in the event of destroyed, damaged or lost mobility equipment of passengers with reduced mobility when traveling by air" notes this disadvantage in relation to EC 1107/2006 "rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when traveling by air".
The EU report notes that the United States under the Air Carrier Access Act and Canada under Part VII of the Air Transport Regulations have taken action to force airlines to fully cover the costs of damage to mobility equipment as a condition of allowing an airline to operate in their airspace, and notes that the EU may have to take similar steps if the additional duties imposed on airlines by EC 1107/2006 do not resolve the issue.

## Ratifications

As September 2018, there are 133 parties to the convention. Included in this total is 132 of the 191 ICAO Member States plus the European Union. The states that have ratified represent 131 UN member states plus the Cook Islands. Other states that have ratified include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, all member states of the European Union, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
| Member state | Date of entry into force | Notes |
| Afghanistan | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Albania | 19 December 2004 | |
| Algeria | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Andorra | 28 June 2004 | |
| Angola | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Antigua and Barbuda | - | None International Protocol |
| Argentina | 14 February 2010 | |
| Armenia | 15 June 2010 | |
| Australia | 24 January 2009 | |
| Austria | 28 June 2004 | |
| Azerbaijan | 11 April 2015 | |
| Bahamas | | Signed. Not ratified |
| Bahrain | 4 November 2003 | |
| Bangladesh | | Signed. Not ratified |
| Barbados | 4 November 2003 | |
| Belarus | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Belgium | 28 June 2004 | |
| Belize | 4 November 2003 | |
| Benin | 29 May 2004 | |
| Bhutan | - | None International Protocol |
| Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 5 July 2015 | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 8 May 2007 | |
| Botswana | 4 November 2003 | |
| Brazil | 18 July 2006 | |
| Brunei Darussalam | 17 May 2020 | |
| Bulgaria | 9 January 2004 | |
| Burkina Faso | 25 August 2013 | |
| Burundi | - | None International Protocol |
| Cabo Verde | 22 October 2004 | |
| Cambodia | | Signed. Not ratified |
| Cameroon | 4 November 2003 | |
| Canada | 4 November 2003 | |
| Central African Republic | | Signed. Not ratified |
| Chad | 10 September 2017 | |
| Chile | 18 May 2009 | |
| China | 31 July 2005 | |
| Colombia | 4 November 2003 | |
| Comoros | - | Warsaw Convention |
| Congo | 17 February 2012 | |
| Costa Rica | 8 August 2011 | |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 5 April 2015 | |
| Croatia | 23 March 2008 | |
| Cuba | 13 December 2005 | |
| Cyprus | 4 November 2003 | |
| Czech Republic | 4 November 2003 | |
| North Korea | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 19 September 2014 | |
| Denmark | 28 June 2004 | |
| Djibouti | - | None International Protocol |
| Dominica | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Dominican Republic | 20 November 2007 | |
| Ecuador | 26 August 2006 | |
| Egypt | 25 April 2005 | |
| El Salvador | 6 January 2008 | |
| Equatorial Guinea | 17 November 2015 | |
| Eritrea | - | None International Protocol |
| Estonia | 4 November 2003 | |
| Ethiopia | 22 June 2014 | |
| Fiji | 9 January 2016 | |
| Finland | 28 June 2004 | |
| France | 28 June 2004 | |
| Gabon | 5 April 2014 | |
| Gambia | 9 May 2004 | |
| Georgia | 18 February 2011 | |
| Germany | 28 June 2004 | |
| Ghana | 3 August 2018 | |
| Greece | 4 November 2003 | |
| Grenada | - | Hague Protocol |
| Guatemala | 6 August 2016 | |
| Guinea | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Guinea-Bissau | - | None International Protocol |
| Guyana | 21 February 2015 | |
| Haiti | - | None International Protocol |
| Honduras | 16 January 2016 | |
| Hungary | 7 January 2005 | |
| Iceland | 16 August 2004 | |
| India | 30 June 2009 | |
| Indonesia | 19 May 2017 | |
| Iran (Islamic Republic of) | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Iraq | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Ireland | 28 June 2004 | |
| Israel | 20 March 2011 | |
| Italy | 28 June 2004 | |
| Jamaica | 5 September 2009 | |
| Japan | 4 November 2003 | |
| Jordan | 4 November 2003 | |
| Kazakhstan | 31 August 2015 | |
| Kenya | 4 November 2003 | |
| Kiribati | - | None International Protocol |
| Kuwait | 4 November 2003 | |
| Kyrgyzstan | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Latvia | 15 February 2005 | |
| Lebanon | 14 May 2005 | |
| Lesotho | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Liberia | - | Warsaw Convention |
| Libya | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Liechtenstein | 28 June 2004 | |
| Lithuania | 29 January 2005 | |
| Luxembourg | 28 June 2004 | |
| Madagascar | 26 February 2007 | |
| Malawi | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Malaysia | 29 February 2008 | |
| Maldives | 30 December 2005 | |
| Mali | 16 March 2008 | |
| Malta | 4 July 2004 | |
| Marshall Islands | - | None International Protocol |
| Mauritania | - | Warsaw Convention |
| Mauritius | 3 April 2017 | |
| Mexico | 4 November 2003 | |
| Micronesia (Federated States of) | - | None International Protocol |
| Monaco | 17 October 2004 | |
| Mongolia | 4 December 2004 | |
| Montenegro | 16 March 2010 | |
| Morocco | 14 June 2010 | |
| Mozambique | 28 March 2014 | |
| Myanmar | - | Warsaw Convention |
| Namibia | 4 November 2003 | |
| Nauru | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Nepal | 15 December 2018 | |
| Netherlands | 28 June 2004 | |
| New Zealand | 4 November 2003 | |
| Nicaragua | - | None International Protocol |
| Niger | 1 April 2018 | |
| Nigeria | 4 November 2003 | |
| Norway | 28 June 2004 | |
| Oman | 27 July 2007 | |
| Pakistan | 17 February 2007 | |
| Palau | - | None International Protocol |
| Panama | 4 November 2003 | |
| Papua New Guinea | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Paraguay | 4 November 2003 | |
| Peru | 4 November 2003 | |
| Philippines | 18 December 2015 | |
| Poland | 18 March 2006 | |
| Portugal | 4 November 2003 | |
| Qatar | 14 November 2005 | |
| South Korea | 29 December 2007 | |
| Republic of Moldova | 16 May 2009 | |
| Romania | 4 November 2003 | |
| Russian Federation | 21 August 2017 | |
| Rwanda | 19 December 2015 | |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | - | None International Protocol |
| Saint Lucia | - | None International Protocol |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 28 May 2004 | |
| Samoa | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| San Marino | - | None International Protocol |
| Sao Tome and Principe | - | None International Protocol |
| Saudi Arabia | 14 December 2003 | |
| Senegal | 6 November 2016 | |
| Serbia | 4 April 2010 | |
| Seychelles | 12 November 2010 | |
| Sierra Leone | 24 January 2016 | |
| Singapore | 16 November 2007 | |
| Slovakia | 4 November 2003 | |
| Slovenia | 4 November 2003 | |
| Solomon Islands | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Somalia | - | None International Protocol |
| South Africa | 21 January 2007 | |
| South Sudan | - | None International Protocol |
| Spain | 28 June 2004 | |
| Sri Lanka | 18 January 2019 | |
| Sudan | 17 October 2017 | |
| Suriname | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Swaziland | 22 January 2017 | |
| Sweden | 28 June 2004 | |
| Switzerland | 5 September 2005 | |
| Syrian Arab Republic | 4 November 2003 | |
| Tajikistan | - | None International Protocol |
| Thailand | 2 October 2017 | |
| The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia | 4 November 2003 | |
| Timor-Leste | - | None International Protocol |
| Togo | 26 November 2016 | |
| Tonga | 19 January 2004 | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Tunisia | 20 November 2018 | |
| Turkey | 26 March 2011 | |
| Turkmenistan | - | Warsaw Convention |
| Tuvalu | - | None International Protocol |
| Uganda | 27 January 2018 | |
| Ukraine | 5 May 2009 | |
| United Arab Emirates | 4 November 2003 | |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 28 June 2004 | |
| United Republic of Tanzania | 4 November 2003 | |
| United States of America | 4 November 2003 | |
| Uruguay | 4 April 2008 | |
| Uzbekistan | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Vanuatu | 8 January 2006 | |
| Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Viet Nam | 26 November 2018 | |
| Yemen | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |
| Zambia | | Signed. Not ratified |
| Zimbabwe | - | Warsaw Convention & Hague Protocol |