International Aviation Law
The Warsaw Convention
In 1929, a treaty was formed in Warsaw, Poland, which was
meant to protect airlines - especially smaller or newer ones
- from incurring excessive damage liability in case of an
accident. The Warsaw Convention treaty was ratified by the
United States in 1934. In effect, the treaty served to restrict
the rights of international air travelers and their families,
by setting a limit to the amount of money they could collect
in case of an accident causing injury or death.
The Warsaw Convention set into place a maximum amount of
liability, regardless of circumstances. The only way to receive
more was to prove the airline guilty of "willful misconduct,"
but it was nearly impossible to demonstrate that an accident
was due to intentional negligence. The exact amount that could
be collected was based on a standard so that despite diverse
and changing economic conditions between countries, the award
would be comparable in practical terms. In the United States,
that amount was $75,000 until 1997.
Disparity with U.S. Domestic Law
The Warsaw Convention's bias towards protecting the airlines
resulted in an overwhelming difference between the rights
of domestic air travelers and those of international passengers.
While those on domestic flights could sue for full compensatory
damages, international travelers were held to the $75,000
maximum. And since the Warsaw Convention rule applied to passengers
on a domestic leg of an international flight, two people on
the same flight that chose to sue the airline after being
injured could conceivably receive disparate compensation.
The one staying in the United States could receive millions
of dollars, while the one planning to connect to a flight
going abroad would be limited to $75,000. This inconsistency
led to dissatisfaction among international travelers, who
began lobbying for the U.S. to pull out of the treaty.
The Intercarrier Agreement
When the U.S. government threatened to abandon the Warsaw
Convention treaty because of domestic pressures, the airlines
had to act in order to avoid being left vulnerable. Without
the United States involved, the Warsaw Convention treaty could
not function properly.
Beginning in 1997, over 120 airlines signed an intercarrier
agreement that amended the restrictions of the nearly seventy-year-old
treaty. The agreement, sponsored by the International Air
Transport Association and the U.S. Department of Transportation,
waived the $75,000 limit in the U.S. Now, in the United States
and most other countries, a victim or family may sue for full
compensatory damages, up to the amount allowed for domestic
flights in each country. In the United States, victims of
international air disasters almost always automatically receive
$135,000 from the airline involved, even without an accompanying
admission of guilt.
Compensatory Damages
Most airline passengers both international and domestic now
have the right to sue for compensatory damages. There are
two types of damages in this category:
· Pecuniary damages -- These are the economic results
of the injury or death, such as medical costs and lost wages.
For a family who lost a provider, it may also constitute the
support that that person's income would have supplied.
· Non-pecuniary damages -- These refer to the pain
and suffering caused by the injury or death. When applicable,
non-pecuniary damages often exceed those awarded for strictly
economic harm. The amount is levied by the jury, per the judge's
approval.
Accidents Not Involving Physical Injury
The revised Warsaw Convention still prohibits victims from
suing for emotional damages when there was no physical injury
sustained. This is another area of discrepancy with domestic
law. Recently, U.S. courts have allowed passengers on domestic
flights to bring civil claims against airlines. This is not
allowed in international aviation law, where misconduct of
other passengers or airline workers can only be prosecuted
if physical injury or death results from their actions. There
is no recompense for emotional damages alone in international
aviation law. |
