“Victims of an aviation accident during international carriage and their family members will be better protected and will receive higher compensation under the new Montreal Convention, which modernizes and consolidates the 75-year-old system of international private international law instruments into a single legal document,” said Assad Kotaite, President of the ICAO Council.
As Zagranitsa has already noted, the main feature of the new convention is the absence of a liability limit for the air carrier, whereas the Warsaw Convention sets a liability limit in the event of death or bodily injury of passengers at approximately $8,300. The Montreal Convention introduces a two-tier system of compensation. The first tier means strict liability in the amount of about $135,000 regardless of the airline's fault, and the second tier is based on the presumption of guilt of the air carrier and does not provide for a limit. Theoretically, the victim or their relatives will be able to sue the airline for an unlimited amount. The previous Warsaw Convention provided for a minimum compensation of 125,000 gold francs (equivalent to $8,300) and a maximum of $20,000.
While previously passengers had to prove in court that damage to their health was caused by the air carrier, now the blame for everything that happens to passengers during the flight is initially placed on the air carrier. Airlines may now even face cases where they have to prove in court that a passenger's toothache has nothing to do with the flight. In addition, compensation will be paid for any other reasons: payments for lost baggage have increased to $1,000 (instead of the previous $400 for 20 kg), for unjustified flight delays - up to $5,000, and if, say, a plane crashes into a residential building, its residents will also be able to count on compensation for losses.
Until recently, when it came to actual compensation for damage, neither air carriers nor insurers were in a hurry. Victims had to seek payments in court. For example, relatives of Russians who died in October 2001 as a result of the downing of a Tu-154 aircraft of the Sibir Airlines by a missile of the Ukrainian air defense forces are still litigating with the Ukrainian government. With the entry into force of the Montreal Convention, victims will receive money without court proceedings. True, not in all countries.
Currently, 31 states have ratified the Montreal Convention. The new rules will not apply in Ukraine: our state has not ratified the document, just like none of the CIS countries. After all, this process entails financial consequences - an increase in liability limits and insurance premiums. In 1999, Ukraine already became a member of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), which unites 41 states, for which completely different rules of payments in case of air crashes have been established. For example, the health and life of a passenger in the EU are assessed at a minimum limit of 250,000 SDRs (special drawing rights), or $315,000, which significantly exceeds the limit of the Montreal Convention.
However, the provisions of the new convention will also apply to domestic air carriers, but only if the flight is performed to one of the countries that have joined it (or from it), and only with respect to those passengers who bought a ticket in one of such states.
Experts note that domestic airlines may lose their positions in the international air transportation market. After all, on some routes it will be more profitable to use the services of Western companies, which value not only the lives but also the baggage and time of passengers. Moreover, the increase in insurance payments will practically not affect ticket prices (they will rise on average by $20). In addition, countries that have joined the Montreal Convention have the right not to allow our aircraft into their territory. Finally, if states that have not yet signed the convention introduce its main provisions into domestic legislation, then the road to their territories will be closed for domestic airlines.