International carriages under the Warsaw Convention

When the accident occurs on an international carriage to which the Warsaw Convention (WC) applies, an air carrier shall be liable for damages sustained in the event of the death or wounding of a passenger or any other bodily injury suffered by a passenger, if the accident which caused the damage so sustained took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking and disembarking (Art. 17 WC).

The carrier will furthermore be liable for damage sustained in the event of the destruction or loss of, or of damage to, any checked baggage or any goods, if the occurrence, which caused the damage, so sustained took place during the “transportation by air” (Art. 18 WC). This notion comprises the period during which the baggage or goods are in the charge of the carrier, whether in an airport or on board an aircraft, or, in a case of a landing outside an airport, in any place whatsoever.

In any such damage case you have to bring an action to the competent court within two years, reckoned from the date of arrival at the destination, or from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived, or from the date on which the transportation stopped (Article 29 WC). After this time limitation has elapsed, a plaintiff’s right to damages shall be extinguished.

As in most countries the courts held that Art. 29 WC contains condition precedent, the judge must not wait for a party to plea expiration; he is obliged to check whether the claim has expired. If so plaintiff will loose his claim. The parties cannot waive the expiration of the time limit!

Any other carriages

For any other carriages to which the Warsaw Convention does not apply, the national regulations have to be checked carefully. Under German Law there is a time limit of three years (for details check on the German version of this home page).
 

Do you need legal advise? Do you have to let an attorney-at-law handle your case?

The question whether or not you need an attorney to be involved depends on the laws applicable to the case. Please check this carefully.

If you need an attorney to handle your case one can say that in principle any lawyer can give you support. But be careful: Aviation law is pretty much complicated even for lawyers. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to seek for legal advise by a lawyer who is specialised on aviation law and who has experience in handling such cases. You may find such specialists in relevant reference books, in the internet or – in some countries - by contacting the local Bar Association.
 

Selected books for detailed information:

Diedriks-Verschoor, Isa, Introduction to Air Law (7th ed.), Kluwer Law International, The Hague

Giemulla, Elmar / Schmid, Ronald (ed.), Warsaw Convention, a commentary

Goldhirsch, Lawrence B., The Warsaw Convention annotated (2nd ed.)

Shawcross and Beaumont , Air Law (loose leaf, since 1977)