Legal Evolution of Carrier Liability in International Aviation Conventions

Аннотация

In the current global aviation system, the safety, reliability, and legal protection of passenger and cargo transportation by air are among the top priorities. In this context, the institution of carrier liability holds a central position. The carrier's liability determines the procedures for compensating damages that occur during air transportation. This article analyzes the stages of legal development of this institution within the framework of international aviation conventions. The evolution from the Warsaw system to the Montreal Convention is thoroughly examined, along with the carrier liability mechanisms based on the provisions of the Guadalajara Convention and the Montreal Protocols of 1975. Keywords: Passenger, carrier, damages, Warsaw Convention, Hague protocol, Montreal Convention, air crash, liability. legislation, as well as the scientific views of foreign and Introduction: In the 21st century, international air national legal scholars were used as the foundation for transport is rapidly developing as an integral part of the this research. world economy and social relations. According to the World Bank, more than 4.7 billion passengers were RESULTS transported by air worldwide in 2022. In 2024, the total The article highlights the legal evolution from the annual air traffic volume increased by 10.4% compared Warsaw system to the Montreal Convention, to 2023. This is 3.8% higher than the pre-pandemic emphasizing improved liability frameworks, SDR-based (2019) level. Domestic transportation increased by compensation, and broader protection of passenger 5.7%. This volume not only increases commercial profit rights—though ambiguities on non-material damage but also adds to the complexity of legal relations. In this and legal uniformity still persist globally. context, clearly defining carrier liability in passenger ANALYSIS and baggage transportation contracts remains a pressing issue in the international legal system. The issue of liability in passenger and baggage International aviation law aims to regulate relations transportation is primarily based on the principle of between carriers and passengers, with its main task damage compensation. Any transport service involves being to ensure a safe, stable, and fair transport inevitable risks, and it is necessary to develop a system. By establishing carrier responsibility, states mechanism for their legal compensation. International protect citizens' rights, foster a culture of safety, and conventions regulating this field serve as the main legal achieve transparency in commercial practices. foundation in this regard. Within the framework of these conventions, international transportation is METHODS regulated, but it is not termed international due to the The study employed methods of comparative legal composition of its subjects. Otherwise, for example, analysis, a systematic approach, historical and legal the legal status of passengers on a single aircraft would analysis, as well as interpretation of regulatory legal be subject to different regimes, they would have more acts. International conventions, their protocols, rules of or fewer rights in relation to each other, and the carrier international organizations (ICAO, IATA), national International Journal of Law And Criminology 61 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijlc International Journal of Law And Criminology (ISSN: 2771-2214) would have to consider the nationality of each The Warsaw Convention of 1929, as its name suggests, passenger. This would undoubtedly complicate and applies to international air carriage and is considered confuse the legal classification of international the primary document that first systematized aviation transport relations. Unlike other civil law contracts, the carrier liability on an international scale. According to peculiarity of the foreign element in international air paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Convention, carriage contracts lies in its manifestation when "international carriage" means any carriage in which, crossing the border of a foreign state (with the according to the agreement between the parties, the destination specified). place of departure and the place of destination are situated within the territories of two States or within Thus, air transportation is considered "international" the territory of a single State if there is an agreed when the destination and place of departure are stopping place within the territory of another State. located in the territories of different states, or when Carriage between two points within the territory of a they are located within the territory of one state but single State without an agreed stopping place within are carried out with an intermediate landing in the the territory of another State is not international territory of another state (i.e., if such a landing is carriage. If stopping is provided for in the territory of stipulated in the contract). another state, and this state is not a party to the At