Warsaw Convention
Warsaw Convention
The President of the German Reich, the Federal President of the Republic of
Austria, His Majesty the King of the Belgians, the President of the United States of
Brazil, His Majesty the King of the Bulgarians, the President of the Nationalist
Government of China, His Majesty the King of Denmark and Iceland, His Majesty
the King of Egypt, His Majesty the King of Spain, the Chief of State of the Republic
of Estonia, the President of the Republic of Finland, the President of the French
Republic, His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Dominions
beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, the President of the Hellenic Republic, His Most
Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, His Majesty the King of
Italy, His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, the President of the Republic of Latvia, Her
Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Luxemburg, the President of the United
Mexican States, His Majesty the King of Norway, Her Majesty the Queen of the
Netherlands, the President of the Republic of Poland, His Majesty the King of
Rumania, His Majesty the King of Sweden, the Swiss Federal Council, the President
of the Czechoslovak Republic, the Central Executive Committee of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, the President of the United States of Venezuela, His
Majesty the King of Yugoslavia:
CHAPTER I
Scope of Definitions
CHAPTER II
Transportation Documents
SECTION I
Passenger Ticket
(c) The agreed stopping places, provided that the carrier may reserve
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the right to alter the stopping places in case of necessity, and that if
he exercises that right, the alteration shall not have the effect of
depriving the transportation of its international character;
(2) The absence, irregularity, or loss of the passenger ticket shall not affect
the existence or the validity of the contract of transportation, which shall none the less
be subject to the rules of this convention. Nevertheless, if the carrier accepts a
passenger without a passenger ticket having been delivered he shall not be entitled to
avail himself of those provisions of this convention which exclude or limit his
liability.
SECTION II
Baggage Check
(2) The baggage check shall be made out in duplicate, one part for the
passenger and the other part for the carrier.
(e) A statement that delivery of the baggage will be made to the bearer
of the baggage check;
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(g) The amount of the value declared in accordance with article 22 (2);
(4) The absence, irregularity, or loss of the baggage check shall not affect the
existence or the validity of the contract of transportation which shall none the less be
subject to the rules of this convention. Nevertheless, if the carrier accepts baggage
without a baggage check having been delivered, or if the baggage check does not
contain the particulars set out at (d), (f), and (h) above, the carrier shall not be entitled
to avail himself of those provisions of the convention which exclude or limit his
ability.
SECTION III
Air Waybill
ARTICLE 5. (1) Every carrier of goods has the right to require the
consignor to make out and hand over to him a document called an "air waybill"; every
consignor has the right to require the carrier to accept this document.
(2) The absence, irregularity, or loss of this document shall not affect the
existence or the validity of the contract of transportation which shall, subject to the
provisions of Article 9, be none the less governed by the rules of this convention.
ARTICLE 6. (1) The air waybill shall be made out by the consignor in
three original parts and be handed over with the goods.
(2) The first part shall be marked "for the carrier", and shall be signed by the
consignor. The second part shall be marked "for the consignee"; it shall be signed by
the consignor and by the carrier and shall accompany the goods. The third part shall
be signed by the carrier and handed by him to the consignor after the goods have been
accepted.
(4) The signature of the carrier may be stamped; that of the consignor may be
printed or stamped.
(5) If, at the request of the consignor, the carrier makes out the air waybill, he
shall be deemed, subject to proof to the contrary, to have done so on behalf of the
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consignor.
ARTICLE 7. The carrier of goods has the right to require the consignor to
make out separate waybills when there is more than one package.
(c) The agreed stopping places, provided that the carrier may reserve
the right to alter the stopping places in case of necessity, and that if
he exercises that right the alteration shall not have the effect of
depriving the transportation of its international character;
(f) The name and address of the consignee, if the case so requires;
(h) The number of packages, the method of packing, and the particular
marks or numbers upon them;
(i) The weight, the quantity, the volume, or dimensions of the goods;
(k) The freight, if it has been agreed upon, the date and place of
payment, and the person who is to pay it;
(l) If the goods are sent for payment on delivery, the price of the
goods, and, if the case so requires, the amount of the expenses
incurred;
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(o) The documents handed to the carrier to accompany the air waybill;
(p) The time fixed for the completion of the transportation and a brief
note of the route to be followed, if these matters have been agreed
upon;
ARTICLE 10. (1) The consignor shall be responsible for the correctness of
the particulars and statements relating to the goods which he inserts in the air waybill.
(2) The consignor shall be liable for all damages suffered by the carrier or
any other person by reason of the irregularity, incorrectness or incompleteness of the
said particulars and statements.
ARTICLE 11. (1) The air waybill shall be prima facie evidence of the
conclusion of the contract, of the receipt of the goods and of the conditions of
transportation.
(2) The statements in the air waybill relating to the weight, dimensions, and
packing of the goods, as well as those relating to the number of packages, shall be
prima facie evidence of the facts stated; those relating to the quantity, volume and
condition of the goods shall not constitute evidence against the carrier except so far as
they both have been, and are stated in the air waybill to have been, checked by him in
the presence of the consignor, or relate to the apparent condition of the goods.
ARTICLE 12. (1) Subject to his liability to carry out all his obligations
under the contract of transportation, the consignor shall have the right to dispose of
the goods by withdrawing them at the airport of departure or destination, or by
stopping them in the course of the journey on any landing, or by calling for them to be
delivered at the place of destination, or in the course of the journey to a person other
than the consignee named in the air waybill, or by requiring them to be returned to the
airport of departure. He must not exercise this right of disposition in such a way as to
prejudice the carrier or other consignors, and he must repay any expenses occasioned
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by the exercise of this right.
(2) If it is impossible to carry out the orders of the consignor the carrier must
so inform him forthwith.
(3) If the carrier obeys the orders of the consignor for the disposition of the
goods without requiring the production of the part of the air waybill delivered to the
latter, he will be liable, without prejudice to his right of recovery from the consignor,
for any damage which may be caused thereby to any person who is lawfully in
possession of that part of the air waybill.
(4) The right conferred on the consignor shall cease at the moment when that
of the consignee begins in accordance with Article 13, below. Nevertheless, if the
consignee declines to accept the waybill or the goods, or if he cannot be
communicated with, the consignor shall resume his right of disposition.
ARTICLE 13. (1) Except in the circumstances set out in the preceding
article, the consignee shall be entitled, on arrival of the goods at the place of
destination, to require the carrier to hand over to him the air waybill and to deliver the
goods to him, on payment of the charges due and on complying with the conditions of
transportation set out in the air waybill.
(2) Unless it is otherwise agreed, it shall be the duty of the carrier to give
notice to the consignee as soon as the goods arrive.
(3) If the carrier admits the loss of the goods, or if the goods have not arrived
at the expiration of seven days after the date on which they ought to have arrived, the
consignee shall be entitled to put into force against the carrier the rights which flow
from the contract of transportation.
ARTICLE 14. The consignor and the consignee can respectively enforce
all the rights given them by Articles 12 and 13, each in his own name, whether he is
acting in his own interest or in the interest of another, provided that he carries out the
obligations imposed by the contract.
ARTICLE 15. (1) Articles 12, 13, and 14 shall not affect either the
relations of the consignor and the consignee with each other or the relations of third
parties whose rights are derived either from the consignor or from the consignee.
(2) The provisions of Article 12, 13, and 14 can only be varied by express
provision in the air waybill.
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ARTICLE 16. (1) The consignor must furnish such information and attach
to the air waybill such documents as are necessary to meet the formalities of customs,
octroi, or police before the goods can be delivered to the consignee. The consignor
shall be liable to the carrier for any damage occasioned by the absence, insufficiency,
or irregularity of any such information or documents, unless the damage is due to the
fault of the carrier or his agents.
CHAPTER III
ARTICLE 17. The carrier shall be liable for damage 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 or disembarking.
ARTICLE 18. (1) The carrier shall 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.
(2) The transportation by air within the meaning of the preceding paragraph
shall comprise the period during which the baggage or goods are in charge of the
carrier, whether in an airport or on board an aircraft, or, in the case of a landing
outside an airport, in any place whatsoever.
(3) The period of the transportation by air shall not extend to any
transportation by land, by sea, or by river performed outside an airport. If, however,
such transportation takes place in the performance of a contract for transportation by
air, for the purpose of loading, delivery or transshipment, any damage is presumed,
subject to proof to the contrary, to have been the result of an event which took place
during the transportation by air.
ARTICLE 19. The carrier shall be liable for damage occasioned by delay
in the transportation by air of passengers, baggage, or goods.
ARTICLE 20. (1) The carrier shall not be liable if he proves that he and his
agents have taken all necessary measures to avoid the damage or that it was
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impossible for him or them to take such measures.
(2) In the transportation of goods and baggage the carrier shall not be liable if
he proves that the damage was occasioned by an error in piloting, in the handling of
the aircraft, or in navigation and that, in all other respects, he and his agents have
taken all necessary measures to avoid the damage.
ARTICLE 21. If the carrier proves that the damage was caused by or
contributed to by the negligence of the injured person the court may, in accordance
with the provisions of its own law, exonerate the carrier wholly or partly from his
liability.
(2) In the transportation of checked baggage and of goods, the liability of the
carrier shall be limited to a sum of 250 francs per kilogram, unless the consignor has
made, at the time when the package was handed over to the carrier, a special
declaration of the value at delivery and has paid a supplementary sum if the case so
requires. In that case the carrier will be liable to pay a sum not exceeding the declared
sum, unless he proves that the sum is greater than the actual value to the consignor at
delivery.
(3) As regards objects of which the passenger takes charge himself the
liability of the carrier shall be limited to 5,000 francs per passenger.
(4) The sums mentioned above shall be deemed to refer to the French franc
consisting of 65½ milligrams of gold at the standard of fineness of nine hundred
thousandths. These sums may be converted into any national currency in round
figures.
ARTICLE 24. (1) In the cases covered by Articles 18 and 19 any action for
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damages, however founded, can only be brought subject to the conditions and limits
set out in this convention.
ARTICLE 25. (1) The carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of the
provisions of this convention which exclude or limit his liability, if the damage is
caused by his wilful misconduct or by such default on his part as, in accordance with
the law of the court to which the case is submitted, is considered to be equivalent to
wilful misconduct.
(2) Similarly the carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of the said
provisions, if the damage is caused under the same circumstances by any agent of the
carrier acting within the scope of his employment.
ARTICLE 26. (1) Receipt by the person entitled to the delivery of baggage
or goods without complaint shall be prima facie evidence that the same have been
delivered in good condition and in accordance with the document of transportation.
(2) In case of damage, the person entitled to delivery must complain to the
carrier forthwith after the discovery of the damage, and, at the latest, within 3 days
from the date of receipt in the case of baggage and 7 days from the date of receipt in
the case of goods. In case of delay the complaint must be made at the latest within 14
days from the date on which the baggage or goods have been placed at his disposal.
(4) Failing complaint within the times aforesaid, no action shall lie against
the carrier, save in the case of fraud on his part.
ARTICLE 27. In the case of the death of the person liable, an action for
damages lies in accordance with the terms of this convention against those legally
representing his estate.
ARTICLE 28. (1) An action for damages must be brought, at the option of
the plaintiff, in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, either before the
court of the domicile of the carrier or of his principal place of business or where he
has a place of business through which the contract has been made or before the court
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at the place of destination.
(2) Questions of procedure shall be governed by the law of the court to which
the case is submitted.
CHAPTER IV
(2) Nothing in this convention shall prevent the parties in the case of
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combined transportation from inserting in the document of air transportation
conditions relating to other modes of transportation, provided that the provisions of
this convention are observed as regards the transportation by air.
CHAPTER V
ARTICLE 32. Any clause contained in the contract and all special
agreements entered into before the damage occurred by which the parties purport to
infringe the rules laid down by this convention, whether by deciding the law to be
applied, or by altering the rules as to jurisdiction, shall be null and void. Nevertheless
for the transportation of goods arbitration clauses shall be allowed, subject to this
convention, if the arbitration is to take place within one of the jurisdictions referred to
in the first paragraph of article 28.
ARTICLE 35. The expression "days" when used in this convention means
current days, not working days.
(2) As soon as this convention shall have been ratified by five of the High
Contracting Parties it shall come into force as between them on the ninetieth day after
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the deposit of the fifth ratification. Thereafter it shall come into force between the
High Contracting Parties which shall have ratified and the High Contracting Party
which deposits its instrument of ratification on the ninetieth day after the deposit.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Government of the Republic of Poland to notify
the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties of the date on which this
convention comes into force as well as the date of the deposit of each ratification.
ARTICLE 38. (1) This convention shall, after it has come into force,
remain open for adherence by any state.
(3) The adherence shall take effect as from the ninetieth day after the
notification made to the Government of the Republic of Poland.
ARTICLE 39. (1) Any one of the High Contracting Parties may denounce
this convention by a notification addressed to the Government of the Republic of
Poland, which shall at once inform the Government of each of the High Contracting
Parties.
(2) Denunciation shall take effect six months after the notification of
denunciation, and shall operate only as regards the party which shall have proceeded
to denunciation.
ARTICLE 40. (1) Any High Contracting Party may, at the time of
signature or of deposit of ratification or of adherence, declare that the acceptance
which it gives to this convention does not apply to all or any of its colonies,
protectorates, territories under mandate, or any other territory subject to its
sovereignty or its authority, or any other territory under its suzerainty.
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protectorates, territories under mandate, or any other territory subject to its
sovereignty or to its authority, or any other territory under its suzerainty.
ARTICLE 41. Any High Contracting Party shall be entitled not earlier than
two years after the coming into force of this convention to call for the assembling of a
new international conference in order to consider any improvements which may be
made in this convention. To this end it will communicate with the Government of the
French Republic which will take the necessary measures to make preparations for
such conference.
ADDITIONAL PROTOCOL
The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right to declare at the
time of ratification or of accession that the first paragraph of Article 2 of this
convention shall not apply to international transportation by air performed directly by
the state, its colonies, protectorates, or mandated territories, or by any other territory
under its sovereignty, suzerainty, or authority.
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Endnotes
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Signed at Warsaw, October 12, 1929. The Convention was concurred in by the
Senate, S.R. No. 19, May 16, 1950. The Philippine Instrument of accession was
signed by the President, October 13, 1950 and was deposited with the Polish
Government, November 9, 1950. It entered into force, February 13, 1933 and with
respect to the Philippines, February 9, 1951. It was proclaimed by the President, Proc.
No. 201, S. 1955.
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1. Including Papua, Norfolk Islands and the trust territories of New Guinea and Nauru.
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2. With reservation.
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3. Including Land Berlin.
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3. Including Land Berlin.
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4. Including Surinam and Curacao.
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2. With reservation.
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5. Including Aden and Protectorate of South Arabia, Antigua, Ascencion Islands,
Bahamas, Barbados, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Bermuda, British Guiana, British
Honduras British Solomon Islands, Brunei, Caicos, Caymen Islands, Channel Islands,
Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji Islands, Gibraltar, Gilbert and Ellice Islands,
Grenada, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Mauritius, Montserrat, Rhodesia, St. Christopher,
Nevis, St. Helena, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tonga, Turks,
Virgin Islands.
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2. With reservation.
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6. Notification of denunciation received November 15, 1965, effective May 15, 1966.
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