The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to empower the central government to revise the limits of liability for airlines and compensation as per the Montreal Convention.
The Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2015 bill was passed by the house after Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju moved it.
The bill seeks to amend the Carriage by Air Act, 1972 that regulates carriage by air and provides for application of international rules to domestic travel subject to exceptions and adaptations.
The liability limits of the air carriers for damages in international carriage established under the Warsaw Convention, 1929, the Warsaw Convention as amended by the Hague Protocol, 1955 and the Montreal Convention, 1999 have been adopted, acceded to, and given effect to, in India by the Carriage by Air Act, 1972 (herein referred to as the Carriage Act).
The rules governing liability of the air carriers and extent of compensation for damages in international carriage are contained in the First Schedule, the Second Schedule and the Third Schedule to the Carriage Act.
The Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, done at Montreal, on the 28th May, 1999, was acceded to by India by submitting an instrument of accession on 1st May, 1999 and the Carriage Act has been amended in 2009 to incorporate provisions of Montreal Convention under the Third Schedule to the Act which came into force for India on the 30th June, 2009.
Article 24 of the Montreal Convention which corresponds to rule 24 of the Third Schedule to the Carriage Act provides for review of the limits of liability of the air carriers for damages in relation to the carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo, prescribed in rules 21, 22 and 23 of the Carriage Act which corresponds to Articles 21 to 23 of the Montreal Convention, at five years intervals.
As per tacit approval mechanism spelt out in Article 24, paragraph 2 of the Montreal Convention, the revisions shall become effective for all State Parties within six months following the notification, unless within three months after the notification, majority of State Parties have registered their disapproval with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Depository) to the said revision. The Depository conducted first such review of the limits of liability under Article 24 of the Montreal Convention and issued a notification dated 30th June, 2009. In absence of notification of disapproval from the majority State Parties to the Montreal Convention within prescribed notice period, the revised limits of liability have become effective from the 30th December, 2009 for all State Parties to the Montreal Convention.
Accordingly, the aforesaid Bill proposes to amend: (a) section 4A of the Carriage Act by insertion of a new sub-section (6), so as to empower the Central Government to give effect to the revised limits of liability in pursuance to the review made under rule 24 of the Third Schedule to the Carriage Act as and when the revised limits are notified by the ICAO, once in five years, in terms of the Article 24 of Montreal Convention; (b) the Carriage Act by insertion of a new section 8A to empower the Central Government to make rules for carrying out the provisions of the Act, which shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of the Act and the rules annexed as the First Schedule, the Second Schedule and the Third Schedule.
