Montreal Convention

The Montreal Convention, officially known as the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, is a multilateral treaty adopted by a diplomatic meeting of ICAO member states in 1999. It amends important provisions of the Warsaw Convention's regime concerning compensation for the victims of air disasters. The Convention attempts to re-establish uniformity and predictability of rules relating to the international carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo. It achieves this by replacing a number of supplementary conventions. The Montreal Convention was ratified by 130 parties, and it has been in force since November 2003. It introduces a two-tier liability system and eliminates the requirement of 'wilful misconduct' that was necessary under the Warsaw Convention for a carrier to be liable for damages. It also requires that air carriers be insured to cover liability under the Convention.