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PROTOCOL TO AMEND THE CONVENTION FOR THE UNIFICATION OF CERTAIN RULES RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE BY AIR, SIGNED AT WARSAW ON 12 OCTOBER 1929, AS AMENDED BY THE PROTOCOL DONE AT HE HAGUE ON 28 SEPTEMBER 1955, SIGNED AT GUATEMALA CITY, ON 8 MARCH 1971
(GUATEMALA CITY PROTOCOL 1971)
THE GOVERNMENTS UNDERSIGNED
CONSIDERING that it is desirable to amend the Convention for the
Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air
signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929 as amended by the Protocol done at The
Hague on 28 September 1955,
HAVE AGREED as follows:
CHAPTER I
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONVENTION
Article I
The Convention which the provisions of the present Chapter modify
is the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague in 1955.
Article II
Article 3 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 3
1. In respect of the carriage of passengers an individual or
collective document of carriage shall be delivered containing:
(a) an indication of the places of departure and destination;
(b) if the places of departure and destination are within the
territory of a single High Contracting Party, one or more agreed
stopping places being within the territory of another State, an
indication of at least one such stopping place.
2. Any other means which would preserve a record of the
information indicated in (a) and (b) of the foregoing paragraph may be
substituted for the delivery of the document referred to in that paragraph.
3. Non-compliance with the provisions of the foregoing paragraphs
shall not affect the existence or the validity of the contract of carriage,
which shall, none the less, be subject to the rules of this Convention
including those relating to limitation of liability."
Article III
Article 4 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 4
1. In respect of the carriage of checked baggage, a baggage check
shall be delivered, which, unless combined with or incorporated in a
document of carriage which complies with the provisions of Article 3,
paragraph 1, shall contain:
(a) an indication of the places of departure and destination;
(b) if the places of departure and destination are within the
territory of a single High Contracting Party, one or more agreed
stopping places being within the territory of another State, an
indication of at least one such stopping place.
2. Any other means which would preserve a record of the
information indicated in (a) and (b) of the foregoing paragraph may be
substituted for the delivery of the baggage check referred to in that
paragraph.
3. Non-compliance with the provisions of the foregoing paragraphs
shall not affect the existence or the validity of the contract of carriage,
which shall, none the less, be subject to the rules of this Convention
including those relating to limitation of liability."
Article IV
Article 17 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 17
1. The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of death or
personal injury of a passenger upon condition only that the event which
caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course
of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking. However, the carrier
is not liable if the death or injury resulted solely from the state of
health of the passenger.
2. The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of destruction
or loss of, or of damage to, baggage upon condition only that the event
which caused the destruction, loss or damage took place on board the
aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or
disembarking or during any period within which the baggage was in charge
of the carrier. However, the carrier is not liable if the damage resulted
solely from the inherent defect, quality or vice of the baggage.
3. Unless otherwise specified, in this Convention the term
"baggage" means both checked baggage and objects carried by the
passenger."
Article V
In Article 18 of the Convention -
paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be deleted and replaced by the following:-
"1. The carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of the
destruction or loss of, or of damage to, any cargo, if the occurrence which
caused the damage so sustained took place during the carriage by air.
2. The carriage by air within the meaning of the preceding paragraph
comprises the period during which the cargo is 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."
Article VI
Article 20 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 20
1. In the carriage of passengers and baggage the carrier shall not
be liable for damage occasioned by delay if he proves that he and his
servants and agents have taken all necessary measures to avoid the damage
or that it was impossible for them to take such measures.
2. In the carriage of cargo the carrier shall not be liable for damage
resulting from destruction, loss, damage or delay if he proves that he and
his servants and agents have taken all necessary measures to avoid the
damage or that it was impossible for them to take such measures."
Article VII
Article 21 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 21
If the carrier proves that the damage was caused or contributed to by
the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of the person claiming
compensation, the carrier shall be wholly or partly exonerated from his
liability to such person to the extent that such negligence or wrongful act
or omission caused or contributed to the damage. When by reason of the death
or injury of a passenger compensation is claimed by a person other than the
passenger, the carrier shall likewise be wholly or partly exonerated from
his liability to the extent that he proves that the damage was caused or
contributed to by the negligence or other wrongful act or omission of that
passenger."
Article VIII
Article 22 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 22
1. (a) In the carriage of persons the liability of the carrier is
limited to the sum of one million five hundred thousand francs for the
aggregate of the claims, however founded, in respect of damage suffered as a
result of the death or personal injury of each passenger. Where, in
accordance with the law of the court seised of the case, damages may be
awarded in the form of periodic payments, the equivalent capital value of
the said payments shall not exceed one million five hundred thousand francs.
(b) In the case of delay in the carriage of persons the liability of
the carrier for each passenger is limited to sixty-two thousand five hundred
francs.
(c) In the carriage of baggage the liability of the carrier in the
case of destruction, loss, damage or delay is limited to fifteen thousand
francs for each passenger.
2. (a) In the carriage of cargo, the liability of the carrier is
limited to a sum of two hundred and fifty francs per kilogramme, unless the
consignor has made, at the time when the package was handed over to the
carrier, a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination 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 that sum is greater than the consignor's actual interest in
delivery at destination.
(b) In the case of loss, damage or delay of part of the cargo, or of
any object contained therein, the weight to be taken into consideration in
determining the amount to which the carrier's liability is limited shall be
only the total weight of the package or packages concerned. Nevertheless,
when the loss, damage or delay of a part of the cargo, or of an object
contained therein, affects the value of other packages covered by the same
air waybill, the total weight of such package or packages shall also be
taken into consideration in determining the limit of liability.
3. (a) The courts of the High Contracting Parties which are not
authorized under their law to award the costs of the action, including
lawyers' fees, shall, in actions to which this Convention applies, have the
power to award, in their discretion, to the claimant the whole or part of
the costs of the action, including lawyers' fees which the court considers
reasonable.
(b) The costs of the action including lawyers' fees shall be awarded
in accordance with subparagraph (a) only if the claimant gives a written
notice to the carrier of the amount claimed including the particulars of the
calculation of that amount and the carrier does not make, within a period of
six months after his receipt of such notice, a written offer of settlement
in an amount at least equal to the compensation awarded within the
applicable limit. This period will be extended until the time of
commencement of the action if that is later.
(c) The costs of the action including lawyers' fees shall not be taken
into account in applying the limits under this Article.
4. The sums mentioned in francs in this Article and Article 42 shall
be deemed to refer to a currency unit consisting of sixty-five and a half
milligrammes of gold of millesimal fineness nine hundred. These sums may
be converted into national currencies in round figures. Conversion of the
sums into national currencies other than gold shall, in case of judicial
proceedings, be made according to the gold value of such currencies at the
date of the judgment."
Article IX
Article 24 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 24
1. In the carriage of cargo, any action for damages, however
founded, can only be brought subject to the conditions and limits set out in
this Convention.
2. In the carriage of passengers and baggage any action for damages,
however founded, whether under this Convention or in contract or in tort or
otherwise, can only be brought subject to the conditions and limits of
liability set out in this Convention without prejudice to the question as to
who are the persons who have the right to bring suit and what are their
respective rights. Such limits of liability constitute maximum limits and
may not be exceeded whatever the circumstances which gave rise to the
liability."
Article X
Article 25 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 25
The limit of liability specified in paragraph 2 of Article 22 shall not
apply if it is proved that the damage resulted from an act or omission of
the carrier, his servants or agents, done with intent to cause damage or
recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probably result; provided
that, in the case of such act or omission of a servant or agent, it is also
proved that he was acting within the scope of his employment."
Article XI
In Article 25 A of the Convention -
paragraphs 1 and 3 shall be deleted and replaced by the following:
"1. If an action is brought against a servant or agent of the carrier
arising out of damage to which the Convention relates, such servant or
agent, if he proves that he acted within the scope of his employment, shall
be entitled to avail himself of the limits of liability which that carrier
himself is entitled to invoke under this Convention.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not
apply to the carriage of cargo if it is proved that the damage resulted from
an act or omission of the servant or agent done with intent to cause damage
or recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probably result."
Article XII
In Article 28 of the Convention -
the present paragraph 2 shall be renumbered as paragraph 3 and a new
paragraph 2 shall be inserted as follows:
"2. In respect of damage resulting from the death, injury or delay of a
passenger or the destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage, the action
may be brought before one of the Courts mentioned in paragraph 1 of this
Article, or in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, before
the Court within the jurisdiction of which the carrier has an establishment
if the passenger has his domicile or permanent residence in the territory of
the same High Contracting Party."
Article XIII
After Article 30 of the Convention, the following Article shall be
inserted:-
"Article 30 A
Nothing in this Convention shall prejudice the question whether a
person liable for damage in accordance with its provisions has a right of
recourse against any other person."
Article XIV
After Article 35 of the Convention, the following Article shall be
inserted:-
"Article 35 A
No provision contained in this Convention shall prevent a State
from establishing and operating within its territory a system to supplement
the compensation payable to claimants under the Convention in respect of
death, or personal injury, of passengers. Such a system shall fulfil the
following conditions:
(a) it shall not in any circumstances impose upon the
carrier, his servants or agents, any liability in addition to that
provided under this Convention;
(b) it shall not impose upon the carrier any financial or
administrative burden other than collecting in that State
contributions from passengers if required so to do;
(c) it shall not give rise to any discrimination between
carriers with regard to the passengers concerned and the benefits
available to the said passengers under the system shall be extended
to them regardless of the carrier whose services they have used;
(d) if a passenger has contributed to the system, any
person suffering damage as a consequence of death or personal
injury of such passenger shall be entitled to the benefits of the
system."
Article XV
After Article 41 of the Convention, the following Article shall be
inserted:-
"Article 42
1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 41, Conferences of
the Parties to the Protocol done at Guatemala City on the eighth March 1971
shall be convened during the fifth and tenth years respectively after the
date of entry into force of the said Protocol for the purpose of reviewing
the limit established in Article 22, paragraph 1 (a) of the Convention as
amended by that Protocol.
2. At each of the Conferences mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article
the limit of liability in Article 22, paragraph 1 (a) in force at the
respective dates of these Conferences shall not be increased by an amount
exceeding one hundred and eighty-seven thousand five hundred francs.
3. Subject to paragraph 2 of this Article, unless before the thirty-
first December of the fifth and tenth years after the date of entry into
force of the Protocol referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article the
aforesaid Conferences decide otherwise by a two-thirds majority vote of the
Parties present and voting, the limit of liability in Article 22, paragraph
1 (a) in force at the respective dates of these Conferences shall on those
dates be increased by one hundred and eighty-seven thousand five hundred
francs.
4. The applicable limit shall be that which, in accordance with the
preceding paragraphs, is in effect on the date of the event which caused the
death or personal injury of the passenger."
CHAPTER II
SCOPE OF APPLICATION
OF THE CONVENTION AS AMENDED
Article XVI
The Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague in 1955 and by this
Protocol shall apply to international carriage as defined in Article 1 of
the Convention, provided that the places of departure and destination
referred to in that Article are situated either in the territories of two
Parties to this Protocol or within the territory of a single Party to this
Protocol with an agreed stopping place in the territory of another State.
CHAPTER III
FINAL CLAUSES
Article XVII
As between the Parties to this Protocol, the Warsaw Convention as
amended at The Hague in 1955 and this Protocol shall be read and
interpreted together as one single instrument and shall be known as the
Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague, 1955, and at Guatemala
City, 1971.
Article XVIII
Until the date on which this Protocol enters into force in accordance
with the provisions of Article XX, it shall remain open for signature by all
States Members of the United Nations or of any of the Specialized Agencies
or of the International Atomic Energy Agency or Parties to the Statute of
the International Court of Justice, and by any other State invited by the
General Assembly of the United Nations to become a Party to this Protocol.
Article XIX
1. This Protocol shall be subject to ratification by the signatory
States.
2. Ratification of this Protocol by any State which is not a Party to
the Warsaw Convention or by any State which is not a Party to the Warsaw
Convention as amended at The Hague, 1955, shall have the effect of
accession to the Warsaw Convention as amended at the Hague, 1955, and
at Guatemala City, 1971.
3. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the
International Civil Aviation Organization.
Article XX
1. This Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after the
deposit of the thirtieth instrument of ratification on the condition,
however, that the total international scheduled air traffic, expressed in
passenger-kilometers, according to the statistics for the year 1970
published by the International Civil Aviation Organization, of the airlines
of five States which have ratified this Protocol, represents at least 40 %
of the total international scheduled air traffic of the airlines of the
member States of the International Civil Aviation Organization in that year.
If, at the time of deposit of the thirtieth instrument of ratification, this
condition has not been fulfilled, the Protocol shall not come into force
until the ninetieth day after this condition shall have been satisfied. This
Protocol shall come into force for each State ratifying after the deposit of
the last instrument of ratification necessary for entry into force of this
Protocol on the ninetieth day after the deposit of its instrument of
ratification.
2. As soon as this Protocol comes into force it shall be registered
with the United Nations by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Article XXI
1. After the entry into force of this Protocol it shall be open for
accession by any State referred to in Article XVIII.
2. Accession to this Protocol by any State which is not a Party to
the Warsaw Convention or by any State which is not a Party to the Warsaw
Convention as amended at The Hague, 1955, shall have the effect of
accession to the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague, 1955, and
at Guatemala City, 1971.
3. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of
accession with the International Civil Aviation Organization and shall take
effect on the ninetieth day after the deposit.
Article XXII
1. Any Party to this Protocol may denounce the Protocol by
notification addressed to the International Civil Aviation Organization.
2. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the date of receipt
by the International Civil Aviation Organization of the notification of
denunciation.
3. As between the Parties to this Protocol, denunciation by any of
them of the Warsaw Convention in accordance with Article 39 thereof or of
the Hague Protocol in accordance with Article XXIV thereof shall not be
construed in any way as a denunciation of the Warsaw Convention as
amended at The Hague, 1955, and at Guatemala City, 1971.
Article XXIII
1. Only the following reservations may be made to this Protocol:-
(a) a State whose courts are not authorized under its law
to award the costs of the action including lawyers' fees may at any
time by a notification addressed to the International Civil Aviation
Organization declare that Article 22, paragraph 3 (a) shall not
apply to its courts; and
(b) a State may at any time declare by a notification
addressed to the International Civil Aviation Organization that the
Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague 1955, and at
Guatemala City, 1971 shall not apply to the carriage of persons,
baggage and cargo for its military authorities on aircraft, registered
in that State, the whole capacity of which has been reserved by or
on behalf of such authorities.
2. Any State having made a reservation in accordance with the
preceding paragraph may at any time withdraw such reservation by
notification to the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Article XXIV
The International Civil Aviation Organization shall promptly inform all
signatory or acceding States of the date of each signature, the date of
deposit of each instrument of ratification or accession, the date of entry
into force of this Protocol, and other relevant information.
Article XXV
As between the Parties to this Protocol which are also Parties to the
Convention, Supplementary to the Warsaw Convention, for the Unification of
Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air Performed by a
Person Other than the Contracting Carrier, signed at Guadalajara on 18
September 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the "Guadalajara Convention") any
reference to the "Warsaw Convention" contained in the Guadalajara Convention
shall include reference to the Warsaw Convention as amended at The Hague,
1955, and at Guatemala City, 1971, in cases where the carriage under the
agreement referred to in Article 1, paragraph (b) of the Guadalajara
Convention is governed by this Protocol.
Article XXVI
This Protocol shall remain open, until 30 September 1971, for signature
by any State referred to in Article XVIII, at the Ministry of External
Relations of the Republic of Guatemala and thereafter, until it enters into
force in accordance with Article XX, at the International Civil Aviation
Organization. The Government of the Republic of Guatemala shall promptly
inform the International Civil Aviation Organization of any signature and
the date thereof during the time that the Protocol shall be open for
signature in Guatemala.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, having
been duly authorized, have signed this Protocol.
DONE at Guatemala City on the eighth day of the month of March of the
year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy-one in three authentic texts in
the English, French and Spanish languages. The International Civil Aviation
Organization shall establish an authentic text of this Protocol in the
Russian language.* In the case of any inconsistency, the text in the French
language, in which language the Warsaw Convention of 12 October 1929 was
drawn up, shall prevail.
* The authentic text of the Protocol in the Russian language was approved
by the Council of ICAO at its 86th Session, on 9 October 1975, and is
published under the authority of the Secretary General.