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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, DONE AT THE HAGUE ON 28 SEPTEMBER 1955
(THE HAGUE PROTOCOL TO THE WARSAW CONVENTION 1955)
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,
HAVE AGREED as follows:
CHAPTER I
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONVENTION
Article I
In Article 1 of the Convention -
(a) paragraph 2 shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"2. For the purposes of this Convention, the expression
international carriage means any carriage in which, according to
the agreement between the parties, the place of departure and the
place of destination, whether or not there be a break in the carriage
or a transhipment, are situated either within the territories of two
High Contracting Parties or within the territory of a single High
Contracting Party if there is an agreed stopping place within the
territory of another State, even if that State is not a High
Contracting Party. Carriage between two points within the territory
of a single High Contracting Party without an agreed stopping
place within the territory of another State is not international
carriage for the purposes of this Convention."
(b) paragraph 3 shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"3. Carriage to be performed by several successive air
carriers is deemed, for the purposes of this Convention, to be one
undivided carriage if it has been regarded by the parties as a single
operation, whether it had been agreed upon under the form of a
single contract or of a series of contracts, and it does not lose its
international character merely because one contract or a series of
contracts is to be performed entirely within the territory of the
same State."
Article II
In Article 2 of the Convention -
paragraph 2 shall be deleted and replaced by the following:-
"2. This Convention shall not apply to carriage of mail and postal
packages."
Article III
In Article 3 of the Convention -
(a) paragraph 1 shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"1. In respect of the carriage of passengers a ticket 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;
(c) a notice to the effect that, if the passenger's
journey involves an ultimate destination or stop in a
country other than the country of departure, the Warsaw
Convention may be applicable and that the Convention
governs and in most cases limits the liability of carriers for
death or personal injury and in respect of loss of or
damage to baggage."
(b) paragraph 2 shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"2. The passenger ticket shall constitute prima facie
evidence of the conclusion and conditions of the contract of
carriage. The absence, irregularity or loss of the passenger ticket
does 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. Nevertheless, if, with the consent of the carrier, the
passenger embarks without a passenger ticket having been
delivered, or if the ticket does not include the notice required by
paragraph 1 (c) of this Article, the carrier shall not be entitled to
avail himself of the provisions of Article 22."
Article IV
In Article 4 of the Convention -
(a) paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be deleted and replaced by
the following:-
"1. In respect of the carriage of registered baggage, a
baggage check shall be delivered, which, unless combined with or
incorporated in a passenger ticket 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;
(c) a notice to the effect that, if the carriage
involves an ultimate destination or stop in a country other
than the country of departure, the Warsaw Convention
may be applicable and that the Convention governs and in
most cases limits the liability of carriers in respect of loss
of or damage to baggage."
(b) paragraph 4 shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"2. The baggage check shall constitute prima facie
evidence of the registration of the baggage and of the conditions of
the contract of carriage. The absence, irregularity or loss of the
baggage check does 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. Nevertheless, if the carrier takes charge
of the baggage without a baggage check having been delivered or
if the baggage check (unless combined with or incorporated in the
passenger ticket which complies with the provisions of Article 3,
paragraph 1 (c)) does not include the notice required by paragraph
1 (c) of this Article, he shall not be entitled to avail himself of the
provisions of Article 22, paragraph 2."
Article V
In Article 6 of the Convention -
paragraph 3 shall be deleted and replaced by the following:-
"3. The carrier shall sign prior to the loading of the cargo on board
the aircraft."
Article VI
Article 8 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"The air waybill 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;
(c) a notice to the consignor to the effect that, if the
carriage involves an ultimate destination or stop in a country other
than the country of departure, the Warsaw Convention may be
applicable and that the Convention governs and in most cases limits
the liability of carriers in respect of loss of or damage to cargo."
Article VII
Article 9 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"If, with the consent of the carrier, cargo is loaded on board the
aircraft without an air waybill having been made out, or if the air
waybill does not include the notice required by Article 8, paragraph
(c), the carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of the
provisions of Article 22, paragraph 2."
Article VIII
In Article 10 of the Convention -
paragraph 2 shall be deleted and replaced by the following:-
"2. The consignor shall indemnify the carrier against all damage
suffered by him, or by any other person to whom the carrier is liable, by
reason of the irregularity, incorrectness or incompleteness of the
particulars and statements furnished by the consignor."
Article IX
To Article 15 of the Convention -
the following paragraph shall be added:-
"3. Nothing in this Convention prevents the issue of a negotiable
air waybill."
Article X
Paragraph 2 of Article 20 of the Convention shall be deleted.
Article XI
Article 22 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"Article 22
1. In the carriage of persons the liability of the carrier for each
passenger is limited to the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand francs.
Where, in accordance with the law of the court seised of the case, damages
may be awarded in the form of periodical payments, the equivalent capital
value of the said payments shall not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand
francs. Nevertheless, by special contract, the carrier and the passenger may
agree to a higher limit of liability.
2. (a) In the carriage of registered baggage and of cargo, the
liability of the carrier is limited to a sum of two hundred and fifty francs
per kilogramme, unless the passenger or 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 passenger's or consignor's actual interest in delivery at destination.
(b) In the case of loss, damage or delay of part of registered
baggage or 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 registered baggage or cargo, or of an object contained therein,
affects the value of other packages covered by the same baggage check or 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. As regards objects of which the passenger takes charge himself the
liability of the carrier is limited to five thousand francs per passenger.
4. The limits prescribed in this article shall not prevent the court
from awarding, in accordance with its own law, in addition, the whole or
part of the court costs and of the other expenses of the litigation incurred
by the plaintiff. The foregoing provision shall not apply if the amount of
the damages awarded, excluding court costs and other expenses of the
litigation, does not exceed the sum which the carrier has offered in writing
to the plaintiff within a period of six months from the date of the
occurrence causing the damage, or before the commencement of the action, if
that is later.
5. The sums mentioned in francs in this Article 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 XII
In Article 23 of the Convention, the existing provision shall be
renumbered as paragraph 1 and another paragraph shall be added as
follows:-
"2. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to provisions
governing loss or damage resulting from the inherent defect, quality or vice
of the cargo carried."
Article XIII
In Article 25 of the Convention -
paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be deleted and replaced by the following:-
"The limits of liability specified in 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 XIV
After Article 25 of the Convention, the following article shall be
inserted:-
"Article 25 A
1. If an action is brought against a servant or agent of the carrier
arising out of damage to which this 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 Article 22.
2. The aggregate of the amounts recoverable from the carrier, his
servants and agents, in that case, shall not exceed the said limits.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article shall not apply
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 XV
In Article 26 of the Convention -
paragraph 2 shall be deleted and replaced by the following:-
"2. In the 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 seven days from the date of receipt in the case of
baggage and fourteen days from the date of receipt in the case of cargo. In
the case of delay the complaint must be made at the latest within twenty-one
days from the date on which the baggage or cargo have been placed at his
disposal."
Article XVI
Article 34 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the
following:-
"The provisions of Articles 3 to 9 inclusive relating to documents
of carriage shall not apply in the case of carriage performed in extraordinary
circumstances outside the normal scope of an air carrier's business."
Article XVII
After Article 40 of the Convention, the following Article shall be
inserted:-
"Article 40 A
1. In Article 37, paragraph 2 and Article 40, paragraph 1, the
expression High Contracting Party shall mean State. In all other cases, the
expression High Contracting Party shall mean a State whose ratification of
or adherence to the Convention has become effective and whose
denunciation thereof has not become effective.
2. For the purposes of the Convention the word territory means not only
the metropolitan territory of a State but also all other territories for the
foreign relations of which that State is responsible."
CHAPTER II
SCOPE OF APPLICATION OF THE
CONVENTION AS AMENDED
Article XVIII
The Convention as amended 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 within the
territory of another State.
CHAPTER III
FINAL CLAUSES
Article XIX
As between the Parties to this Protocol, the Convention and the
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.
Article XX
Until the date on which this Protocol comes into force in
accordance with the provisions of Article XXII, paragraph 1, it shall remain
open for signature on behalf of any State which up to that date has ratified
or adhered to the Convention or which has participated in the Conference
at which this Protocol was adopted.
Article XXI
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 Convention shall have the effect of adherence to the Convention as
amended by this Protocol.
3. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the
Government of the People's Republic of Poland.
Article XXII
1. As soon as thirty signatory States have deposited their instruments
of ratification of this Protocol, it shall come into force between them on
the ninetieth day after the deposit of the thirtieth instrument of
ratification. It shall come into force for each State ratifying thereafter
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 Government of the People's Republic of
Poland.
Article XXIII
1. This Protocol shall, after it has come into force, be open for
adherence by any non-signatory State.
2. Adherence to this Protocol by any State which is not a Party to
the Convention shall have the effect of adherence to the Convention as
amended by this Protocol.
3. Adherence shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of
adherence with the Government of the People's Republic of Poland and
shall take effect on the ninetieth day after the deposit.
Article XXIV
1. Any Party to this Protocol may denounce the Protocol by
notification addressed to the Government of the People's Republic of
Poland.
2. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the date of receipt
by the Government of the People's Republic of Poland of the notification of
denunication.
3. As between the Parties to this Protocol, denunciation by any of
them of the Convention in accordance with Article 39 thereof shall not be
construed in any way as a denunciation of the Convention as amended by
this Protocol.
Article XXV
1. This Protocol shall apply to all territories for the foreign
relations of which a State Party to this Protocol is responsible, with the
exception of territories in respect of which a declaration has been made in
accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.
2. Any State may, at the time of deposit of its instrument of
ratification or adherence, declare that its acceptance of this Protocol does
not apply to any one or more of the territories for the foreign relations of
which such State is responsible.
3. Any State may subsequently, by notification to the Government of the
People's Republic of Poland, extend the application of this Protocol to any
or all of the territories regarding which it has made a declaration in
accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article. The notification shall take
effect on the ninetieth day after its receipt by that Government.
4. Any State Party to this Protocol may denounce it, in accordance with
the provisions of Article XXIV, paragraph 1, separately for any or all of
the territories for the foreign relations of which such State is
responsible.
Article XXVI
No reservation may be made to this Protocol except that a State may at
any time declare by a notification addressed to the Government of the
People's Republic of Poland that the Convention as amended by this Protocol
shall not apply to the carriage of persons, cargo and baggage 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.
Article XXVII
The Government of the People's Republic of Poland shall give
immediate notice to the Governments of all States signatories to the
Convention or this Protocol, all States Parties to the Convention or this
Protocol, and all States Members of the International Civil Aviation
Organization or of the United Nations and to the International Civil Aviation
Organization:
(a) of any signature of this Protocol and the date thereof;
(b) of the deposit of any instrument of ratification or
adherence in respect of this Protocol and the date thereof;
(c) of the date on which this Protocol comes into force in
accordance with Article XXII, paragraph 1;
(d) of the receipt of any notification of denunciation and
the date thereof;
(e) of the receipt of any declaration or notification made
under Article XXV and the date thereof; and
(f) of the receipt of any notification made under Article
XXVI and the date thereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, having
been duly authorized, have signed this Protocol.
DONE at The Hague on the twenty-eighth day of the month of September of
the year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty-five, in three authentic texts
in the English, French and Spanish languages. In the case of any
inconsistency, the text in the French language, in which language the
Convention was drawn up, shall prevail.
This Protocol shall be deposited with the Government of the People's
Republic of Poland with which, in accordance with Article XX, it shall
remain open for signature, and that Government shall send certified copies
thereof to the Governments of all States signatories to the Convention or
this Protocol, all States Parties to the Convention or this Protocol, and
all States Members of the International Civil Aviation Organization or of
the United Nations, and to the International Civil Aviation
Organization.