The Hague Protocol and the Montreal Agreement

Warsaw has been amended over its history, and its legal effect has been modified by separate agreements between nations. The original limita­tion of liability set forth in Warsaw was $8,300 per passenger for personal injury or death. This amount was doubled by operation of the Hague Protocol of 1955, effective in 1964. As inflation eroded the value of currencies the world over, the limitations of liability contained in Warsaw became effectively lower and lower. The United States, in 1965, let it be known that it would con­sider withdrawing from Warsaw if liability limits were not raised. This led to a voluntary accord,

known as the Montreal Inter-Carrier Agreement, being signed in 1966 by all major foreign and U. S. carriers serving the United States. Under this agreement, limits of liability were raised to $75,000 per passenger for death or injury. This agreement was not an amendment of Warsaw, but a voluntary acceptance by the airlines of an increase in their potential liability. Any carrier desiring to fly into the United States was required to join the agreement. The Montreal Agreement was followed by a similar agreement between European civil aviation authorities, called the Malta Agreement, which increased those airlines’ liability in such cases on international flights between their nations.

The Montreal Agreement was seen as an interim fix, and the United States contin – . ued efforts to have Warsaw formally amended or replaced. This led to two subsequent formal agreements, the Guadalajara Convention in 1961 and the Guatemala Protocol in 1971, but neither of these was ratified by the United States.

The Montreal Protocols in 1975 dealt with cargo issues arising under Warsaw, provided for increased liability limits and, importantly, elimi­nated the outmoded cargo documentation provi­sions of Warsaw. This step allowed the use of electronic commerce in international cargo trans­actions, eliminating the necessity of providing detailed air waybills and the like. This agreement was ratified by the United States in 1998.