Jurisdiction and Conflicts of Laws in Contracts of International Carriage by Air

Because of its cross-border nature, air transportation is very often exposed to the legal regimes of different countries. The uncertainty created by this situation was reduced to some extent by the Warsaw System and most recently by the Montreal Convention, which have established a unified uniform liability system applicable to international air transportation. Currently, in international carriage by air, most contracts will fall under the substantive rules of either of these regimes. However, in spite of their success, the unification accomplished by these instruments was not complete and some issues are still left to the national laws. Moreover, the legal traditions of the forum can greatly affect the interpretation of the unified regime the Conventions intend to create. An analysis of the rules applicable to international carriage by air, and the application of these rules made by courts in different jurisdictions demonstrates that domestic legislation has shaped the concepts vested in the Conventions and in many opportunities the interpretation of the courts created significant differences in their application around the world.