Revisiting the legal position relating to airline liability in international law

Abstract

Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect. Captain A. G. Lamplugh5 These words spoken by Captain Lumplugh ring true today to a far greater extent than they did when spoken in the early 1930 s. Aviation has become inherently safe, however its risk and catastrophic death lies in carelessness, incapacity and negligence. Aeronautical law has been defined and redefined on many occasions and no one definition satisfies all, but to the majorities satisfaction it can be defined in the words of French author Lemoine, who considers it to be the branch of the law which determines and studies the law and legal regulations regarding air traffic and use of aircraft as well as relations arising therefrom.6 Aeronautical Law (hereinafter referred to as air law) is inherently vested in international law, due to its very nature of traversing across borders and making every corner of our world accessible to all. It is therefore that international air law will be the primary consideration in this dissertation. The writer will primarily focus on the following instruments: Chicago Convention , the Warsaw Convention 7 8 and the Montreal Convention.9