LAZIO
CONVENZIONE PER L'UNIFICAZIONE DI ALCUNE REGOLE RELATIVE AL TRASPORTO AEREO
INTERNAZIONALE, FIRMATA A VARSAVIA IL 12 OTTOBRE 1929
Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules
Relating to International Carriage by Air,
Signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929
(Warsaw Convention)
Chapter I - Scope - Definitions
Article 1
Article 2
Chapter II - Documents of Carriage
Section I - Passenger Ticket
Article 3
Section II - Luggage Ticket
Article 4
Section III - Air Consignment Note
Article 5
Article 6
Article 7
Article 8
Article 9
Article 10
Article 11
Article 12
Article 13
Article 14
Article 15
Article 16
Chapter III - Liability of the Carrier
Article 17
Article 18
Article 19
Article 20
Article 21
Article 22
Article 23
Article 24
Article 25
Article 26
Article 27
Article 28
Article 29
Article 30
Chapter IV - Provisions Relating to Combined Carriage
Article 31
Chapter V - General and Final Provisions
Article 32
Article 33
Article 34
Article 35
Article 36
Article 37
Article 38
Article 39
Article 40
Article 41
Additional Protocol
Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules
Relating to International Carriage by Air,
Signed at Warsaw on 12 October 1929
(Warsaw Convention)
Chapter I - Scope - Definitions
Article 1
1. This Convention applies to all international carriage of persons, luggage or goods
performed by aircraft for reward. It applies equally to gratuitous carriage by aircraft
performed by an air transport undertaking.
2. For the purposes of this Convention the expression "international carriage"
means any carriage in which, according to the contract made by 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 a territory subject to the sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or
authority of another Power, even though that Power is not a party to this Convention. A
carriage without such an agreed stopping place between territories subject to the
sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority of the same High Contracting Party is not
deemed to be international for the purposes of this Convention.
3. A 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 a
territory subject to the sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority of the same High
Contracting Party.
Article 2
1. This Convention applies to carriage performed by the State or by legally constituted
public bodies provided it falls within the conditions laid down in Article 1.
2. This Convention does not apply to carriage performed under the terms of any
international postal Convention.
Chapter II - Documents of Carriage
Section I - Passenger Ticket
Article 3
1. For the carriage of passengers the carrier must deliver a passenger ticket which shall
contain the following particulars: (a) the place and date of issue; (b) the place of
departure and of destination; (c) the agreed stopping places, provided that the carrier
may reserve the right to alter the stopping places in case of necessity, and that if he
exercises that right, the alteration shall not have the effect of depriving the carriage
of its international character; (d) the name and address of the carrier or carriers; (e) a
statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to liability established by
this Convention.
2. 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 the carrier accepts a passenger without a
passenger ticket having been delivered he shall not be entitled to avail himself of those
provisions of this Convention which exclude or limit his liability.
Section II - Luggage Ticket
Article 4
1. For the carriage of luggage, other than small personal objects of which the passenger
takes charge himself, the carrier must deliver a luggage ticket.
2. The luggage ticket shall be made out in duplicate, one part for the passenger and the
other part for the carrier.
3. The luggage ticket shall contain the following particulars: (a) the place and date of
issue; (b) the place of departure and of destination; (c) the name and address of the
carrier or carriers; (d) the number of the passenger ticket; (e) a statement that delivery
of the luggage will be made to the bearer of the luggage ticket; (f) the number and weight
of the packages; (g) the amount of the value declared in accordance with Article 22(2);
(h) a statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to liability
established by this Convention.
4. The absence, irregularity or loss of the luggage 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 the carrier accepts luggage without a luggage
ticket having been delivered, or if the luggage ticket does not contain the particulars
set out at (d), (f) and (h) above, the carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of
those provisions of the Convention which exclude or limit his liability.
Section III - Air Consignment Note
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Article 5
1. Every carrier of goods has the right to require the consignor to make out and hand over
to him a document called an "air consignment note"; every consignor has the
right to require the carrier to accept this document.
2. The absence, irregularity or loss of this document does not affect the existence or the
validity of the contract of carriage which shall, subject to the provisions of Article 9,
be none the less governed by the rules of this Convention.
Article 6
1. The air consignment note shall be made out by the consignor in three original parts and
be handed over with the goods.
2. The first part shall be marked "for the carrier" and shall be signed by the
consignor. The second part shall be marked "for the consignee"; it shall be
signed by the consignor and by the carrier and shall accompany the goods. The third part
shall be signed by the carrier and handed by him to the consignor after the goods have
been accepted.
3. The carrier shall sign on acceptance of the goods.
4. The signature of the carrier may be stamped; that of the consignor may be printed or
stamped.
5. If, at the request of the consignor, the carrier makes out the air consignment note, he
shall be deemed, subject to proof to the contrary, to have done so on behalf of the
consignor.
Article 7
The carrier of goods has the right to require the consignor to make out separate
consignment notes when there is more than one package.
Article 8
The air consignment note shall contain the following particulars: (a) the place and date
of its execution; (b) the place of departure and of destination; (c) the agreed stopping
places, provided that the carrier may reserve the right to alter the stopping places in
case of necessity, and that if he exercises that right the alteration shall not have the
effect of depriving the carriage of its international character; (d) the name and address
of the consignor; (e) the name and address of the first carrier; (f) the name and address
of the consignee, if the case so requires; (g) the nature of the goods; (h) the number of
the packages, the method of packing and the particular marks or numbers upon them; (i) the
weight, the quantity and the volume or dimensions of the goods; (j) the apparent condition
of the goods and of the packing; (k) the freight, if it has been agreed upon, the date and
place of payment, and the person who is to pay it; (l) if the goods are sent for payment
on delivery, the price of the goods, and, if the case so requires, the amount of the
expenses incurred; (m) the amount of the value declared in accordance with Article 22 (2);
(n) the number of parts of the air consignment note; (o) the documents handed to the
carrier to accompany the air consignment note; (p) the time fixed for the completion of
the carriage and a brief note of the route to be followed, if these matters have been
agreed upon; (q) a statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to
liability established by this Convention.
Article 9
If the carrier accepts goods without an air consignment note having been made out, or if
the air consignment note does not contain all the particulars set out in Article 8 (a) to
(i) inclusive and (q), the carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of the
provisions of this Convention which exclude or limit his liability.
Article 10
1. The consignor is responsible for the correctness of the particulars and statements
relating to the goods which he inserts in the air consignment note.
2. The consignor will be liable for all damage suffered by the carrier or any other person
by reason of the irregularity, incorrectness or incompleteness of the said particulars and
statements.
Article 11
1. The air consignment note is prima facie evidence of the conclusion of the contract, of
the receipt of the goods and of the conditions of carriage.
2. The statements in the air consignment note relating to the weight, dimensions and
packing of the goods, as well as those relating to the number of packages, are prima facie
evidence of the facts stated; those relating to the quantity, volume and condition of the
goods do not constitute evidence against the carrier except so far as they both have been,
and are stated in the air consignment note to have been, checked by him in the presence of
the consignor, or relate to the apparent condition of the goods.
Article 12
1. Subject to his liability to carry out all his obligations under the contract of
carriage, the consignor has the right to dispose of the goods by withdrawing them at the
aerodrome of departure or destination, or by stopping them in the course of the journey on
any landing, or by calling for them to be delivered at the place of destination or in the
course of the journey to a person other than the consignee named in the air consignment
note, or by requiring them to be returned to the aerodrome of departure. He must not
exercise this right of disposition in such a way as to prejudice the carrier or other
consignors and he must repay any expenses occasioned by the exercise of this right.
2. If it is impossible to carry out the orders of the consignor the carrier must so inform
him forthwith.
3. If the carrier obeys the orders of the consignor for the disposition of the goods
without requiring the production of the part of the air consignment note delivered to the
latter, he will be liable, without prejudice to his right of recovery from the consignor,
for any damage which may be caused thereby to any person who is lawfully in possession of
that part of the air consignment note.
4. The right conferred on the consignor ceases at the moment when that of the consignee
begins in accordance with Article 13. Nevertheless, if the consignee declines to accept
the consignment note or the goods, or if he cannot be communicated with, the consignor
resumes his right of disposition.
Article 13
1. Except in the circumstances set out in the preceding Article, the consignee is
entitled, on arrival of the goods at the place of destination, to require the carrier to
hand over to him the air consignment note and to deliver the goods to him, on payment of
the charges due and on complying with the conditions of carriage set out in the air
consignment note.
2. Unless it is otherwise agreed, it is the duty of the carrier to give notice to the
consignee as soon as the goods arrive.
3. If the carrier admits the loss of the goods, or if the goods have not arrived at the
expiration of seven days after the date on which they ought to have arrived, the consignee
is entitled to put into force against the carrier the rights which flow from the contract
of carriage.
Article 14
The consignor and the consignee can respectively enforce all the rights given them by
Articles 12 and 13, each in his own name, whether he is acting in his own interest or in
the interest of another, provided that he carries out the obligations imposed by the
contract.
Article 15
1. Articles 12, 13 and 14 do not affect either the relations of the consignor or the
consignee with each other or the mutual relations of third parties whose rights are
derived either from the consignor or from the consignee.
2. The provisions of Articles 12, 13 and 14 can only be varied by express provision in the
air consignment note.
Article 16
1. The consignor must furnish such information and attach to the air consignment note such
documents as are necessary to meet the formalities of customs, octroi or police before the
goods can be delivered to the consignee. The consignor is liable to the carrier for any
damage occasioned by the absence, insufficiency or irregularity of any such information or
documents, unless the damage is due to the fault of the carrier or his agents.
2. The carrier is under no obligation to enquire into the correctness or sufficiency of
such information or documents.
Chapter III - Liability of the Carrier
Article 17
The carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of the death or wounding of a
passenger or any other bodily injury suffered by a passenger, if the accident which caused
the damage so sustained took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the
operations of embarking or disembarking.
Article 18
1. The carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of the destruction or loss of,
or of damage to, any registered luggage or any goods, 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 luggage or goods are in charge of the carrier, whether in an aerodrome or
on board an aircraft, or, in the case of a landing outside an aerodrome, in any place
whatsoever.
3. The period of the carriage by air does not extend to any carriage by land, by sea or by
river performed outside an aerodrome. If, however, such a carriage takes place in the
performance of a contract for carriage by air, for the purpose of loading, delivery or
transshipment, any damage is presumed, subject to proof to the contrary, to have been the
result of an event which took place during the carriage by air.
Article 19
The carrier is liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers,
luggage or goods.
Article 20
1. The carrier is not liable if he proves that he and his agents have taken all necessary
measures to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for him or them to take such
measures.
2. In the carriage of goods and luggage the carrier is not liable if he proves that the
damage was occasioned by negligent pilotage or negligence in the handling of the aircraft
or in navigation and that, in all other respects, he and his agents have taken all
necessary measures to avoid the damage.
Article 21
If the carrier proves that the damage was caused by or contributed to by the negligence of
the injured person the Court may, in accordance with the provisions of its own law,
exonerate the carrier wholly or partly from his liability.
Article 22
1. In the carriage of passengers the liability of the carrier for each passenger is
limited to the sum of 125,000 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 125,000 francs.
Nevertheless, by special contract, the carrier and the passenger may agree to a higher
limit of liability.
2. In the carriage of registered luggage and of goods, the liability of the carrier is
limited to a sum of 250 francs per kilogram, unless the consignor has made, at the time
when the package was handed over to the carrier, a special declaration of the value at
delivery 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 actual value to the consignor at delivery.
3. As regards objects of which the passenger takes charge himself the liability of the
carrier is limited to 5,000 francs per passenger.
4. The sums mentioned above shall be deemed to refer to the French franc consisting of 65
« milligrams gold of millesimal fineness 900. These sums may be converted into any
national currency in round figures.
Article 23
Any provision tending to relieve the carrier of liability or to fix a lower limit than
that which is laid down in this Convention shall be null and void, but the nullity of any
such provision does not involve the nullity of the whole contract, which shall remain
subject to the provisions of this Convention.
Article 24
1. In the cases covered by Articles 18 and 19 any action for damages, however founded, can
only be brought subject to the conditions and limits set out in this Convention.
2. In the cases covered by Article 17 the provisions of the preceding paragraph also
apply, without prejudice to the questions as to who are the persons who have the right to
bring suit and what are their respective rights.
Article 25
1. The carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of the provisions of this Convention
which exclude or limit his liability, if the damage is caused by his wilful misconduct or
by such default on his part as, in accordance with the law of the Court seised of the
case, is considered to be equivalent to wilful misconduct.
2. Similarly the carrier shall not be entitled to avail himself of the said provisions, if
the damage is caused as aforesaid by any agent of the carrier acting within the scope of
his employment.
Article 26
1. Receipt by the person entitled to delivery of luggage or goods without complaint is
prima facie evidence that the same have been delivered in good condition and in accordance
with the document of carriage.
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 three days from
the date of receipt in the case of luggage and seven days from the date of receipt in the
case of goods. In the case of delay the complaint must be made at the latest within
fourteen days from the date on which the luggage or goods have been placed at his
disposal.
3. Every complaint must be made in writing upon the document of carriage or by separate
notice in writing despatched within the times aforesaid.
4. Failing complaint within the times aforesaid, no action shall lie against the carrier,
save in the case of fraud on his part.
Article 27
In the case of the death of the person liable, an action for damages lies in accordance
with the terms of this Convention against those legally representing his estate.
Article 28
1. An action for damages must be brought, at the option of the plaintiff, in the territory
of one of the High Contracting Parties, either before the Court having jurisdiction where
the carrier is ordinarily resident, or has his principal place of business, or has an
establishment by which the contract has been made or before the Court having jurisdiction
at the place of destination.
2. Questions of procedure shall be governed by the law of the Court seised of the case.
Article 29
1. The right to damages shall be extinguished if an action is not brought within two
years, reckoned from the date of arrival at the destination, or from the date on which the
aircraft ought to have arrived, or from the date on which the carriage stopped.
2. The method of calculating the period of limitation shall be determined by the law of
the Court seised of the case.
Article 30
1. In the case of carriage to be performed by various successive carriers and falling
within the definition set out in the third paragraph of Article 1, each carrier who
accepts passengers, luggage or goods is subjected to the rules set out in this Convention,
and is deemed to be one of the contracting parties to the contract of carriage in so far
as the contract deals with that part of the carriage which is performed under his
supervision.
2. In the case of carriage of this nature, the passenger or his representative can take
action only against the carrier who performed the carriage during which the accident or
the delay occurred, save in the case where, by express agreement, the first carrier has
assumed liability for the whole journey.
3. As regards luggage or goods, the passenger or consignor will have a right of action
against the first carrier, and the passenger or consignee who is entitled to delivery will
have a right of action against the last carrier, and further, each may take action against
the carrier who performed the carriage during which the destruction, loss, damage or delay
took place. These carriers will be jointly and severally liable to the passenger or to the
consignor or consignee.
Chapter IV - Provisions Relating to Combined Carriage
Article 31
1. In the case of combined carriage performed partly by air and partly by any other mode
of carriage, the provisions of this Convention apply only to the carriage by air, provided
that the carriage by air falls within the terms of Article 1.
2. Nothing in this Convention shall prevent the parties in the case of combined carriage
from inserting in the document of air carriage conditions relating to other modes of
carriage, provided that the provisions of this Convention are observed as regards the
carriage by air.
Chapter V - General and Final Provisions
Article 32
Any clause contained in the contract and all special agreements entered into before the
damage occurred by which the parties purport to infringe the rules laid down by this
Convention, whether by deciding the law to be applied, or by altering the rules as to
jurisdiction, shall be null and void. Nevertheless for the carriage of goods arbitration
clauses are allowed, subject to this Convention, if the arbitration is to take place
within one of the jurisdictions referred to in the first paragraph of Article 28.
Article 33
Nothing contained in this Convention shall prevent the carrier either from refusing to
enter into any contract of carriage, or from making regulations which do not conflict with
the provisions of this Convention.
Article 34
This Convention does not apply to international carriage by air performed by way of
experimental trial by air navigation undertakings with the view to the establishment of a
regular line of air navigation, nor does it apply to carriage performed in extraordinary
circumstances outside the normal scope of an air carrier's business.
Article 35
The expression "days" when used in this Convention means current days not
working days.
Article 36
The Convention is drawn up in French in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the
archives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Poland and of which one duly certified
copy shall be sent by the Polish Government to the Government of each of the High
Contracting Parties.
Article 37
1. This Convention shall be ratified. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited
in the archives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Poland, which will notify the
deposit to the Government of each of the High Contracting Parties.
2. As soon as this Convention shall have been ratified by five of the High Contracting
Parties it shall come into force as between them on the ninetieth day after the deposit of
the fifth ratification. Thereafter it shall come into force between the High Contracting
Parties who shall have ratified and the High Contracting Party who deposits his instrument
of ratification on the ninetieth day after the deposit.
3. It shall be the duty of the Government of the Republic of Poland to notify to the
Government of each of the High Contracting Parties the date on which this Convention comes
into force as well as the date of the deposit of each ratification.
Article 38
1. This Convention shall, after it has come into force, remain open for accession by any
State.
2. The accession shall be effected by a notification addressed to the Government of the
Republic of Poland, which will inform the Government of each of the High Contracting
Parties thereof.
3. The accession shall take effect as from the ninetieth day after the notification made
to the Government of the Republic of Poland.
Article 39
1. Any one of the High Contracting Parties may denounce this Convention by a notification
addressed to the Government of the Republic of Poland, which will at once inform the
Government of each of the High Contracting Parties.
2. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the notification of denunciation, and
shall operate only as regards the Party who shall have proceeded to denunciation.
Article 40
1. Any High Contracting Party may, at the time of signature or of deposit of ratification
or of accession declare that the acceptance which he gives to this Convention does not
apply to all or any of his colonies, protectorates, territories under mandate, or any
other territory subject to his sovereignty or his authority, or any territory under his
suzerainty.
2. Accordingly any High Contracting Party may subsequently accede separately in the name
of all or any of his colonies, protectorates, territories under mandate or any other
territory subject to his sovereignty or to his authority or any territory under his
suzerainty which has been thus excluded by his original declaration.
3. Any High Contracting Party may denounce this Convention, in accordance with its
provisions, separately or for all or any of his colonies, protectorates, territories under
mandate or any other territory subject to his sovereignty or to his authority, or any
other territory under his suzerainty.
Article 41
Any High Contracting Party shall be entitled not earlier than two years after the coming
into force of this Convention to call for the assembling of a new international Conference
in order to consider any improvements which may be made in this Convention. To this end he
will communicate with the Government of the French Republic which will take the necessary
measures to make preparations for such Conference.
This Convention done at Warsaw on the 12th October, 1929, shall remain open for signature
until the 31st January, 1930.
Additional Protocol
(With reference to Article 2)
The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right to declare at the time of
ratification or of accession that the first paragraph of Article 2 of this Convention
shall not apply to international carriage by air performed directly by the State, its
colonies, protectorates or mandated territories or by any other territory under its
sovereignty, suzerainty or authority."
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