{"id":"C1935A00018","name":"Carriage by Air Act 1935","slug":"carriage-by-air-act-1935","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"repealed","isInForce":false,"actNumber":"18 of 1935","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":3748,"registerId":"commonwealth-C1935A00018-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"Repealed","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Carriage by Air Act 1935","content":"CARRIAGE BY AIR.\n\nNo. 18 of 1935.\n\nAn Act to give effect to a Convention for the unification of certain rules relating to international carriage by air, and for other purposes.\n\n\\[Assented to 12th April, 1935.\\]\n\nPreamble.\n\nWHEREAS a Convention for the unification of certain rules relating to international carriage by air (a copy of the text of which is set forth in the First Schedule to this Act and is in this Act referred to as “the Convention”) was, on the twelfth day of October, One thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine, signed at Warsaw on behalf of the Commonwealth:\n\nAnd Whereas it is expedient that provision should be made for giving effect to the Convention:\n\nBe it therefore enacted by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—\n\nShort title\n\n1. This Act may be cited as the Carriage by Air Act 1935.\n\nInterpretation.\n\n2. Any reference in the First Schedule to this Act to the territory of any High Contracting Party to the Convention shall be read as a reference to the territories which are subject to the sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority of a Party declared, in pursuance of the next succeeding section, to be a High Contracting Party to the Convention, and in respect of which that Party is so declared to be bound by the Convention.\n\n  \n\nProvisions of Convention to have force of law.\n\n3.—(1.) The Governor-General may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare the date upon which the Convention shall come into force in respect of the Commonwealth or of any Territory of the Commonwealth.\n\n(2.) Upon a date being declared in pursuance of the last preceding sub-section, the provisions of the Convention shall, so far as they relate to the rights and liabilities of carriers, passengers, consignors, consignees and other persons, and subject to this section, have the force of law in the Commonwealth and in any Territory in respect of which a notice has been published in the Gazette in pursuance of the last preceding sub-section in relation to any carriage by air to which the Convention applies, irrespective of the nationality of the aircraft performing that carriage.\n\n(3.) The Governor-General may, by notice published in the Gazette, from time to time, declare—\n\n(a) who are the High Contracting Parties to the Convention;\n\n(b) the territory in respect of which any such Party is bound by the Convention; and\n\n(c) the extent (if any) to which any such Party has availed himself of the provisions of the Additional Protocol to the Convention,\n\nand any such notice shall, except to the extent (if any) to which it has been superseded by a subsequent notice under this section, be conclusive evidence of the matters so declared.\n\n(4.) Any liability imposed by Article seventeen of the Convention on a carrier in respect of the death of a passenger shall be in substitution for any liability of the carrier under any other law in respect of the death of that passenger, and the provisions set out in the Second Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the persons by and for whose benefit the liability so imposed is enforceable and with respect to the manner in which it may be enforced.\n\n(5.) Any sum in francs mentioned in Article twenty-two of the convention shall, for the purposes of any action against a carrier, be converted into Australian currency at the rate of exchange prevailing on the date on which the amount of any damages to be paid by the carrier is ascertained by the court.\n\nProvisions as to actions against High Contracting Parties who undertake carriage by air.\n\n4.—(1.) Upon the publication in the Gazette of any notice in pursuance of sub-section (1.) of the last preceding section, every High Contracting Party to the Convention who has not availed himself of the provisions of the additional Protocol thereto shall, for the purposes of any action brought, in accordance with the provisions of Article twenty-eight of the Convention, in a court in the Commonwealth or in any Territory in respect of which a notice has been so published, to enforce a claim in respect of carriage undertaken by him, be deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of that court:\n\nProvided that nothing in this section shall authorize the issue of execution against the property of any High Contracting Party.\n\n(2.) The authority having for the time being power to make rules or orders regulating the practice and procedure of any court referred\n\n  \n\nto in the last preceding sub-section may make Rules of Court prescribing the manner in which any action referred to in that sub-section shall be commenced and carried on.\n\nProvision for applying Act to carriage by air which is not international.\n\n5.—(1.) The Governor-General may make regulations applying, with such exceptions, adaptations and modifications (if any) as he thinks fit, the provisions of the Convention and so much of section three of this Act as is specified in the regulations, to such carriage by air, not being international carriage as defined in the Convention, as is specified in the regulations, and the provisions of the Convention and of so much of section three of this Act as is specified shall, with such exceptions, adaptations and modifications (if any), be applicable accordingly.\n\n(2.) The regulations made under this section shall extend to such Territories of the Commonwealth (if any) as are specified in the regulations.\n\nRegulations.\n\n6. The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act or with the Convention, prescribing all matters which are by this Act required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the purpose of carrying out or giving effect to this Act or to the Convention.\n\nTHE SCHEDULES.\n\nTHE FIRST SCHEDULE.\n\nCONVENTION FOR THE UNIFICATION OF CERTAIN RULES RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE BY AIR.\n\nChapter I.—Scope.—Definitions.\n\nArticle 1.\n\n1. This Convention applies to all international carnage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward. It applies equally to gratuitous carriage by aircraft performed by an air transport undertaking.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. 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.\n\nArticle 2.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. This Convention does not apply to carriage performed under the terms of any international postal Convention.\n\n  \n\nThe First Schedule—continued.\n\nChapter II.—Documents of Carriage.\n\nsection 1.—passenger ticket.\n\nArticle 3.\n\n1. For the carriage of passengers the carrier must deliver a passenger ticket which shall contain the following particulars:—\n\n(a) the place and date of issue;\n\n(b) the place of departure and of destination;\n\n(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;\n\n(d) the name and address of the carrier or carriers;\n\n(e) a statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to liability established by this Convention.\n\n2. 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.\n\nsection 2.—luggage ticket.\n\nArticle 4.\n\n1. For the carriage of luggage, other than small personal objects of which the passenger takes charge himself, the carrier must deliver a luggage ticket.\n\n2. The luggage ticket shall be made out in duplicate, one part for the passenger and the other part for the carrier.\n\n3. The luggage ticket shall contain the following particulars:—\n\n(a) the place and date of issue;\n\n(b) the place of departure and of destination;\n\n(c) the name and address of the carrier or carriers;\n\n(d) the number of the passenger ticket;\n\n(e) a statement that delivery of the luggage will be made to the bearer of the luggage ticket;\n\n(f) the number and weight of the packages;\n\n(g) the amount of the value declared in accordance with Article 22 (2);\n\n(h) a statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to liability established by this Convention.\n\n4. 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.\n\nsection 3.—air consignment note.\n\nArticle 5.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\nArticle 6.\n\n1. The air consignment note shall be made out by the consignor in three original parts and be handed over with the goods.\n\n2. 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.\n\n  \n\n3. The carrier shall sign on acceptance of the goods.\n\n4. The signature of the carrier may be stamped; that of the consignor may be printed or stamped.\n\n5. 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.\n\nArticle 7.\n\nThe carrier of goods has the right to require the consignor to make out separate consignment notes when there is more than one package.\n\nArticle 8.\n\nThe air consignment note shall contain the following particulars:—\n\n(a) the place and date of its execution;\n\n(b) the place of departure and of destination;\n\n(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;\n\n(d) the name and address of the consignor;\n\n(e) the name and address of the first carrier;\n\n(f) the name and address of the consignee, if the case so requires;\n\n(g) the nature of the goods;\n\n(h) the number of the packages, the method of packing and the particular marks or numbers upon them;\n\n(i) the weight, the quantity and the volume or dimensions of the goods;\n\n(j) the apparent condition of the goods and of the packing;\n\n(k) the freight, if it has been agreed upon, the date and place of payment, and the person who is to pay it;\n\n(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;\n\n(m) the amount of the value declared in accordance with Article 22 (2);\n\n(n) the number of parts of the air consignment note;\n\n(o) the documents handed to the carrier to accompany the air consignment note;\n\n(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;\n\n(q) a statement that the carriage is subject to the rules relating to liability established by this Convention.\n\nArticle 9.\n\nIf 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.\n\nArticle 10.\n\n1. The consignor is responsible for the correctness of the particulars and statements relating to the goods which he inserts in the air consignment note.\n\n2. 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.\n\nArticle 11.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\nArticle 12.\n\n1. 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\n\n  \n\nThe First Schedule—continued.\n\nthe 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.\n\n2. If it is impossible to carry out the orders of the consignor the carrier must so inform him forthwith.\n\n3. 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.\n\n4. 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 ho cannot be communicated with, the consignor resumes his right of disposition.\n\nArticle 13.\n\n1. 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 duo and on complying with the conditions of carriage set out in the air consignment note.\n\n2. Unless it is otherwise agreed, it is the duty of the carrier to give notice to the consignee as soon as the goods arrive.\n\n3. 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\n\nArticle 14.\n\nThe 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.\n\nArticle 15.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. The provisions of Articles 12, 13 and 14 can only be varied by express provision in the air consignment note.\n\nArticle 16.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. The carrier is under no obligation to inquire into the correctness or sufficiency of such information or documents.\n\nChapter III.—Liability of the Carrier.\n\nArticle 17.\n\nThe 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.\n\nArticle 18.\n\n1. 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.\n\n  \n\nThe First Schedule—continued.\n\n2. 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.\n\n(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 trans-shipment, 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.\n\nArticle 19.\n\nThe carrier is liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers, luggage or goods.\n\nArticle 20.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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 ail necessary measures to avoid the damage.\n\nArticle 21.\n\nIf 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.\n\nArticle 22.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. As regards objects of which the passenger takes charge himself the liability of the carrier is limited to 5,000 francs per passenger.\n\n4. The sums mentioned above shall be deemed to refer to the French franc consisting of 65½ milligrams gold of millesimal fineness 900. These sums may be converted into any national currency in round figures.\n\nArticle 23.\n\nAny 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.\n\nArticle 24.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\n  \n\nThe First Schedule—continued.\n\nArticle 25.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\nArticle 26.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. Every complaint must be made in writing upon the document of carriage or by separate notice in writing despatched within the times aforesaid.\n\n4. Failing complaint within the times aforesaid, no action shall lie against the carrier, save in the case of fraud on his part.\n\nArticle 27.\n\nIn the case of the death of the person liable, an action for damages lies in accordance with the terms of this Convention against these legally representing his estate.\n\nArticle 28.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. Questions of procedure shall be governed by the law of the Court seised of the case.\n\nArticle 29.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. The method of calculating the period of limitation shall be determined by the law of the Court seised of the case.\n\nArticle 30.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. 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, or damage or delay took place. These carriers will be jointly and severally liable to the passenger or to the consignor or consignee.  \n\nThe First Schedule—continued.\n\nChapter IV.—Provisions Relating to Combined Carriage.\n\nArticle 31.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\nChapter V.—General and Final Provisions.\n\nArticle 32.\n\nAny 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.\n\nArticle 33.\n\nNothing 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.\n\nArticle 34.\n\nThis 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\n\nArticle 35.\n\nThe expression “days” when used in this Convention means current days not working days.\n\nArticle 36.\n\nThe 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.\n\nArticle 37.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. 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.\n\nArticle 38.\n\n1. This Convention shall, after it has come into force, remain open for accession by any State.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. The accession shall take effect as from the ninetieth day after the notification made to the Government of the Republic of Poland.\n\n\\* The Convention came into force on 13th February, 1933.\n\n  \n\nThe First Schedule—continued.\n\nArticle 39.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\nArticle 40.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. 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.\n\nArticle 41.\n\nAny 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.\n\nThis Convention done at Warsaw on the 12th October, 1929, shall remain open for signature until the 31st January, 1930.\n\n\\[Here follow the signatures on behalf of the following countries:—\n\nGermany, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Spain, France, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Union of South Africa, Greece, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Roumania, Switzerland, Czecho\\-Slovakia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and Yugoslavia.\\]\n\nADDITIONAL PROTOCOL.\n\n(With reference to Article 2.)\n\nThe 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.\n\n\\[This additional Protocol was signed on behalf of the same countries as these above-mentioned.\\]\n\nTHE SECOND SCHEDULE.\n\nProvisions as to Liability of Carrier in the Event of the Death of a Passenger.\n\n1. The liability shall be enforceable for the benefit of such of the members of the passenger’s family as sustained damage by reason of his death.\n\nIn this paragraph the expression “member of a family” means wife or husband, parent, step-parent, grandparent, brother, sister, half-brother, half\\-sister, child, step-child, grandchild;\n\nProvided that, in deducing any such relationship as aforesaid, any illegitimate person and any adopted person shall be treated as being, or as having been, the legitimate child of his mother and reputed father or, as the case may be, of his adopters.\n\n2. An action to enforce the liability may be brought by the personal representative of the passenger or by any person for whose benefit the liability is under the last preceding paragraph enforceable, but only one action shall be brought in the Commonwealth or any Territory of the Commonwealth in respect of the death of any one passenger, and every such action by whomsoever brought shall be for the\n\n  \n\nThe Second Schedule—continued.\n\nbenefit of all such persons so entitled as aforesaid as either are domiciled in the Commonwealth or any Territory of the Commonwealth or, not being domiciled there, express a desire to take the benefit of the action.\n\n3. Subject to the provisions of the next succeeding paragraph, the amount recovered in any such action, after deducting any costs not recovered from the defendant, shall be divided between the persons entitled in such proportions as the court (or, whore the action is tried with a jury, the jury) directs.\n\n4. The court before which any such action is brought may at any stage of the proceedings make any such order as appears to the court to be just and equitable in view of the provisions of the First Schedule limiting the liability of a carrier and of any proceedings which have been, or are likely to be, commenced outside the Commonwealth or any Territory of the Commonwealth in respect of the death of the passenger in question.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Article 3(2) & Article 4(4) & Article 9 (First Schedule)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Article 23 nullifies any provision fixing a 'lower limit than that which is laid down in this Convention.' The flip side — that a carrier's own administrative failure (no ticket, no note) strips away ALL liability caps — effectively imposes unlimited liability, which is a position no private agreement could reach under Article 23. The Convention punishes its own parties' procedural failures more harshly than any contractual clause could.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The documentation penalty is self-defeating: a carrier who fails to issue proper documents loses liability protections, yet Article 23 voids any clause that lowers the Convention's liability limits. The Convention's own documentation regime thus creates a penalty (unlimited liability) that exceeds what a voluntary contractual clause could impose, rewarding carrier negligence in paperwork with outcomes the Convention elsewhere treats as impermissible."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Article 29(1) (First Schedule)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The Convention's stated purpose (preamble) is unification of rules. Yet Article 29 sets a uniform two-year period but then hands calculation of that very period to domestic procedural law, meaning the actual operative limitation period varies by jurisdiction. This is not a mere procedural nicety — different domestic rules on suspension, interruption, and commencement can make the two-year period anywhere from roughly one to several years in practice.","confidence":0.8,"description":"The limitation period is calculated from 'the date on which the carriage stopped' for cases where the aircraft never arrived and no formal arrival date exists, but Article 29(2) then says the method of calculating that period is governed by the law of the court seised of the case. This means the same accident can be time-barred in one jurisdiction but not another, undermining the Convention's foundational purpose of 'unification of certain rules.'"},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Article 20(1) (First Schedule)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"If a carrier truly took every measure necessary to avoid a particular damage, then by definition that damage would not have occurred. The provision thus sets up a defence that is practically self-defeating: the very occurrence of damage is strong evidence that at least one necessary measure was missed. Courts have wrestled with this globally, and it remains a genuine logical flaw in the drafting rather than a workable standard.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The carrier's complete defence — proving 'all necessary measures' were taken — is logically impossible to satisfy when damage actually occurred, because if all necessary measures had genuinely been taken, the damage would not have occurred. This creates an unfalsifiable standard: any damage is evidence that some necessary measure was omitted."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Section 3(5) (Carriage by Air Act 1935)","severity":"high","reasoning":"The conversion mechanism in s 3(5) relies on a prevailing exchange rate for a currency (the gold franc) that does not exist in any currency market. The gold franc was a notional unit defined by gold weight; no exchange rate 'prevails' for it. Courts in multiple jurisdictions have had to adopt artificial workarounds (e.g., using the French franc or SDRs), demonstrating this is a genuine impossibility, not a theoretical one.","confidence":0.92,"description":"Franc amounts in Article 22 are to be converted at the rate 'prevailing on the date on which the amount of any damages is ascertained by the court.' However, Article 22(4) defines the relevant franc as consisting of '65½ milligrams gold of millesimal fineness 900' — the gold franc. Australia abandoned the gold standard, and no market exchange rate for a gold-defined franc has existed for decades, making the conversion mechanism inoperable in practice."},{"type":"other","section":"Article 41 (First Schedule)","severity":"low","reasoning":"The Convention consistently assigns administrative and depositary functions to Poland (Articles 36, 37, 38, 39), but then unexpectedly assigns conference-convening preparation to France in Article 41. This is an oddity that could cause procedural confusion about which government has primacy, though in practice it is a low-severity drafting quirk.","confidence":0.78,"description":"Article 41 requires any High Contracting Party wishing to call a revision conference to communicate with 'the Government of the French Republic' to make preparations — yet Article 36 designates Poland as the depositary of the Convention and Article 37 also places all ratification mechanics with Poland. The administrative role is thus split between two governments without clear demarcation, and France's role in conference preparation is not explained by any other provision."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"Second Schedule, paragraph 2","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The 'one action only' rule combined with the opt-in mechanism for non-domiciled persons creates a practical impossibility: without a mandated notification procedure, foreign family members may never know an action is afoot, yet the single-action rule bars any subsequent claim. The Act provides no procedure for identifying, locating, or notifying overseas beneficiaries, making compliance with the intent of the provision (protecting all entitled persons) impossible to guarantee.","confidence":0.82,"description":"A single action must be brought for the benefit of all entitled persons 'domiciled in the Commonwealth or any Territory' or those not domiciled there who 'express a desire to take the benefit.' However, there is no mechanism specified for how non-domiciled beneficiaries are to be notified so they can express such a desire before the single action is commenced or concluded, potentially extinguishing the rights of unnotified overseas family members."},{"type":"other","section":"Article 12(4) & Article 13(1) (First Schedule)","severity":"low","reasoning":"While Article 12 gives the consignor rights 'during the journey,' Article 12(4) extinguishes those rights when the consignee's rights begin under Article 13, which is on arrival. A literal reading suggests the consignor retains rights throughout the flight until arrival, which is the intended operation — but the cross-reference creates minor ambiguity about edge cases (e.g., goods at the destination aerodrome but not yet formally 'arrived').","confidence":0.55,"description":"Article 12(4) states the consignor's right of disposition 'ceases at the moment when that of the consignee begins in accordance with Article 13,' but Article 13(1) states the consignee's right arises 'on arrival of the goods at the place of destination.' These two articles do not specify what happens during the gap between loading/departure and arrival — there is an indeterminate period where it is unclear which party holds the right of disposition."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Article 20(1) (First Schedule) — complete defence for passenger carriage","section_b":"Article 20(2) (First Schedule) — extended defence for goods/luggage carriage","confidence":0.85,"description":"For passenger carriage (Article 20(1)), the carrier's only defence is proving all necessary measures were taken or that it was impossible to take them. For goods and luggage carriage (Article 20(2)), the carrier has an additional separate defence: proving the damage was caused by negligent pilotage or navigation, even where not all other measures were taken. This creates a more favourable liability regime for goods carriers than for passenger carriers — counterintuitively privileging property over persons."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Section 3(4) (Carriage by Air Act 1935) — carrier liability for passenger death is exclusive","section_b":"Second Schedule, paragraph 4 — court may make equitable orders considering other proceedings","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 3(4) provides that liability under Article 17 for passenger death is 'in substitution for any liability of the carrier under any other law.' This suggests a clean, exclusive regime. Yet Second Schedule paragraph 4 allows the court to make orders 'in view of... any proceedings which have been, or are likely to be, commenced outside the Commonwealth' in respect of the same death, implying that parallel foreign proceedings under other laws are contemplated. If Convention liability is truly in substitution for all other liability, there should be no cognisable foreign proceedings to account for."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"Article 23 (First Schedule) — provisions limiting liability below Convention limits are void","section_b":"Article 25(1) (First Schedule) — carrier loses liability limits for wilful misconduct","confidence":0.65,"description":"Article 23 voids any provision 'tending to relieve the carrier of liability or to fix a lower limit.' Article 25 strips the carrier of liability limits where wilful misconduct is proved — effectively removing the floor that Article 23 is designed to protect. While these operate in different directions (Article 23 protects claimants from contractual limit reductions; Article 25 punishes carriers), the combined effect is an asymmetric regime: carriers can never contractually lower limits but courts can judicially eliminate them entirely, creating an internal tension about what the 'limits' actually mean as a policy matter."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Article 3(2) (First Schedule) — carrier who accepts passenger without ticket loses liability limits","section_b":"Article 23 (First Schedule) — provisions fixing lower limits are null and void","confidence":0.75,"description":"Article 3(2) penalises a carrier who accepts a passenger without a ticket by stripping away liability protections (effectively imposing unlimited liability). Article 23 makes void any contractual provision that imposes a lower limit than the Convention allows. The result is a contradiction: a carrier cannot by contract reduce the Convention limits, but the carrier's own administrative failure automatically eliminates those same limits entirely — a more severe outcome than any barred contractual clause could achieve, imposed by operation of the Convention itself."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"Article 1(1) (First Schedule) — Convention applies to gratuitous carriage by air transport undertakings","section_b":"Article 34 (First Schedule) — Convention does not apply to carriage in extraordinary circumstances outside normal scope of business","confidence":0.7,"description":"Article 1(1) extends Convention coverage to gratuitous (free) carriage by air transport undertakings, going beyond purely commercial operations. Article 34 then excludes carriage 'outside the normal scope of an air carrier's business.' Gratuitous carriage by an air transport undertaking may itself be outside the 'normal scope' of that business, creating an ambiguous overlap: does the Article 1(1) inclusion of gratuitous carriage override the Article 34 exclusion, or does Article 34 carve out some gratuitous carriage from Article 1(1)'s extended coverage?"}]},"summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains faithful to its original purpose: implementing the 1929 Warsaw Convention in Australian law. The core operative provisions (ss. 1–6) have not grown beyond that mandate. The extension power in s. 5 (allowing domestic carriage to be covered by regulation) was part of the original design, not a later expansion. The Second Schedule, which supplements the Convention's death-liability rules with Australian-specific family entitlements and procedural rules, is a modest implementation detail rather than a scope change. Overall, the legislation has not drifted from its founding intent."},"complexity_factors":["Dual-layer structure: the Act itself contains only 6 sections, but its legal substance lives in two Schedules — meaning readers must constantly cross-reference between the main Act and the Convention text","Incorporation by reference of an international treaty (the Warsaw Convention) as a Schedule, which itself has its own internal cross-references (e.g. Articles 12–14 interact, Articles 17–25 form a liability chain)","Liability limits expressed in an archaic monetary unit (French gold francs at 65½ milligrams of 900-fine gold) requiring conversion to Australian currency, adding a layer of financial complexity","Multiple conditional defences for carriers: Article 20 contains two separate defences (one for passengers, one for cargo), Article 21 adds a contributory negligence carve-out, and Article 25 removes all defences for wilful misconduct — creating a layered, conditional liability framework","Successive carrier provisions (Article 30) create complex joint and several liability (shared legal responsibility) across multiple airlines on a single journey","Interplay between the Convention's liability cap (Article 22) and the Act's Second Schedule, which modifies how death claims are distributed among family members — requiring readers to hold both documents in mind simultaneously","Governor-General's gazette powers (ss. 3–5) create subordinate law that can alter the Act's territorial and personal scope without amending the Act itself, adding regulatory unpredictability","Time-limitation rules differ across three categories (luggage, cargo, delay) and interact with the general two-year limitation period, creating a multi-tiered procedural trap for claimants"],"plain_english_summary":"## Carriage by Air Act 1935 — Plain English Summary\n\n### What does this law do?\n\nThis Act brings an international treaty — the **1929 Warsaw Convention** — into Australian law. The Warsaw Convention was signed by dozens of countries (including Australia) to create a single, uniform set of rules governing **international air travel**. Without it, each country would apply its own laws differently, creating chaos for airlines and passengers crossing borders.\n\n### Who does it affect?\n\n- **Passengers** flying internationally to or from Australia\n- **Air carriers** (airlines) operating international routes\n- **Shippers of cargo** — businesses or individuals sending goods by air\n- **Families of passengers** who die in aviation accidents\n\n### What are the key rules it introduces?\n\n**Paperwork requirements:**\n- Airlines must issue a **passenger ticket** with specific details (departure/destination, carrier name, a statement about liability rules)\n- Checked **luggage** requires a luggage ticket issued in duplicate\n- **Cargo** requires an \"air consignment note\" (a formal shipping document) — essentially an airway bill listing details about the goods, route, and freight charges\n\n**Airline liability — when can you sue?**\nThe Convention sets out exactly when an airline is legally responsible for harm:\n- **Death or injury** of a passenger: the airline is liable if the accident happened on board or during boarding/disembarking\n- **Lost or damaged baggage or cargo**: the airline is liable if the loss occurred while the goods were in its care\n- **Delays**: the airline is liable for losses caused by unreasonable delays\n\n**Caps on compensation (liability limits):**\nThis is one of the most significant features. The airline's liability is *capped* (limited to a maximum amount), expressed in old French \"gold francs\":\n- **Passengers**: up to 125,000 francs per person (converted to Australian dollars at the exchange rate when damages are assessed)\n- **Cargo/luggage**: 250 francs per kilogram (unless the shipper declared a higher value and paid extra)\n- **Personal items** carried by a passenger: 5,000 francs\n\n> These caps cannot be contracted away — any agreement trying to set a *lower* limit is automatically void. However, a *higher* limit can be agreed between the carrier and passenger.\n\n**When is the airline off the hook?**\n- If the airline proves it took **all necessary measures** to avoid the damage (or it was impossible to do so)\n- If the passenger's or shipper's own **negligence contributed** to the loss, the court can reduce or eliminate the airline's liability\n- But if the airline caused harm through **wilful misconduct** (deliberate or reckless wrongdoing), it loses the right to rely on the liability caps\n\n**Time limits for complaints and lawsuits:**\n- Damaged **luggage**: complain within **3 days** of receipt\n- Damaged **cargo**: complain within **7 days**\n- **Delays**: complain within **14 days**\n- **Lawsuits**: must be commenced within **2 years** of the scheduled arrival date — after that, the right to sue is extinguished\n\n**Where can you sue?**\nPassengers and shippers can only bring legal action in one of four places: where the airline is based, where it has its principal office, where the ticket/contract was made, or at the destination. This prevents \"forum shopping\" (picking the most advantageous court).\n\n**Death of a passenger — special rules:**\nThe Act's Second Schedule sets out who can sue when a passenger dies. Eligible family members include spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings, and children (including adopted and illegitimate children). Only **one legal action** can be brought per death, and any damages recovered are shared among all eligible family members.\n\n**Domestic flights:**\nThe Warsaw Convention technically only applies to *international* flights. However, the Act gives the Governor-General power to **extend the Convention's rules to domestic (non-international) air travel** by regulation — meaning the same framework can apply within Australia too.\n\n### Why does it matter?\n\nBefore this kind of international agreement, an airline accident could trigger wildly different legal consequences depending on which country's law applied. This Act ensures that Australia honours its international obligations, gives Australians clear rights when things go wrong in the air, and provides airlines with predictable, capped liability — balancing consumer protection with the commercial viability of the aviation industry."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/carriage-by-air-act-1935","history":"/api/acts/carriage-by-air-act-1935/history","analysis":"/api/acts/carriage-by-air-act-1935/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/carriage-by-air-act-1935/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/carriage-by-air-act-1935/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/carriage-by-air-act-1935/documents"}}