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I NTERNAT I ONAL COMMERC I AL LAW
9
Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for
International Carriage by Air
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The Signature and Entry into Force of the Montreal Convention
Montreal Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for
International Carriage by Air (hereinafter referred to as the “Montreal
Convention”) was presented for signature by the States which participated
in the International Air Law Conference held on 10-28 May 1999 in
Montreal in order to adapt the Warsaw Convention to contemporary
circumstances. Turkey also signed this Convention. “The Act on the
Approval of the Ratification of the Convention for the Unification of
Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air” dated 2 April 2009 and
numbered 5866 were published in the Official Gazette numbered 27200
of 14 April 2009. In line with this Act, the decision of the Council of
Ministers for the ratification of the Montreal Convention was published in
the Official Gazette numbered 27716 of 1 October 2010.
Before the Montreal Convention
Although theWarsawConvention, which was replaced by the Montreal
Convention, was a widely accepted Convention with many member states,
it has been criticized since its entry into force in 1929 for focusing on
the interests of the carrier airway companies and for not sufficiently
protecting the rights of passengers due to the low level compensation to be
paid to the victims of accidents. In accordance with these criticisms, some
actions were taken to update the Warsaw Convention, particularly by the
1955 The Hague, the 1971 Montreal, and the 1975 Guatemala Protocols.
However, as these protocols were not accepted by many states, they failed
to be effective, and they caused discrepancies in the system. In order to
prevent the disadvantages arising out of these discrepancies, the airway
companies of various states signed bilateral agreements which provided
for higher limits than the limits of the Warsaw Convention. The Montreal
Convention combines the provisions of the Warsaw Convention and the
Additional Protocols in order to more effectively protect the interests of
the consumers/passengers.
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Article of September 2010