Cargo Liability

• Author: John D. Holding
• Pages: 41-51

Chapter 5: Cargo Liability

A. AMBIT OF LIABILITY

1) General

The basic cargo liability provisions of the Montreal and Warsaw

Conventions are essentially the same. The carrier is liable for

destruction, loss of, or damage to cargo if the event causing the

same took place during the carriage by air.1

An issue has arisen as to who has the right to sue the carriage

to cargo. The Conventions make frequent reference to the rights

given to the consignor and consignee named in the air waybill,

such as the right of disposition of the cargo and right to delivery,

and the right to sue successive carriers. In George Straith Ltd. v. Air

Canada,2a British Columbia case, it was argued that the owner of

the cargo not named in the air waybill had no right to sue. The

court followed the United Kingdom decision in Gatewhite Ltd. v.

Iberia Lines Areas de Espana3in holding that the rights expressly

given to the consignee and consignor did not deprive the owner of

1 Montreal Convention, art. 18, para. 1; Warsaw Convention, art. 18(1).

2 [1991] B.C.J. 2688 (S.C.).

3 [1989] 1 All E.R. 944 (Q.B.).

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