Kuwait Court of Cassation principle number 199

Summary: - Liability of the air carrier in the carriage of registered baggage and goods. Compensation is assessed according to the weight of the consignment, irrespective of its contents. Its assessment at 250 francs per kilogram of baggage, on the basis that the franc contains 65 mg of gold of 900 thousandths fineness. Its convertibility into figures in each national currency. Its consideration as deemed compensation for damage foreseeable at the time of contracting. Assessment of compensation on the basis of actual value. Its condition. Proof that the contents of the consignment exceed this deemed assessment, by the consignor stating, upon handing the consignment to the carrier, the importance he attaches to its contents, specifying the type of goods and their actual value and paying the prescribed supplementary charges. The Warsaw Convention of 1929 for the Unification of the Rules of International Carriage by Air and its 2 amending Protocols at The Hague in 1955 and Guatemala in 1971, signed in Montreal in 1975, to which Kuwait acceded under Law No. 20 of 1975. Rule: It is established in the jurisprudence of this Court that the provision in the second paragraph of the Warsaw Convention of 1929 for the Unification of Certain Rules of International Carriage by Air and its 2 amending Protocols, the first issued at The Hague in 1955 and the second in Guatemala in 1971 and signed in Montreal in 1975, to which Kuwait acceded under Law No. 20/1975—which applies to the facts of the case—that (In the carriage of registered baggage and goods, the carrier's liability shall be limited to 250 francs per kilogram, unless the consignor declares his interest in delivery when handing the package to the carrier, and in return pays a supplementary charge if required; in that event, the carrier shall be obliged to pay compensation up to the stated amount unless evidence is adduced that this amount exceeds the consignor's actual interest in delivery,” indicates that the basic rule for assessing compensation arising from an air carrier's liability in the carriage of registered baggage and goods is its determination on the basis of the weight of the consignment, irrespective of its contents, such that compensation is paid at 250 francs per kilogram of registered baggage or goods, on the basis that the franc contains 65 mg of gold of 900 thousandths fineness, convertible into round figures in each national currency, the legislature considering that this compensation represents the damage foreseeable at the time of contracting. However, it considered, on the other hand, that the value of the contents of the consignment might exceed this limit, which rests on a deemed assessment. It therefore permitted the consignor, if he so considers, to state to the carrier upon handing over the consignment the importance he attaches to its contents, by specifying the type of goods and their actual value and paying the prescribed supplementary charges. Compensation is then assessed on the basis of actual value.