Examination of Institutional frameworks for Settlement of Air Carriers' Liability

Abstract

The focus of this paper is to examine the institutional frameworks for settlement of Air Carriers' liabilities arising from a diversity of events ranging from negligence, criminal liability, and tort. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemics across several countries exposes countries to unexpected liabilities on a scale shocking, calling to question the need to appraise the functionalities of institutional frameworks in place before the outbreak of the pandemic. The paper adopted a doctrinal legal research methodology using both the primary and secondary sources of information gathering. The primary sources include international conventions such as Warsaw – system convention (W.C.), Montreal Convention (MC), Civil Aviation Act (CAA). The secondary sources include books, articles, journals, and judicial pronouncements. The paper found that the institutional frameworks never contemplated an emergency and made no special provisions for such, therefore justifying the need to review Air Carriers' present legal regimes for liability. The study discovered relatively low awareness of the regulations governing air carriers' activities, availability of rules, and compensations payments. The paper, therefore, calls for legislative and policy amendment, found a need to amend existing legal regimes to widen liability coverage for more classes of victims and newer discoveries opened up to prevent conflicting and unending judicial intervention by the courts in most developing countries directly affected by COVID-19.