Read the full judgment text of CACV 000109/1993 on BabelCite. This Court of Appeal judgment was delivered on 22 October 1993 before Penlington JA, Litton JA, Barnett J.
Civil law – carriage of goods by air – Warsaw Convention as amended – scope of Article 18(2) – 'carriage by air' – whether extends to period when goods in carrier's charge at airport of destination – goods carried by air from Hong Kong to Amsterdam (Schiphol) and then by road to Brussels Airport – goods allegedly misdelivered at Brussels airport by carrier's handling agents – preliminary issue on application of Warsaw Convention – Deputy Judge Wong ruled carriage by air ceased at Amsterdam and Convention did not apply – whether partial road transport between airports terminates Convention protection – whether causal link required between aircraft and airport – whether 'carriage by air' confined to period goods on aircraft or extends to any aerodrome in which goods in carrier's charge – majority (Litton and Penlington JJA) held 'carriage by air' is not confined to time goods are on the aircraft and extends to period goods in carrier's charge at the aerodrome of destination – construction consistent with Articles 12(1), 13(1) and 13(2) treating carrier's liability as continuing at place of destination – contract of carriage is the unit of analysis (Grein v. Imperial Airways) – dissent (Barnett J) held there must be causal link between airport and carriage by aircraft and Convention applies only where cargo arrived at or left airport in an aircraft – appeal allowed by majority – order nisi for costs to Appellant in Court of Appeal and below.
Legal issues: Scope of Article 18(2) of the Warsaw Convention as amended — whether 'carriage by air' extends to period when goods in carrier's charge at destination airport arrived by road
Outcome: Appeal allowed by majority (Litton and Penlington JJA; Barnett J dissenting). Preliminary issue decided in favour of the Appellant: Article 18 of the Warsaw Convention as amended applied while the goods were in the charge of the carrier at Brussels Airport.