Air Navigation and Transport Act, 1936
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Limitation of liability for damage caused by aircraft to persons and property on land or water. |
24.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person or, as the case may be, his estate shall not, in respect of loss or damage which, after the commencement of this Chapter of this Part of this Act, is without any gross negligence or wilful misconduct on his part and without any gross negligence or wilful misconduct (to which he was privy) on the part of his servants or agents, caused on any one occasion to persons or property on land or water by, or by a person in, or an article or person falling from, any one aircraft while in flight, taking off, or landing, be liable to pay by way of damages an amount exceeding in the aggregate— | |
(a) in case such aircraft is an airship, twenty-five thousand pounds, or | ||
(b) in case such aircraft is a balloon (whether fixed or free), five thousand pounds, or | ||
(c) in case such aircraft is a glider, one thousand pounds, or | ||
(d) in any other case— | ||
(i) a number of pounds of the currency of Saorstát Eireann equal to the number of pounds avoirdupois constituting the weight of such aircraft fully loaded, or | ||
(ii) if the sum ascertained under sub-paragraph (i) of this paragraph is less than five thousand pounds or more than twenty-five thousand pounds, five thousand pounds or twenty-five thousand pounds, as the case may be. | ||
(2) Without prejudice to the operation of the next following sub-section, a person or, as the case may be, his estate shall not be entitled to the benefit of sub-section (1) of this section in relation to any loss or damage, if, at the time of the happening of the event which was the cause of the loss or damage, he was not the owner of the aircraft concerned and was in, or in possession or control of, the aircraft without the authority or permission of the owner thereof. | ||
(3) A person or, as the case may be, his estate shall not be entitled to the benefit of sub-section (1) of this section in relation to any claim made in respect of such loss or damage as is mentioned in the said sub-section (1) unless it is proved— | ||
(a) that a policy of insurance, issued by an approved aircraft insurer, which, subject to any restrictions or conditions specified therein, insures the owner of the aircraft concerned against all liability which he may incur in respect of such loss or damage, was in force in relation to such, aircraft at the time of the happening of the event which was the cause of the loss or damage giving rise to the claim, or | ||
(b) if the claim is made against the person who at that time was the owner of the aircraft or against his estate, that the aircraft was then in the possession or control of some other person without the authority or permission of the owner, or | ||
(c) that the owner of the aircraft was at the said time an exempted person within the meaning of this Chapter of this Part of this Act. | ||
(4) Where any person or the estate of any person is alleged to be under any liability in respect of such loss or damage as is mentioned in sub-section (1) of this section, and several claims are made or apprehended in respect of that liability, the said person or his personal representative, as the case may be, may make application to the High Court, and thereupon the court— | ||
(a) may determine the amount of the liability and, subject to the provisions of the next following sub-section, distribute that amount rateably among the several claimants; | ||
(b) may stay any proceedings pending in any other court in relation to the same matter; and | ||
(c) may give such directions as the court thinks proper for the joining of persons interested as parties to the proceedings, for the exclusion of claims which are not brought before the court within a certain time, and for requiring security from the person by whom the application to the court was made. | ||
(5) If, by virtue of this section, the amount of the liability is less than the total amount of the damages which the several claimants would, but for this section, be entitled to recover, the first-mentioned amount shall, as to one-half thereof, be appropriated in the first instance to meeting any claims in respect of loss of life or personal injury, and any part of that amount not so appropriated shall be distributed among the several claimants in proportion to their claims, including any claims in respect of loss of life or personal injury if and so far as they exceed the said appropriation. | ||
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the amount of any compensation payable under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1934 (No. 9 of 1934). | ||
(7) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of Part III of this Act or any contract for the carriage of passengers or goods by air in so far as the contract provides for determining or limiting the liability of the carrier thereunder. | ||
(8) The Minister may make regulations prescribing the manner in which the weight of an aircraft fully loaded is to be ascertained for the purposes of this section, and directing that, in the case of an aircraft of any particular class, such document (being a document which purports to show the weight of the aircraft fully loaded) as may be specified in the regulations shall be evidence of that weight. |