Qatar Trade Law No. 27/2006 Thursday, 26 May 2011 00:20

Provision 211

Any condition which exempts the commission agent of the carriage (partially or wholly) from the responsibility of damage suffered by the passenger physically shall be nullified.

In case of exemption from the responsibility every condition would require passenger in any case to pay any sum in whatever capacity in order to cover all or some of the expenses of the insurance against the responsibility of commission agent for carriage.

With the exception of case of fraud and serious mistake of commission agent for carriage or one of his subordinates, the agent commission for the carriage may make the condition for his part or whole exemption from the responsibility arising from the loss of the thing or damage or delay in receipt and the liability arising from the delay in the arrival of the passenger or whether the non-physical damage inflicted by him.

The condition for exemption from the responsibility must be in writing and the commission agent of the carriage must inform the client or passenger about the same explicitly.

Provision 212

The client or the passenger has the legal recourse directly to the carrier for the claim of compensation for damage resulting from the non-implementation of the contract of carriage or its implementation in a wrong way or the delay. In all cases the commission agent for carriage must be included in the case.

The carrier has legal recourse directly to the client or the passenger to claim compensation for damage resulting from the implementation of the contract of carriage.

The consignee has right to refer directly to both the carrier and the commission agent of the carriage for the rights arising from the contract of carriage.

Provision 213

The main commission agent of the carriage shall be a guarantor for commission agent who mediated him unless the sender appoints the intermediary agent in his agreement with the main agent.

Provision 214

If the commission agent of the carriage paid the freight to the carrier, he shall replace him as far as the rights are concerned.

Provision 215

Except for the provisions set forth above, the provisions related to the agency commission shall be applied to commission agent of the carriage.

Provision 216

Provisions for air carriage

Without the prejudice to international conventions in which the State is a party and while no special provision has been provided in this section, the provisions of the contract of carriage set forth in this chapter shall be applied to the air carriage.

Provision 217

The air carriage means the carriage of persons, baggage or cargo by aircraft for a fee.

The term ‘’baggage’’ means the things which the passengers may carry with him on the plane and the same is delivered to the carrier to be in his custody during the carriage.

This term does not include the small personal things that remain in the custody of the passenger during travel.

Provision 218

The document of air carriage must include a statement that tells that the carriage is in accordance with the provisions of limited liability provided for in Provision (224) of this law, unless otherwise the carrier declined to adhere to these provisions.

Provision 219

The air carrier is responsible for compensation for the damage that occurs in the case of death of passenger or injuries or any other physical harm in the accident which led to damage, occurred during the presence of the passenger in the place allocated to wait for boarding an aircraft and until the passenger receive his luggage in the place of arrival.

Provision 220

The air carrier shall be responsible for compensation for the damage that occurs in case of destruction or loss of luggage or goods or their damage if the accident which led to damage occurred during air carriage.

The air carriage includes the period in which the baggage and goods are in the custody of the carrier and it starts when the carrier receives the goods and ends when it delivers the same at the place of arrival.

The air carriage does not include the period in which the baggage or goods are at the place of road or sea carriage which is located outside the airport. However, if such carriage took place while implementing the air carriage with a view to shipping or delivery or carriage from one aircraft to another, it must be assumed that the damage resulted from an incident occurred during the period of air carriage, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

Provision 221

The air carrier shall be responsible for the damage the resulted from delay in the arrival of passenger, baggage or goods.

Provision 222

1 The air carrier may deny his responsibility only by proving force majeure or self-flaw in the object or the mistake of sender or consignee or passenger.

2 If the carrier proves one of the things mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the prosecutor may deny this proof with evidence which testifies that the damage did not occur because of this or there were other causes of damage as well. In this case the compensation shall be reduced as per the ratio of the damage which is attributed to the matter proved by the air carrier.

Provision 223

The air carrier is not responsible for loss or damage of personal small things that remain in the custody of the passenger during travel, unless the passenger proves fault of the carrier or his subordinates.

Provision 224

It is not permissible in the case of air carriage of persons to exceed the compensation which is judged on the air carrier, an amount of 150,000 (one hundred and fifty thousand) riyals for each passenger unless there is a clear agreement to exceed this amount.

In the case of baggage or cargo the compensation amount shall not to exceed 150,000 (one hundred and fifty riyals) for each kilogram, however, if the consignee at the time of delivery of baggage or cargo provided the carrier a proof that rectifies its value or importance and paid the additional charge which the carrier may ask for doing so, the carrier is committed to pay the compensation as per the value shown in the testimony unless the carrier proves that this value exceeds the value or the real significance of the baggage or cargo.

In the case of loss or destruction or damage of a part of the package or some of its contents, the maximum compensation shall be calculated on the basis of total weight of entire package unless this does not affect the value of other packages covered by the same dispatch otherwise the weight of these packages shall also be taken into account.

With regard to the small personal things that remain in the custody of the passenger while traveling, the compensation which is judged for each passenger may not exceed the amount of three thousand riyals.

Provision 225

The air carrier cannot stick to the maximum limits of compensation set forth in the preceding provision, if it is proved that the damage was caused by an act or omission by the carrier or his subordinates, either with intent to cause damage, or reckless coupled with the awareness of the possibility of damage. If the act or omission is done by the subordinates, it must proved that they were then in the course of their jobs.

Provision 226

If a lawsuit for compensation is filed against one of the subordinates of the carrier, he may stick to the maximum compensation provided for in the provision (224) of the law, if he proves that the act which caused the damage had occurred by him while performing his job.

The total compensation which can be obtained from the carrier and his subordinates together must not exceed these limits. However, the subordinate of the carrier cannot stick to maximum compensation if it is proved that the damage resulted from an act or omission by him, either with intent to cause damage, or reckless coupled with the awareness of the possibility of damage.

Provision 227

Every condition which exempts the air carrier from liability or fixing the same with less than the maximum limits of compensation set forth in Provision (224) of the Act shall be null and void.

However, this nullification does not include the condition that exempts the air carrier from liability or fixing the same in case of loss of the thing at the place of carriage or it damaged because of its nature or self defect.

Provision 228

The consignee’s receipt of baggage or goods without reservation is a presumption of receipt in good condition and conformity with the document of the carriage, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

Provision 229

In the case of damage to baggage or cargo the consignee must be directed to the carrier forthwith after discovery of damage and within seven days at most for baggage and fourteen days at most of the goods, starting from the date of receipt.

In case of delay the protest must be directed within twenty-one days from the day the luggage or goods have been placed at the disposal of the consignee.

The protest must be proved in the form of a reservation on the carriage document upon delivery of baggage or cargo or in the form of a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt is sent to the carrier in the legal time limit.

The lawsuit of liability against the carrier shall not be accepted if the protest was not sent on the dates set forth in this provision, unless the defendant proved the occurrence of fraud by the carrier or his subordinates to miss these dates or hiding the fact of damage to baggage or cargo.

Provision 230

The right to file the case of liability against the air carrier shall lapse after the passage of two years from the day of plane’s arrival at the destination or the day in which it should have reached the destination or the day of cessation of carriage.

Provision 231

In the case of free carriage the air carrier shall not be liable unless it is proved that the mistake has been made by it or its subordinates. In this case the air carrier shall be liable within the limits set forth in provision (224) of this law.

The free carriage is considered when it is done free of charge and the carrier is not a professional in carriage.

Provision 232

The air carrier shall be responsible for the maximum compensation provided for in provision (224) of this law, irrespective of the status of the liabilities in the case of liability and the number or amount of due compensation.