Carriage by Air Act, 1946 (Act No. 17 of 1946)

3. Provisions of Convention to have force of law
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(1)The provisions of the Convention shall, so far as they relate to the rights and liabilities of carriers, passengers, consignors, consignees and other persons, and subject to the provisions of this Act, have the force of law in the Republic in relation to any carriage by air to which the Convention applies, irrespective of the nationality of the aircraft performing the carriage.

 

(2)The Minister may from time to time by notice in the Gazette declare who are the States Parties to the Convention and in respect of what territories they are respectively parties, and any such notice shall, except in so far as it has been varied or superseded by a subsequent notice, be conclusive evidence of the matters so declared.

[Subsection (2) substituted by section 3(a) of Act No. 15 of 2006]

 

(3)Any reference in the Schedule to the territory of any State Party to the Convention shall be construed as a reference to the territories subject to its sovereignty, suzerainty, mandate or authority, in respect of which it is a party.

[Subsection (3) substituted by section (3)(b) of Act No. 15 of 2006]

 

(4)Not more than one action shall be brought in the Republic to enforce liability under paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the Schedule in respect of the death of any one passenger, and every such action, by whomsoever brought, shall be for the benefit of all such persons entitled to sue for damages in respect of the death of that passenger as either are domiciled in the Republic or, if not so domiciled, have indicated their desire to take the benefit of the action.

[Subsection (4) substituted by section 3(c) of Act No. 15 of 2006]

 

(5)Subject to the provisions of subsection (6) the amount recovered in any such action shall be divided between the successful claimants in such manner as the court may deem just.

 

(6)The court in which any such action is brought may, at any stage of the proceedings—
(i)issue a rule calling upon interested parties to join in the action within a specified period;
(ii)make such order as appears to the court to be just and equitable in view of the provisions of the Schedule limiting the liability of a carrier and of any proceedings which have been or are likely to be commenced outside the Republic in respect of the death of the passenger in question.

[Subsection (6)(ii) substituted by section 3(d) of Act No. 15 of 2006]

 

(7)[Subsection (7) deleted by section 3(e) of Act No. 15 of 2006]