Carriage of Passengers by Road Act 1974

Section 2. Damage to Luggage

Article 14

1 The carrier shall be liable for loss or damage resulting from the total or partial loss of luggage and for damage thereto.

The carrier shall be responsible for luggage handed to him from the time when he takes charge of it until the time either of its delivery or of its deposit in accordance with article 10, paragraph 3.

The carrier shall be responsible for other luggage while it is in the vehicle but if, in circumstances other than of an accident, the luggage is stolen or cannot be found, the carrier shall be responsible only if it had been placed in his care. Such other luggage shall be deemed to include personal effects carried or worn by the passenger.

2 The carrier shall be relieved of this liability if the loss or damage results from an inherent defect in the luggage, from a special risk inherent in its perishable or dangerous nature or from circumstances which a carrier using the diligence which the particular facts of the case called for could not have avoided and the consequences of which he was unable to prevent.

3 The carrier shall not be relieved of liability by reason of any physical or mental failing of the driver, of any defect in or malfunctioning of the vehicle, or of any wrongful act or neglect on the part of the person from whom he may have hired the vehicle or of the persons for whom the latter would have been responsible, in accordance with the provisions of article 4, if he had himself been the carrier.

Article 15

1 Luggage not delivered within fourteen days from the date on which the passenger claims it shall be deemed to be lost.

2 If a piece of luggage which is deemed to be lost is recovered within one year following the date on which the passenger claims it, the carrier shall take all reasonable steps to notify the passenger. Within the thirty days following receipt of such notification the passenger may, against refund of any compensation which may have been paid in respect of the loss but without prejudice to any claims to compensation for delay, have the piece of luggage delivered to him either at the place of departure or at the place appointed for delivery.

Article 16

1 When under the provisions of this Convention a carrier is liable for compensation in respect of total or partial loss of, or in respect of damage to, luggage, such compensation shall be claimable in an amount equal to the amount of the loss or damage, but it shall not exceed 500 francs for each piece of luggage nor 2,000 francs for each passenger. Compensation may also be claimed in respect of total or partial loss of, or in respect of damage to, personal effects carried or worn by the passenger, but it shall not exceed 1,000 francs for each passenger.

2 The amounts referred to in paragraph 1 of this article shall be exclusive of legal or other costs incurred by the parties in asserting their rights, payment or reimbursement of which may devolve on the carrier, and of interest calculated in conformity with the law judged applicable by the court seized of the case.

3 Higher limits may be agreed between the parties to the contract of carriage.