Big legal battle ahead for kin of plane disaster

>>PARIS: Families of the 176 people killed when Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner face a complicated legal battle where backing from the victims’ governments may be crucial as they seek damages, legal experts said.

Lawyers say many relatives will be entitled to compensation equivalent to US$170,000 (5.1 million baht) from Ukraine International Airlines under the 1999 Montreal Convention, which establishes airline liability in the case of death or injury to passengers, and are entitled then to try to sue for more.

But others may be entitled to a much smaller amount.

Iran is not a member of the Montreal treaty but only its less flexible predecessor, known as the Warsaw Convention.

In theory, that means that while families of foreign-based victims who were returning home from Iran when the plane was shot down on Jan 8 may get the full payout, those on a single ticket or who started their journey in Iran or Afghanistan — some victims were Afghans — may be entitled to only $25,000 under the Warsaw Convention, several lawyers said.

The airline, which mentions both treaties in its published rules, said it could not comment on which would apply until legal procedures were completed. Ukraine has so far said only that it will apply the Montreal terms to its citizens. International rules do not allow an airline to be pursued for the most severe category of “punitive” damages. For that, most lawyers say families must embark on the tortuous process of suing Iran, for which political backing is seen as crucial.

“Iran has a moral obligation to the families and it will take political support of Canada, Ukraine and other nations to ensure that Iran meets its obligation,” said Justin Green of law firm Kreindler & Kreindler.

Five countries whose citizens were killed said Tehran should pay compensation to families of the victims, but have not said what support they plan to offer.