Supreme Court of the United States
El Al Israel Airlines, Ltd. v. Tsui Yuan Tseng
January 12, 1999525 U.S. 155
Summary
The Court held that the Warsaw Convention exclusively governs personal-injury claims arising within its substantive scope, even when the Convention itself affords no recovery because a claim fails one of Article 17's liability conditions. Accordingly, Tseng could not pursue a parallel New York tort action for injuries sustained during international embarkation. The Court reasoned that Article 24, the Convention's comprehensive liability structure, its uniformity purpose, and its drafting history establish this exclusivity, while recognizing that local law remains available for injuries outside the Convention's substantive scope. Justice Stevens, dissenting, would have required clear evidence before finding treaty preemption of nonaccident personal-injury claims.
Holding
- Exclusivity of the Warsaw Convention for personal-injury claims within Article 17's substantive scope. The Warsaw Convention precludes a passenger from maintaining a local-law action for personal-injury damages when the claim arises on board an aircraft or during embarking or disembarking but does not satisfy the Convention's conditions for liability.
- Substantive scope of the Convention's preemptive effect. The Convention's preemptive effect extends only to injuries occurring on board an aircraft or in the course of embarking or disembarking; injuries arising outside that scope remain subject to local law.
Docket 97-475
Cited authorities
- CA11
- 49 Stat. 3018
- 49 Stat. 3014
- 49 Stat. 3018
- 49 Stat. 3018
- 49 Stat. 3020
- 49 Stat. 3014
- 80 Harv. L. Rev. 497