Powerpoint presentations of some of the speakers are available on this page.
Programme of the 10th Annual McGill Conference on International Aviation Liability and Insurance
Venue
PLAZA CENTRE-VILLE Convention Center
(EVO Building – across from ICAO Headquarters)
777 Boulevard Robert-Bourassa
Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 3Z7
Tel: (514) 879-0718
Fax: (514) 879-0907
To register for the conference, please go to the registration site (first-time users must register as a new user in order to register and pay for the registration fee).
For a PDF version of the Programme, please download here.
For the full list of participants, please download here.
THURSDAY 22 JUNE 2017
8:00 – 9:00 REGISTRATION
9:00 – 10:15 Recent Developments in Air Carrier Liability
- Comparative analysis of recent Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention jurisprudence
- Recoverable damages
- Conflicts between US and European courts
- The challenges of achieving global uniformity
- Federal preemption – does the US Federal Aviation Act preempt the application of state law standards in the entire field of aviation safety?
- What impact does the regulatory implementation of safety management systems have on liability?
Chair:
Paul Stephen Dempsey – McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Speakers:
Carlos P. Martins - Bersenas Jacobsen Chouest Thomson Blackburn LLP, Toronto, Canada
John Maggio – Condon & Forsyth, New York, USA
Marc Moller – Kreindler & Kreindler, New York, USA
Sybille Michèle Rexer – Dabelstein & Passehl, Hamburg, Germany
air_baltic_v_lithuania_ecj_c-429-14_en.pdf
marcela_peskova_v_travel_service_c-315-15_bird_strikes.pdf
moller_are_all_airline_crash_victims_treated_equally_and_fairly_under_the_law_.pdf
entwurf_eines_gesetzes_zur_einfuhrung_eines_anspruchs_auf_hinterbliebenengeld.pdf
10:15 - 10:45 REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:45 – 12:00 Liability of Governments for Aviation Accidents or Acts of Terrorism
- Sovereign immunity
- The US Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act
- The new US Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA
- What will be the liability exposure of the United States should other nations enact reciprocal legislation?
- Can a State force a foreign airline to waive sovereign immunity as a condition of licensing?
- Libya’s Settlement with Families of Pan Am 103
- The Challenges of State Liability: A look at KAL 007, Lockerbie, the September 11, 2001, U.S. terror attacks, MH 17 and Cuban Brothers to the Rescue
Chair:
Robert Donald – DLA Piper, Calgary, Canada
Speakers:
Barry Benson - Director, Aviation and Admiralty Section, US Department of Justice, Washington, DC, USA
Jeffrey Ellis – Clyde & Co., New York, USA
James Healy-Pratt – Stewarts Law LLP, London, UK
Jim Kreindler - Kreindler & Kreindler, New York, USA
12:00 – 13:30 LUNCH
Keynote Address by:
Dr. Fang Liu, Secretary General, ICAO, Montreal, Canada
13:30 – 14:30 Products Liability
- Does governmental certification preempt tort claims?
- Recoverable damages
- The conflict between North American and European courts
- TCAS, Autopilot and Automation
- Will we see more use of the Hague Convention on Products Liability?
- Is there Liability Exposure for Foul Cabin Air and Radiation?
- What is the liability for the use of counterfeit parts?
Chair:
Brian Havel – DePaul University, Chicago, USA
Speakers:
Alice Chan- Chan & Grant, LLP, New York, USA
Michael Dreikorn The IPL Group, LLC, Bookeelia, USA
Brandt Madsen - Smith Amundsen, LLC, Chicago, USA
Timothy Ravich - University of Central Florida, USA
Steven M. Sandler - Woodruff, Johnson, and Evans, Chicago, USA
14:30 – 15:30 Liability of Airports, ANSPs, Lessors and Maintenance Providers
- Liability of airports for passenger injury
- Contractual liability of the airport operator
- Liability of ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers)
- Liability of lessors
- Liability of maintenance providers
Chair:
Alan Reitzfeld - Holland & Knight LLP, New York, USA
Speakers:
Sheryl Bregman – Office of the San Francisco City Attorney, San Francisco, California, USA
Donal Patrick Hanley – Aviation Capital Group, Dublin, Ireland
Leigh Ann Kirby - NAV CANADA, Ottawa, Canada
Suzanne McCarthy – Global Aerospace Inc., Parsippany, New Jersey, USA
Darryl Pankratz – Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver, Canada
15:30 – 16:00 REFRESHMENT BREAK
16:00 – 17:30 The Challenges of Settlement & Emerging Insurance Issues
- The challenges of multi-jurisdictional settlements
- The availability of insurance for acts of terrorism and flights in Conflict Zones A look at MH 370
- The impact of sanctions and international trade controls on settlements
- The challenges of dealing with attritional losses
- The role of insurance in managing the risk of cyber attacks
- How European insurers prepare for the challenges of Brexit?
Chair:
George Leloudas, Swansea University, UK
Speakers:
Brian Alexander, Kreindler & Kreindler, New York, USA
Philip Chrystal – Swiss Re, Zurich, Switzerland
Kinga Kolasa-Sokołowska - THB Polska, Warsaw, Poland
Ulla Norrhäll – Munich Re, Munich, Germany
Katherine B Posner - Condon & Forsyth, New York, USA
18:00 – 19:30 GALA RECEPTION
FRIDAY 23 JUNE 2017
9:30-10:30 What is an “accident” under the Warsaw/Montreal Conventions: Unruly Passengers and Liability for Acts of Unlawful Interference
- What is the injury-producing event?
- Should the carrier be liable for the assault by one passenger of another?
- Should liability be allowed under the Warsaw/Montreal regimes when the “accident” (an unusual or unexpected event) was not caused by an event or occurrence related to the operation of an aircraft?
- Review of recent court decisions that have circumscribed the liability shield provided by the Tokyo Convention
- What impact will the Montreal Protocol of 2014, amending the Tokyo Convention, have on liability?
- What will be the liability exposure of air marshals who subdue an unruly passenger?
- What are the practical aspects of dealing with unruly passengers?
Chair:
Timothy Trembley – Paterson MacDougall, Toronto, Canada
Speakers:
Gilles Charette - Air Canada, Montreal, Canada
Senarath Liyanage – Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Steven Marks, Podhurst Orseck PA, Florida, USA
10:30-11:30 Regulation of Drones and Liability of their Operators
- Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) versus Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Systems (AUAS)
- The integration of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) into non-segregated airspace
- A comparative look at drone regulation in the US, Canada and the EU
- Liability regimes applicable to UAS, including third party and criminal liability
- Protection of privacy; are trespass concepts relevant?
- Procuring insurance for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
- The threat of cyber security, and terrorism posed by UAS
Chair:
Mia Wouters –Brussels bar, and University of Ghent, Belgium
Speakers:
Mark Campbell– Dentons, USA
Artur Eberg – Eberg Aviation Consulting, Montreal, Canada
Ayman Idlbi - Norton Rose Fulbright, Montreal, Canada
Serap Zuvin - Serap Zuvin Law Offices, Istanbul, Turkey
11:30-11:50 Refreshment Break
11:50 -13:00 Consumer Rights: Regulation & Litigation
- How generous is compensation for delay, denied boarding, and flight cancellations?
- EU Regulation 261 Revised
- What impact will Brexit have on aviation consumer protection?
- Which jurisdictions other than the US and EU have joined in the stampede for consumer protection, and what are the conflicting requirements imposed upon airlines?
- Do these regulations conflict with the exclusivity provisions of the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions? Was the EU Court of Justice wrong in finding no conflict?
- What do new regulations require for advertising, sales, and promotions?
- What is the gravity of liability exposure for airlines under the tarmac delay rules?
- How do policy makers and security personnel resolve the conflict between intrusive aviation security procedures and personal privacy?
- Should ICAO harmonize conflicting consumer protection laws?
- How do airlines with financial difficulties address consumer claims?
- How do States enforce consumer protection obligations?
- Is Brexit slowing EU aviation regulatory momentum?
- Will the Trump Administration roll back aviation regulations?
Chair:
Paul Fitzgerald – Canadian Transportation Agency, Ottawa, Canada
Speakers:
Martine De Serres – Air Canada, Montreal, Canada
Kenneth Quinn – Baker McKenzie LLP, Washington, DC, USA
Steven Truxal – University of London, London, UK
13:00 Adjournment
* invited, not yet confirmed