The Tribune

Bahamian attorney Llewellyn Boyer-Cartwright, was selected as one of eight people to sit at a virtual round table and update thousands of professionals on legal, commercial and environmental issues related to aviation.

The Corporate LiveWire Round table: Aviation Law 2013 took place in real time in late June, but remains available online at http://www.corporatelivewire.com/round-tables.html?id=aviation-law-2013

“In our aviation roundtable, eight experts from around the world discussed the complexities of personal injury claims, environmental concerns and technological advances, as well as providing an insurmountable insight into the impact of the latest legislative and regulatory changes and a glimpse into what the future may have in store,” said Jake Powers of CorporateLivewire.com.

The panel addressed questions ranging from ash detection technology to personal injury cases - a subject Mr Boyer-Cartwright took the lead on. There were some 15,000 viewing live, and up to 50,000 likely to visit during the month.

Organisers said the audience is made up of chief executives, chief financial officers, managing directors, directors of multinational firms and corporate finance executives.

Mr Boyer-Cartwright, who took up law and holds a Master’s degree in Aviation Science, explained distinctions between aviation personal injury and other negligence or personal injury cases.

“In aviation personal injury claims, the issues are usually complex,” he said. “Questions that arise are what caused the aviation accident, where did the accident occur, where is the aircraft registered, what are the nationalities of the victims?

“In some cases the responsible party may be the operator of the aircraft, the manufacturer of the aircraft, the owner or operator of the aircraft or the maintenance supplier or a combination thereof.

“The applicable laws will vary from state to state or country to country, and depending on the nature of the accident a claim may be made, for example, in negligence or product liability, and can in some cases involve the Government.”

Mr Boyer-Cartwright added: “Various laws will apply, for example FARs, ICAO rules and regulations for contracting states, domestic or international civil aviation law (as the case may be), tort and product liability.

“The Montreal Convention 1999 (formerly the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air) amended certain provisions of the Warsaw Convention regarding compensation for the victims of air disasters.

“The main purpose of the Montreal Convention was to amend liabilities to be paid to families for death or injury whilst on board an aircraft.”

Mr Boyer-Cartwright, a partner at Callenders & Co law firm, added: “Victims and family members have the right to file a personal injury claim for compensation. Whatever the cause of an aviation accident/incident, negligence, pilot error, or mechanical defects, the airline, owner/operator, can be responsible for full liability.”

Mr Boyer-Cartwright, along with the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB), has been calling for the establishment of a Bahamas international aircraft registry similar to the Bahamas Maritime Authority, citing numerous spin-off benefits, including creating an aviation industry in this nation.

Mr Boyer-Cartwright has also been invited to address a major aviation conference in Aruba later this year.