Civil Liability for Cancellation of Flight; Critical Review of the Judgement No. 9709970943501040 Issued on 08/12/2018 by Civil Court Branch of Tehran No. 229

The Airline who sells the ticket is responsible for the carriage of passenger and his luggage and if that airline cancels the flight without any acceptable reason it will be liable for the damage. In that case, we should answer the question about the basis of liability for material and immaterial damage and the ruling law of the case in the court. In addition, we must know the conditions and the effects of the civil liability of the airline. The branch no. 229 of Tehran civil court dealt with these subjects and the judgement issued, sounds somehow positive and in some aspects objectionable. Regarding the basis of the liability, the court has properly referred to the fault and contractual breach of the airline, but the Islamic rule called "La Zarar" cannot be regarded as a basis of liability. The court believes that Warsaw Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (1929) and The Hague Protocol (1955), beside the internal laws can be regarded as the documentary of the verdict and the resource of the liability, but we should be aware that the Convention does not include the cancellation of the flight and the court could not refer to the convention and internal laws at the same time. Regarding the effects of the liability, the verdict is admirable because the court accepted pecuniary compensation for immaterial damage, but referring to the Convention for the recovery of pure immaterial damage and the ambiguity of the method of calculating the compensation sound inappropriate.