Judicial Examination of Cargo Carriage Disputes under Montreal Convention 1999 in China

China ratified the Montreal Convention 1999 (the Convention) in 2005, marking its twentieth anniversary this year. Over the past two decades, Chinese courts have accumulated substantial judicial experience in applying the Convention, covering a wide array of its provisions and thereby promoting its uniform application within China. Nevertheless, in areas such as jurisdiction, the carriage and compensation of special categories of cargo, the distinction and respective liabilities between freight forwarders and contracting carriers, there is room for further refinement in Chinese judicial practice. At the same time, state parties to the Convention should also consider to revise relevant provisions concerning the carriage of special cargo and arbitration of cargo-related disputes, in light of the evolving landscape of international air cargo carriage.