Exoneration of the Air Carrier`s Liability for Damage – Extraordinary Circumstances

Ozbiljni problemi i neugodnosti s kojima se susreću putnici u zračnom prijevozu zahtijevaju podizanje standarda njihove zaštite na višu razinu. Veliki broj putnika kojima je bio uskraćen ukrcaj, kao i putnika oštećenih otkazivanjem leta bez prethodnog upozorenja i onih pogođenih dugim odgodama ukazao je na činjenicu da je potrebno jasno i nedvosmisleno informirati putnike o njihovim pravima, o načinu ostvarenja tih prava, te uvesti brži i učinkovitiji sustav naknade. To je potaknulo institucije Europske unije na pripremu i usvajanje „reformskih“ mjera radi izmjena važećeg zakonodavstva u području zračnog prijevoza. Autori u ovom radu analiziraju Uredbu Europske unije br. 261/2004, te prijedlog Komisije za njezinu izmjenu upućen Europskom parlamentu i Vijeću 2013. godine, s posebnim naglaskom na „izvanredne okolnosti“ kao razlogom oslobođenja od odgovornosti zračnog prijevoznika za štetu prouzročenu putniku zbog otkazivanja leta. Posebnu pozornost posvećuju praksi Suda Europske unije u ovom području. Ističu da su odluke Suda Europske unije umjesto razjašnjenja dodatno zakomplicirale primjenu Uredbe, posebice u pitanju definiranja koncepta „izvanrednih okolnosti“.Serious problems and inconveniences faced by passengers in air transport demand to raise their standard of protection to a higher level. A large number of passengers affected by denied boarding, by flight cancellation without notice and by long delays, pointed to the fact that it is necessary to inform the passengers about their rights and about the enforcement of these rights in a clear and unambiguous manner, and that a faster and more efficient compensation system has to be introduced. This motivated the European Union institutions to prepare and adopt the reformed measures with the purpose of changing the existing air passenger’s rights legislation. In this article the authors are analyzing the EU Regulation 261/2004, and the Commission´s proposal for its amendment forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council in 2013, with the emphasis on „extraordinary circumstances“ as basis for the air carrier´s exoneration in the case of flight cancellation. Special attention is given to the practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union in this field. The authors are pointing out that the decision of the Court of Justice instead of clarifying further complicated the implementation of the Regulation, particularly in terms of defining the concept of „extraordinary circumstances”