Where to file case vs airline

Where to file case vs airline "I am a resident of the Philippines who wants to file a complaint for the injury that I incurred in a commercial plane that I boarded. For a brief background, I bought my ticket in Singapore for my flight from Singapore to Japan. It is in this flight where I injured myself while boarding because of misconfiguration in the boarding plank. Since my return to the country, I am contemplating filing a suit against the airline. However, someone informed me that I cannot file it in the Philippines, but only in the place where the ticket was bought or of the country of destination. Is this true? MertDear Mert, The answer to your query is no. To elaborate this point, allow me to lead your attention to the provisions of the Montreal Convention of 1999 (MC99), where the Philippines is a signatory. Pertinently, unlike in the past wherein a complaint for an injury of a passenger is subject to the so-called “Four (4) Jurisdictional Rules,” i.e, 1) court where the carrier is domiciled 2) court where the carrier has its principal place of business 3) court where the carrier has an establishment by which the contract has been made and 4) court of the place of destination. At present, the MC99 now allows the filing of cases involving passenger injury before the courts of the place of residence of a passenger, viz:“Article 33 — Jurisdiction “1. An action for damages must be brought, at the option of the plaintiff, in the territory of one of the States Parties, either before the court of the domicile of the carrier or of its principal place of business, or where it has a place of business through which the contract has been made or before the court at the place of destination.“2. In respect of damage resulting from the death or injury of a passenger, an action may be brought before one of the courts mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, or in the territory of a State Party in which at the time of the accident the passenger has his or her principal and permanent residence and to or from which the carrier operates services for the carriage of passengers by air, either on its own aircraft, or on another carrier’s aircraft pursuant to a commercial agreement, and in which that carrier conducts its business of carriage of passengers by air from premises leased or owned by the carrier itself or by another carrier with which it has a commercial agreement.” (Underscoring supplied) Since you are a resident of the Philippines, applying the MC99, you may also file before the courts in the Philippines and not just before the courts in the country where the ticket was bought or before the courts of the country of destination.We hope that we were able to answer your query. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net" - https://www.affordablecebu.com/