The Continuing Debate Regarding Complete Preemption And The Warsaw/Montreal Convention

In the United States, there has been uncertainty for decades in respect of the Montreal Convention 1999 ("the Montreal Convention") and the Montreal Convention's predecessor, the Warsaw Convention 1929 ("the Warsaw Convention"). This uncertainty stems from divergent United States court decisions as to the application of a doctrine called complete preemption to certain claims that are not expressly brought pursuant to the Conventions, but fall within the Conventions' scope.

With little binding precedent on the issue, differences in individual judges' interpretation of the Conventions have led to divergent opinions issued by different judges, sometimes in the same court, leading to unnecessary confusion as to whether US federal courts can hear these claims.