Compensation for the families of PS752 victims.
The Ontario Superior Court upheld a ruling holding Ukraine International Airlines legally responsible for paying full compensation to the families of the victims of the downing of its flight PS752 in Iran five and a half years ago.
It is worth noting that on January 8, 2020, the mentioned aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, was shot down by two surface-to-air missiles just minutes after taking off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board, including passengers and crew members.
Canada was the final destination for most of the passengers on the flight bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Among them were 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents of Canada, as well as many other passengers connected to Canada, including university students who had traveled to Iran to spend the year-end holiday season with their families and loved ones.
Under the Montreal Convention, an international law governing air travel, airlines are liable for proven damages up to the amount of 180,000 USD. Airlines are also liable for claims exceeding this amount unless they can prove that the accident did not occur due to negligence on their part.
Last year, a court in Ontario ruled that Ukraine International Airlines was negligent because it did not conduct a proper risk assessment for its mentioned flight departing from Tehran. The court found that this decision means the airline cannot set a limit on the compensation it provides to the victims’ families.
In its decision today, the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected the appeal filed by the airline.
Joe Fiorante, the lawyer representing some of the families in the case, described today’s ruling as an “important outcome” for those who lost loved ones in the plane shoot-down.
“The Court of Appeal’s ruling delivers a small measure of justice for the families,” Fiorante said in a press statement.
A joint statement issued by lawyers Paul Miller and Jamie Thornback, who also represent several of the families in the case, described the ruling as a “historic decision.”
“At a time when conflicts are escalating around the world, the court ruling sends a clear message to international airlines that airspace cannot be assumed to be safe,” Miller and Thornback said in a press statement.
“Airlines must exercise extreme caution and vigilance when operating in or near conflict zones,” the two lawyers added.
Today’s ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal comes after the Supreme Court of Canada, the country’s highest judicial authority, decided last year not to hear an appeal filed by some of the victims’ families. These families had been attempting to enforce a default judgment issued at the end of 2021 against Iran, which ordered Iran to pay them $107 million, plus interest and costs.
The families had taken steps to enforce the judgment by targeting Iran’s assets and bank accounts in Canada, but an Ontario judge rejected the request, ruling that Iranian property is protected by diplomatic immunity under Canadian law. The Supreme Court upheld this decision on appeal last year.
For years, Canada, alongside international partners who lost citizens in the plane downing—including the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Ukraine—has committed to seeking answers about the incident and holding the Iranian regime accountable for its violations of international law.
Canada’s Global Affairs Ministry in Ottawa states that Iran has not assumed full legal responsibility for the incident, and that ongoing proceedings against Iran under international law will likely take several years to reach a resolution.
