Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Other commercial matters - Carriage of goods - Liability of carriers for baggage

269: Other rules relating to hand baggage

You could also call this:

“Rules for when your hand luggage gets lost or damaged during a trip”

When you take hand baggage with you on a trip, the carrier (like an airline or bus company) is responsible if your baggage gets lost or damaged while you’re on board or getting on and off. This is true if the carrier’s carelessness or deliberate actions caused the problem, even if only partly.

However, if you were careless or did something wrong that contributed to the loss or damage of your hand baggage, the court might decide that the carrier doesn’t have to take full responsibility. They might reduce how much the carrier has to pay for the damage.

There’s a law called the Contributory Negligence Act 1947 that helps the court decide how to split the responsibility between you and the carrier.

This rule about reducing the carrier’s responsibility doesn’t change or limit what’s said in section 260 of this law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844582.

Topics:
Transport and travel > Air travel Business > Industry rules Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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268: Special rules relating to liability of carrier in respect of baggage, or

"Rules about how carriers look after your bags during travel"

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270: Contracts of successive carriage by air, or

"Rules for when multiple airlines carry your things on one trip"

Part 5 Other commercial matters
Carriage of goods: Liability of carriers for baggage

269Other rules relating to hand baggage

  1. A carrier is liable for the loss of or damage to any hand baggage that occurs while the passenger is on board the mode of transport or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking, if the loss or damage is caused wholly or partly by the negligence or wilful default of the carrier.

  2. If, in respect of the loss of or damage to any hand baggage, the carrier proves that the loss or damage was contributed to by the negligence or wilful default of the passenger, the court may, under the Contributory Negligence Act 1947, relieve the carrier from any part of the carrier’s liability.

  3. Subsection (2) does not limit section 260.

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