On 7 October 1952, in Rome, the Convention on Damage Caused by Foreign Aircraft to Third Parties on the Surface (Rome Convention 1952) is signed, regulating the operator’s absolute liability toward surface victims.

The Convention sets compensation limits, compulsory insurance and jurisdiction. It completes the ICAO framework on aviation liability alongside the Warsaw Convention (1929) for passengers and baggage.

It entered into force on 4 February 1958. It was later supplemented and, in part, superseded by the 1999 Montreal Convention for some aspects, but remains the historical reference for third-party surface damage.

The official text is on the ICAO / legal archive sites.

For air law, 7 October 1952 marks the Rome signature.

The document is available on icao.int / McGill IASL.

The Rome Convention of 7 October 1952 remains the milestone of liability for surface damage.

Image: Rome / aviation; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Rome Convention (1952). Treaty text: McGill IASL — Rome Convention 1952.