176
Opinion of the Court
fect.16 The "opinions of our sister signatories," we have observed, are "entitled to considerable weight." Saks, 470 U. S., at 404 (internal quotation marks omitted). The text, drafting history, and underlying purpose of the Convention, in sum, counsel us to adhere to a view of the treaty's exclusivity shared by our treaty partners.
* * *
For the reasons stated, we hold that the Warsaw Convention precludes a passenger from maintaining an action for personal injury damages under local law when her claim does not satisfy the conditions for liability under the Convention. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Second Circuit.
It is so ordered.
16 See, e. g., Gal v. Northern Mountain Helicopters Inc., Dkt. No. 3491834918, 1998 B. C. T. C. Lexis 1351, *15-*16 (July 22, 1998) (Hunter, J., in chambers) (reviewing claim for personal injuries sustained during helicopter crash, a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia concluded: "The Warsaw Convention remedy pursuant to Article 17 is exclusive . . . . [T]he plaintiff has no claim except for that permitted under the Warsaw Convention."); Naval-Torres v. Northwest Airlines Inc., 159 D. L. R. (4th) 67, 73, 77 (1998) (Sharpe, J.) (considering claim of bodily injury from exposure, in flight, to second-hand smoke, a judge of the Ontario Court (General Division) rejected passenger's contention that she "is entitled in law to pursue any common law or statutory claims which exist apart from any claims she may have under the Convention," and concluded that "where a claim falls within the reach of the Convention, the Convention is exhaustive of the rights of the plaintiff"); Emery Air Freight Corp. v. Nerine Nurseries Ltd., [1997] 3 N. Z. L. R. 723, 735-736, 737 (concluding that action for damage to goods "must comply with the conditions and limits set out in the [C]onventio[n]," New Zealand Court of Appeal recalled the "general purpose of the [C]onventio[n] . . . to protect carriers operating across international boundaries from the vagaries of local laws and to impose a uniform regime upon them and upon those dealing with them"); Seagate Technology Int'l v. Changi Int'l Airport Servs. Pte Ltd., [1997] 3 S. L. R. 1, 9 (considering claim of lost goods, Singapore Court of Appeal noted: Articles 17, 18, and 19 "form the sole foundation of the carrier's liability in respect of loss or damage falling within the scope of those articles. In such cases, the party seeking satisfaction from the carrier need not and, in fact, cannot plead his case in common law or otherwise.").
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