Four conventions, four different periods, and they do not behave the same way. Some are limitation periods that a written claim suspends. Others extinguish the right outright, and no letter, however prompt, brings it back. Read the kind before you read the number.
| Regime | Limit | Kind of clock |
|---|---|---|
| Road (CMR) | 1 year | Limitation |
| Rail (CIM) | 1 year | Limitation |
| Rail (SMGS) | 9 months | Extinction |
| Air cargo (Montreal) | 2 years | Extinction |
A written claim suspends the period until the carrier rejects it in writing and returns the documents. This is the only clock on this page you can stop by writing a letter, and the extension to three years for wilful misconduct is the widest relief any of these conventions gives.
One year for the action itself. But Article 47 sets separate seven-day and sixty-day windows that extinguish the right independently, and meeting the one-year period does not save a claim that missed one of them.
Nine months, with no extension for wilful misconduct and no suspension. A pre-claim to the carrier is compulsory before proceedings. Assignment of claims is prohibited, which blocks a subrogated underwriter from bringing the claim in its own name.
Two years, and the right is extinguished rather than barred. The period is generally not capable of being suspended or interrupted, which makes it the least forgiving clock of the four.
This page is about the date that can end your claim before it is ever heard. It is not how long the arbitration itself takes.