Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

==== Compensation for passengers' next of kin ====
Lack of evidence in determining the cause of Flight 370's disappearance, as well as the absence of any physical confirmation that the airplane crashed, raises many issues regarding responsibility for the accident and the payments made by insurance agencies.<ref name=SMH-insurance>{{cite web|title=Missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 puzzle raises legal problems|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-puzzle-raises-legal-problems-20140511-zr9fz.html|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=17 July 2014|date=11 May 2014|archive-date=2 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702080627/http://www.smh.com.au/world/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-puzzle-raises-legal-problems-20140511-zr9fz.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the [[Montreal Convention]], it is the carrier's responsibility to prove lack of fault in an accident and each passenger's [[next of kin]] are automatically entitled, regardless of fault, to a payment of approximately US$175,000{{efn|The exact amount of this compensation is 113,100 [[special drawing rights]]. Using the official exchange rates on 16 July 2014, this is worth approximately: [[Malaysian ringgit|RM]]557,000; [[Renminbi|¥]]1,073,000; US$174,000; €129,000; or £102,000.}} from the airline's insurance company—amounting to a total of almost US$40&nbsp;million for the 227 passengers on board.<ref name=SMH-insurance />

Malaysia Airlines was also vulnerable to civil action from passengers' families.<ref name=SMH-insurance /> Compensation awarded during civil cases (or settlements reached out of court) was likely to vary widely among passengers, based on the country where the proceedings were to take place. An American court could be expected to award upwards of US$8–10&nbsp;million, while Chinese courts would be likely to award a small fraction of that amount.<ref name=CNBC-insurance>{{cite news|last1=Bishop|first1=Katrina|title=MH370 families face huge compensation disparity|url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/101522502|work=CNBC|access-date=17 July 2014|date=25 March 2014|archive-date=16 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716233436/http://www.cnbc.com/id/101522502|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=CNNMoney-insurance>{{cite web|last1=Wallace|first1=Gregory|title=Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: How much will families be paid?|url=https://money.cnn.com/2014/03/25/news/companies/malaysia-airlines-compensation/|website=CNN Money|access-date=17 July 2014|date=26 March 2014|archive-date=20 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620165258/http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/25/news/companies/malaysia-airlines-compensation|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite the announcement that the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean, it was not until 29&nbsp;January 2015 that the Malaysian government officially declared Flight 370 an accident with no survivors, a move that would allow compensation claims to be made.<ref name="BBC declared an accident">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-31039460 |title=MH370: Malaysia declares flight disappearance an accident |website=BBC News |date=29 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219115319/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31039460 |archive-date=19 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The first civil case relating to the disappearance was filed in October 2014—even before Flight 370 had been declared an accident—on behalf of two Malaysian boys whose father was a passenger;{{efn|In March 2014, a petition for [[Discovery (law)|discovery]] was filed in a US court by a law firm, not representing relatives of families, against Boeing and Malaysia Airlines. It sought to obtain the names of manufacturers of aircraft parts along with maintenance records. It was reported in the media as a lawsuit or that Malaysia Airlines was being sued.<ref name="SCMP March 2014 lawsuit">{{cite news|title=American law firm plans to bring suit against Boeing and Malaysia Airlines|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1457610/american-law-firm-plans-bring-suit-against-boeing-and-malaysia-airlines|access-date=31 January 2015|work=South China Morning Post|agency=Reuters|archive-date=30 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030025928/http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1457610/american-law-firm-plans-bring-suit-against-boeing-and-malaysia-airlines|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Time-March 2014 lawsuit">{{cite news|last1=Liljas|first1=Per|title=Family Member Files Lawsuit Over Missing Jet as Frustrating Search Continues|url=http://time.com/38260/malaysia-airlines-sued-over-mh370-disappearance/|access-date=31 January 2015|magazine=Time|date=26 March 2014|archive-date=30 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150130030507/http://time.com/38260/malaysia-airlines-sued-over-mh370-disappearance/|url-status=live}}</ref>}} they were claiming for negligence in failing to contact the aircraft soon after it was lost and for breach of contract for failing to bring the passenger to his destination.<ref name="WaPo first lawsuit by passenger families">{{cite news|last=Phillip|first=Abby|title=Two Malaysian boys sue airline, government in first case after MH370's mysterious disappearance|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/31/two-malaysian-boys-sue-airline-government-in-first-case-after-mh-370s-mysterious-disappearance/|archive-date=31 October 2014|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=31 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031162337/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/31/two-malaysian-boys-sue-airline-government-in-first-case-after-mh-370s-mysterious-disappearance/}}</ref> Additional civil proceedings against Malaysia Airlines were filed in China and Malaysia.<ref>{{cite news|title=MH370 disappearance: Chinese families file lawsuits seeking answers|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35747869|access-date=18 March 2017|work=BBC News|date=7 March 2016|archive-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318173929/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35747869|url-status=live}}</ref>

Soon after the disappearance of Flight 370, Malaysia Airlines offered ''[[ex gratia]]'' condolence payments to families of the passengers. In China, the families were offered ¥31,000 (approx. US$5,000) "comfort money",<ref name="AutoVQ-34"/> but some rejected the offer.<ref name="20140311themalaymailonline"/> It was also reported that Malaysian relatives received only $2,000.<ref name="20140311themalaymailonline"/> In June 2014, Malaysia's deputy Foreign Minister [[Hamzah Zainuddin]] said that families of seven passengers received $50,000 advance compensation from Malaysia Airlines, but that full payout would come after the aircraft was found, or officially declared lost<ref>{{cite web|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325114003/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Flight-370-Malaysia-Airlines-begins-insurance-payments/articleshow/36488455.cms|title=Flight 370: Malaysia Airlines begins insurance payments|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Flight-370-Malaysia-Airlines-begins-insurance-payments/articleshow/36488455.cms|website=The Times of India|access-date=17 July 2014|date=13 June 2014|quote=[Hamzah Zainuddin] said full payout would come after the plane is found or officially declared lost.}}</ref> (which later occurred in January 2015).<ref name="BBC declared an accident" />