would cover what has been referred to in Western legal systems as "moral damage." Examples of moral damage are pain, suffering, and humiliation. The United States Department of State has taken the position that the Liability agreement "makes such claims possible by providing that compensation shall be determined 'in accordance with international law and the principles of justice and equity.'" The quoted phrase is taken from Article 12 of the Convention. The State Department opinion may assist in resolving a problem area set forth in the 1972 Staff Report prepared for the use of the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences. The Report suggested that there could be certain "problems" in determining if the following would be compensible under the agreement: "interest from the time of the accident, consequential damages such as loss of future earnings or loss of profits, loss of use of property, costs of prosecuting the claim, pain and suffering, invasion of privacy, and loss of consortium." The ambiguous situation relating to moral damages has been noted by several commentators. Matte had written: "It is difficult to say precisely what kind of damage is covered: loss of profits, interest, sentimental value, pain and suffering?" Further, "It is left open, to be decided in each case by the parties concerned, or, failing their agreement, by a claims commission. The same goes for what was called 'indirect* damage or damage which is not the direct result of the activity in question. Basically, this is a question of what relationship of cause Executive Rept. No. 92-38, op. cit., p. 7. Staff Report, op. cit., p. 33. Matte, op. cit., p. 157 (1977).
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