Globaliser,
Sorry - has taken a little while to track this down. One of the conditions to BA/AA/et al antitrust immunity (DOT-OST-2010-7-8 Final Order) is :
(4) The code-sharing operations conducted under this authority must comply with 14 CFR Part 257 and with any amendments to the Department's regulations concerning code-share arrangements that may be adopted. Notwithstanding any provisions in the contract between the carriers, our approval here is expressly conditioned upon the requirements that the subject foreign air transportation be sold in the name of the carrier holding out such service in computer reservation systems and elsewhere; that the carrier selling such transportation (i.e., the carrier shown on the ticket) accept responsibility for the entirety of the code share journey for all obligations established in its contract of carriage with the passenger; and that the passenger liability of the operating carrier be unaffected;
This in Appendix A of
Regulations.gov (Sorry, you have to download a pdf from the Dockets management site.)
This, I believe is a restatement of DOT's previous 'guidance' I referred to below.
Now, does the reference to someone else's contract of carriage (without being specific) meet this requirement? IMHO it does not.