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10 SEPTEMBER 2009. - An Act to amend the 1996 Protocol to Amend the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability in respect of Maritime Claims, done in London on 2 May 1996 (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The 1996 Protocol amending the 1976 Convention on the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, done in London on 2 May 1996, will come out of its full effect.
Art. 3. The amendments to the 1976 Convention on the Limitation of Liability in respect of Maritime Claims, as amended by the 1996 Protocol thereto, which are adopted pursuant to Article 8 of the 1996 Protocol amending the 1976 Convention on the Limitation of Liability in respect of Maritime Claims, without Belgium opposing their adoption, will have their full and full effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given at Châteauneuf-de-Grasse, September 10, 2009.
ALBERT
By the King:
The Prime Minister,
H. VAN ROMPUY
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Y. LETERME
The Secretary of State for Mobility,
E. SCHOUPPE
Seen and sealed the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
S. DE CLERCK
Note
(1) 2008-2009 session.
Senate.
Documents.- Bill tabled on 23 February 2009, No. 4-1192/1. - Report, No. 4-1192/2
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of April 2, 2009. - Vote, meeting of 2 April 2009.
House of Representatives
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 52-1934/1. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 52-1934/3. - Report, No. 52-1934/2
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of May 14, 2009. - Vote, meeting of 14 May 2009.

1996 Protocol Amending the 1976 Convention on the Limitation of Liability in Maritime Claims
THE PARTIES TO THE PROTOCOL,
Considering that it is desirable to amend the Convention on the Limitation of Liability in respect of Maritime Claims, made in London on 19 November 1976, in order to provide greater compensation and to establish a simplified procedure for updating limit amounts,
The following agreed:
Article 1^er
For the purpose of this Protocol,
1. "Convention" means the 1976 Convention on the Limitation of Liability in Maritime Claims.
2. "Organization" means the International Maritime Organization.
3. "Secretary-General" means the Secretary-General of the Organization.
Article 2
Paragraph (a) of Article 3 of the Convention is replaced by the following text:
"a. to claims of the Chief of Assistance or Rescue, including, in applicable cases, any claims for a special allowance under Article 14 of the 1989 International Convention on Assistance, as amended, or to claims of the Chief of Contribution in Common Variance; "
Article 3
Paragraph 1^er of Article 6 of the Convention is replaced by the following text:
“1. The limits of liability in respect of claims other than those referred to in section 7 of the same event are as follows:
a. in respect of claims for death or bodily injury,
i. to 2 million units of account for a vessel whose tonnage does not exceed 2,000 tons,
ii. for a vessel whose tonnage exceeds the above figure, in the following amount, in addition to the amount indicated in paragraph (i):
for each barrel of 2,001 to 30,000 tons, 800 units of account;
for each barrel of 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 600 units of account; and
for each barrel over 70,000 barrels, 400 account units,
b. in respect of all other claims,
i. to 1 million account units for a vessel whose tonnage does not exceed 2,000 tons,
ii. for a vessel whose tonnage exceeds the above figure, in the following amount, in addition to the amount indicated in paragraph (i):
for each barrel of 2,001 to 30,000 tons, 400 units of account;
for each barrel of 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 300 units of account; and
for each barrel over 70,000 barrels, 200 account units. »
Article 4
Paragraph 1^er of Article 7 of the Convention is replaced by the following text:
“1. In the case of claims arising from the death or bodily injury of passengers of a vessel and born of the same event, the limit of the liability of the vessel's owner is set to an amount of 175,000 account units multiplied by the number of passengers that the vessel is authorized to carry in accordance with its certificate. »
Article 5
Paragraph 2 of Article 8 of the Convention is replaced by the following text:
2. However, States that are not members of the International Monetary Fund and whose legislation does not permit the application of the provisions of paragraph 1 may, at the time of signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval, or at the time of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or at any time thereafter, declare that the limits of liability set out in this Convention and applicable in their territory are fixed as follows:
a. with respect to paragraph 1 (a)^er of Article 6:
i. to 30 million monetary units for a vessel not exceeding 2,000 tons;
ii. for a vessel whose tonnage exceeds the above figure, in the following amount, in addition to the amount indicated in paragraph (i):
for each barrel of 2,001 to 30,000 tons, 12,000 monetary units;
for each barrel of 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 9,000 monetary units; and
for each ton above 70,000 tons, 6,000 monetary units; and
b. with respect to paragraph 1 (b).^er of Article 6:
i. to 15 million monetary units for a vessel not exceeding 2,000 tons;
ii. for a vessel whose tonnage exceeds the above figure, in the following amount, in addition to the amount indicated in paragraph (i):
for each barrel of 2,001 to 30,000 tons, 6,000 monetary units;
for each barrel of 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 4,500 monetary units; and
for each ton above 70,000 tons, 3,000 monetary units; and
c. with regard to paragraph 1^er of section 7, to a sum of 2,625,000 monetary units multiplied by the number of passengers that the vessel is authorized to carry in accordance with its certificate.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 6 apply accordingly to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph.
Article 6
The following text is added as paragraph 3bis to Article 15 of the Convention:
"3bis Notwithstanding the limit of liability prescribed in paragraph 1^er a State Party may, under express provisions of its national legislation, stipulate that any liability regime applies to claims for death or bodily injury of passengers of a ship, provided that the limit of liability is not less than that prescribed in paragraph 1^er of Article 7. A State Party making use of the faculty provided for in this paragraph shall notify the Secretary-General of the limits of liability or the fact that such limits are not provided for. »
Article 7
Paragraph 1^er of Article 18 of the Convention is replaced by the following:
1. Any State may, upon signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or at any time thereafter, reserve the right to:
a. exclude the application of paragraphs (d) and (e) of paragraph 1 of Article 2,
b. exclude claims for damages within the meaning of the 1996 International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage to the Carriage by Sea of Noxious and Potential Hazardous Substances or any amendment or protocol thereto.
No other reservation to a substantive issue of this Convention shall be admissible.
Article 8
Change in limits
1. At the request of at least half and, in any case, of a minimum of six of the States Parties to this Protocol, any proposal to amend the limits set out in paragraph 1 of Article 6, paragraph 1^er Article 7 and Article 8, paragraph 2, of the Convention as amended by this Protocol shall be circulated by the Secretary-General to all Members of the Organization and to all Contracting States.
2. Any amendment proposed and circulated in accordance with the above procedure shall be submitted to the Legal Committee of the Organization (the Legal Committee) for consideration by the Legal Committee at least six months after the date on which it was broadcast.
3. All Contracting States to the Convention as amended by this Protocol, whether or not they are Members of the Organization, are authorized to participate in the deliberations of the Legal Committee to consider and adopt the amendments.
4. Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting States to the Convention as amended by this Protocol, present and voting in the Legal Committee, extended in accordance with paragraph 3, provided that at least half of the Contracting States to the Convention as amended by this Protocol are present at the time of voting.
5. When deciding on a proposal to change the limits, the Legal Committee takes into account the experience gained in events and, in particular, the amount of the resulting damage, the fluctuations in the value of the currencies and the impact of the proposed amendment on the cost of insurance.
6. a. No amendment to amend the limits under this Article shall be considered before the expiry of a five-year period from the date on which this Protocol has been opened for signature or a five-year period from the date on which an earlier amendment adopted under this Article comes into force.
b. No limit may be raised to the extent that it exceeds the limit set out in the Convention as amended by this Protocol plus six per cent per annum, in a compound interest, from the date on which this Protocol was opened for signature.
c. No limit may be raised to the extent that it exceeds the three-fold limit set out in the Convention as amended by this Protocol.
7. Any amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 4 shall be notified by the Organization to all Contracting States. The amendment shall be deemed to have been accepted on the expiry of a period of eighteen months after the date of its notification, unless, during that period, at least one quarter of the States that were Contracting States at the time of the adoption of the amendment inform the Secretary-General that they do not accept it, in which case the amendment is rejected and has no effect.
8. An amendment deemed to have been accepted pursuant to paragraph 7 comes into force eighteen months after acceptance.
9. All Contracting States are bound by the amendment unless they denounce this Protocol in accordance with paragraphs 1^er and 2 of Article 12, at least six months before the entry into force of this amendment. This denunciation takes effect when the amendment comes into force.
10. When an amendment has been adopted but the acceptance period of eighteen months has not yet expired, any State becoming a Contracting State during that period is bound by the amendment if it comes into force. A State that becomes a Contracting State after the expiry of that period shall be bound by any amendment which has been accepted in accordance with paragraph 7. In the cases referred to in this paragraph, a State shall be bound by an amendment from the date of entry into force of the amendment or the date of entry into force of this Protocol in respect of that State, if the latter date is later.
Article 9
1. The Convention and this Protocol shall be, between the Parties to this Protocol, considered and interpreted as forming a single instrument.
2. A State that is a Party to this Protocol but is not a Party to the Convention is bound by the provisions of the Convention as amended by this Protocol with respect to other States Parties to the Protocol, but is not bound by the provisions of the Convention with respect to States Parties only to the Convention.
3. The Convention as amended by this Protocol shall apply only to claims arising out of events after the entry into force for each State of this Protocol.
4. None of the provisions of this Protocol shall affect the obligations of a State Party both to the Convention and to this Protocol with respect to a State that is a Party to the Convention but that is not a Party to this Protocol.
FINAL CLAUSES
Article 10
Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession
1. This Protocol shall be open for signature by all States at United Nations Headquarters of 1^er October 1996 to 30 September 1997.
2. Any State may express its consent to be bound by this Protocol by:
a. unconditional signature of ratification, acceptance or approval; or
b. signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval, followed by ratification, acceptance or approval; or
c. accession.
3. Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument to that effect with the Secretary-General.
4. Any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession deposited after the date of entry into force of an amendment to the Convention as amended by this Protocol shall be deemed to apply to the Convention as amended and as amended by that amendment.
Article 11
Entry into force
1. This Protocol comes into force ninety days after the date on which ten States have expressed their consent to be bound by it.
2. For any State that expresses its consent to be bound by this Protocol after the entry into force conditions set out in paragraph 1 have been met, this Protocol shall enter into force ninety days after the date on which such consent was expressed.
Article 12
Denunciation
1. This Protocol may be denounced by any of the States Parties at any time from the date on which it comes into force with respect to that State Party.
2. The denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of denunciation with the Secretary-General.
3. The denunciation takes effect twelve months after the date of deposit of the denunciation instrument with the Secretary-General or at the expiry of any longer period that could be specified in that instrument.
4. Between the States Parties to this Protocol, the denunciation by any of them of the Convention under Article 19 of this Convention is in no way construed as a denunciation of the Convention, as amended by this Protocol.
Article 13
Revision and amendment
1. The Organization may convene a conference to revise or amend this Protocol.
2. The Organization shall convene a conference of the Contracting States to this Protocol, to revise or amend it, at the request of at least one third of the Contracting Parties.
Article 14
Depositary
1. This Protocol and all amendments accepted under Article 8 shall be deposited with the Secretary-General.
2. The Secretary-General:
a. informs all States that have signed or acceded to this Protocol:
i. any new signature or deposit of a new instrument, and the date on which such signature or deposit occurred;
ii. any declaration and communication made under article 8, paragraph 2, of the Convention as amended by this Protocol and pursuant to article 8, paragraph 4, of the Convention;
iii. the effective date of this Protocol;
iv. any proposal to amend the limits set out in paragraph 1 of Article 8;
v. any amendment that has been adopted in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 8;
vi. any amendment that is deemed to have been accepted under paragraph 7 of section 8, and the date on which that amendment comes into force, in accordance with paragraphs 8 and 9 of that section;
vii. the deposit of any instrument of denunciation of this Protocol, as well as the date on which the deposit occurred and the date on which the denunciation takes effect;
b. transmits certified copies of this Protocol to all signatory States and to all States which adhere to it.
3. Upon the entry into force of this Protocol, the Secretary-General shall forward the text to the Secretariat of the United Nations for registration and publication in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article 15
Languages
This Protocol is prepared in a single original copy in the English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French and Russian languages, all texts being equally authentic.
Done in London this two May nine hundred and ninety-six.
RESERVE
"In accordance with Article 18, paragraph 1^er, (a) of the 1976 Convention on the Limitation of Liability in respect of Maritime Claims, as amended by the 1996 Protocol, the Kingdom of Belgium reserves the right to exclude the application of subparagraphs (d) and (e) of paragraph 1^er Article 2 of the 1976 Convention, as amended by the 1996 Protocol. »

1996 Protocol Amending the 1976 Convention on the Limitation of Liability in Maritime Claims, done in London on 2 May 1996