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Law Approving The 1992 Protocol Amending The International Convention On Civil Liability For Oil Pollution Damage Of 1969, And Annex, Made In London On 27 November 1992 (1)

Original Language Title: Loi portant assentiment au Protocole de 1992 modifiant la Convention internationale de 1969 sur la responsabilité civile pour les dommages dus à la pollution par les hydrocarbures, et Annexe, faits à Londres le 27 novembre 1992 (1)

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belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation

10 AOUT 1998. - An Act to amend the 1992 Protocol to Amend the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Damage Due to Hydrocarbon Pollution, and an Annex, made in London on 27 November 1992 (1)



ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The 1992 Protocol Amending the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, and the Annex, made in London on 27 November 1992, will come out their full and full effect.
Art. 3. Article 1er of the Act of 20 July 1976 approving and implementing the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and its Annex, made in Brussels on 29 November 1969, is replaced by the following provision:
“Article 1er. For the purposes of this Act, "the Convention" means the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and its Annex, made in Brussels on 29 November 1969, as amended by the 1992 Protocol amending the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Damage Caused by Hydrocarbons, done in London on 27 November 1992. »
Art. 4. In the French text of Article 7, § 1er, of the Act of 20 July 1976 approving and implementing the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, and its Annex, made in Brussels on 29 November 1969, the words "Five thousand" are replaced by the words "five hundred thousand".
Art. 5. The King shall determine the effective date of this Act.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given at Châteauneuf-de-Grasse on 10 August 1998.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
E. DERYCKE
Minister of Economy,
E. DI RUPO
Minister of Transport,
Mr. DAERDEN
Minister of Justice,
T. VAN PARYS
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
T. VAN PARYS
____
Note
(1) Regular session 1997-1998.
Senate
Documents. - Bill tabled on 10 June 1998, No. 1-1015/1. - Report, no. 1-1015/2. - Text adopted by the Commission, No. 1-1015/3.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and voting. Meeting of 9 July 1998.
Room
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 1656/1. - Text adopted in plenary session and subject to Royal Assent, No. 1656/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and voting. Meeting of 16 July 1998.
1992 Protocol Amending the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage
The parties to this Protocol,
Having considered the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and the 1984 Protocol thereto,
Noting that the 1984 Protocol to this Convention, which broadens its scope and provides greater compensation, has not yet entered into force,
Affirming the importance of preserving the viability of the international system of liability and compensation for oil pollution,
Aware of the need to ensure as soon as possible the entry into force of the content of the 1984 Protocol,
Recognizing that special provisions are necessary for the introduction of amendments to the 1971 International Convention for the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Damage Due to Hydrocarbon Pollution,
The following provisions were agreed:
Article 1er
The Convention, which is amended by the provisions of this Protocol, is the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, referred to as the "Convention on Liability of 1969". For States Parties to the 1976 Protocol to the 1969 Convention on Liability, this term refers to the 1969 Convention on Liability, as amended by that Protocol.
Article 2
Article I of the 1969 Convention on Liability is amended to read:
1. Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
1. "Navira" means any sea building or marine equipment, whatever, constructed or adapted for the transport of bulk hydrocarbons as cargo, provided that a ship capable of carrying hydrocarbons and other cargo is considered a ship only when it actually transports bulk hydrocarbons as cargo and during any voyage following such carriage unless it is established that it is
2. Paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:
5. "Hydrocarbons" means all persistent mineral hydrocarbons, including crude oil, oil-oil, heavy diesel oil and greasing oil, whether transported on board a ship as a cargo or in the vessel's cargo compartments.
3. Paragraph 6 is replaced by the following text:
6. "Package damage" means:
(a) the damage or damage caused outside the vessel by contamination resulting from a leak or discharge of the vessel's hydrocarbons, where the leak or discharge occurs, and that the allowances paid for the alteration of the environment other than the loss of profits due to that alteration will be limited to the cost of reasonable remediation measures that have been taken;
(b) the cost of safeguards and other damage or damage caused by these measures.
4. Paragraph 8 is replaced by the following:
8. "Event" means any act or set of facts that originate in the same way and which results in pollution or constitutes a serious and imminent threat of pollution.
5. Paragraph 9 is replaced by the following:
9. "Organization" means the International Maritime Organization.
6. After paragraph 9, a new paragraph shall be inserted as follows:
10. "Convention on Liability" means the 1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage. For States Parties to the 1976 Protocol to this Convention, the term refers to the 1969 Convention on Liability, as amended by this Protocol.
Article 3
Article II of the 1969 Convention on Liability is replaced by the following text:
This Convention applies exclusively to:
(a) pollution damage:
(i) in the territory, including the territorial sea, of a Contracting State, and
(ii) in the exclusive economic zone of a Contracting State established in accordance with international law or, if a Contracting State has not established that zone, in an area beyond the territorial sea of that State and adjacent to it, determined by that State in accordance with international law and not extending beyond 200 nautical miles of the basic lines from which the width of the territorial sea is measured;
(b) safeguards, wherever they are taken, intended to avoid or reduce such damage.
Article 4
Article III of the 1969 Convention on Liability is amended to read:
1. Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
1. The owner of the vessel at the time of an event or, if the event consists of a succession of facts, at the time of the first of these facts, is responsible for any pollution damage caused by the vessel and resulting from the event, except in the cases provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this section.
2. Paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:
4. No request for compensation for pollution damage may be filed against the owner other than on the basis of this Convention. Subject to paragraph 5 of this article, no request for compensation for pollution damage, whether or not it is based on this Convention, may be filed against:
(a) the owner's attendants or agents or crew members;
(b) the pilot or any other person who, without being a member of the crew, performs services for the vessel;
(c) any charterer (under any name, including a bare charterer), shipowner or shipowner-manager;
(d) any person performing rescue operations with the owner's agreement or the instructions of a competent public authority;
(e) any person taking life-saving measures;
(f) any staff or agents of the persons referred to in subparagraphs (c), (d) and (e);
unless the damage arises from their personal fact or omission, committed with the intention of causing such harm, or wilfully committed and with conscience that such harm would likely result.
Article 5
Article IV of the 1969 Convention on Liability is replaced by the following text:
When an event involves more than one vessel and a pollution damage is caused, the owners of all the vessels involved are, subject to the exemptions provided for in Article III, jointly and in solidarity liable for the totality of the damage that is not reasonably divisible.
Article 6
Article V of the 1969 Convention on Liability is amended to read:
1. Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
1. The owner of a vessel is entitled to limit its liability under this Convention to a total amount per event calculated as follows:
(a) 3 million units of account for a vessel not exceeding 5,000 units;
(b) for a vessel whose gauge exceeds that number of units, for each additional gauge unit, 420 units of account in addition to the amount referred to in paragraph (a);
However, on the understanding that the total amount will in no case exceed 59.7 million units of account.
2. Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
2. The owner is not entitled to limit his or her liability under this Convention if it is proven that the damage by pollution is the result of his or her personal act or omission, committed with the intention of causing such harm, or grievously committed and with conscience that such damage would likely result.
3. Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
3. In order to benefit from the limitation provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, the owner shall constitute a fund that is equal to the limit of his or her responsibility to the court or any other competent authority of any of the Contracting States in which an action is initiated under Article IX or, in the absence of such action, to a court or other competent authority of any of the Contracting States in which an action may be commenced under Article IX. The fund may be constituted either by the deposit of the sum, or by the presentation of a bank guarantee or any other acceptable guarantee accepted by the legislation of the Contracting State in which the fund is constituted, and deemed satisfactory by the court or any other competent authority.
4. Paragraph 9 is replaced by the following:
9. (a) The "account unit" referred to in paragraph 1 of this article is the special drawing right as defined by the International Monetary Fund. The amounts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be converted to a national currency in accordance with the value of that currency in respect of the special drawing right at the date of the establishment of the fund referred to in paragraph 3. The value, in special drawing rights, of the national currency of a Contracting State that is a member of the International Monetary Fund is calculated on the basis of the valuation method applied by the International Monetary Fund on the date in question for its own transactions and transactions. The value, in special drawing rights, of the national currency of a Contracting State that is not a member of the International Monetary Fund is calculated in the manner determined by that State.
9. (b) However, a Contracting State that is not a member of the International Monetary Fund and whose legislation does not permit the application of the provisions of paragraph 9 (a) may, at the time of ratification, acceptance or approval of this Convention or accession to it or at any time thereafter, declare that the unit of account referred to in paragraph 9 (a) is 15 francs-or. The franc-or referred to in this paragraph corresponds to 65 milligrams and a half of gold for nine hundred millimes. The conversion of gold to national currency is carried out in accordance with the laws of the State in question.
9. (c) The calculation referred to in the last sentence of paragraph 9 (a) and the conversion referred to in paragraph 9 (b) shall be so calculated as to express the same actual value, to the extent possible, in the national currency of the Contracting State for the amounts provided for in paragraph 1 as that derived from the application of the first three sentences of paragraph 9 (a). The Contracting States shall communicate to the depositary their method of calculation in accordance with paragraph 9 (a) or the results of the conversion in accordance with paragraph 9 (b), as the case may be, at the time of deposit of their instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of this Convention or of accession to it and whenever a change occurs in that method of calculation or in those results.
5. Paragraph 10 is replaced by the following:
10. For the purposes of this Article, the vessel's gauge is the gross gauge calculated in accordance with the gauge rules set out in Annex I to the 1969 International Convention on the Measurement of Ships.
6. The second sentence of paragraph 11 is replaced by the following:
Such a fund may be established even when, under the provisions of paragraph 2, the owner is not entitled to limit his or her responsibility, but the constitution does not infringe, in this case, the rights of the victims to the owner.
Article 7
Article VII of the 1969 Convention on Liability is amended to read:
1. The first two sentences of paragraph 2 are replaced by the following text.
A certificate certifying that an insurance or other financial guarantee is valid in accordance with the provisions of this Convention shall be issued to each vessel after the competent authority of the Contracting State has ascertained that the vessel meets the requirements of paragraph 1. In the case of a ship registered in a Contracting State, the certificate shall be issued or referred to by the competent authority of the State of registration of the ship; in the case of a vessel not registered in a Contracting State, the certificate may be issued or referred to by the competent authority of any Contracting State.
2. Paragraph 4 is replaced by the following text:
4. The certificate must be on board the vessel and a copy must be filed with the authority holding the vessel's registration register or, if the vessel is not registered in a Contracting State, with the authority of the State that has issued or targeted the certificate.
3. The first sentence of paragraph 7 is replaced by the following:
Certificates issued or subject to the responsibility of a Contracting State under paragraph 2 shall be recognized by other Contracting States for all purposes of the present Convention and are considered by them to be of the same value as the certificates issued and covered by themselves, even when it is a ship that is not registered in a Contracting State.
4. In the second sentence of paragraph 7, the words "to the State of Registration" are replaced by the words "to the State which has issued or targeted the certificate".
5. The second sentence of paragraph 8 is replaced by the following:
In such a case, the defendant may, even where the owner is not entitled to limit his or her liability conferred on Article V, paragraph 2, the limitation of liability provided for in Article V, paragraph 1.
Article 8
Article IX of the 1969 Resportability Convention is amended to read:
Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
1. When an event has caused pollution damage to the territory, including the territorial sea, or in an area as defined in Article II, of one or more Contracting States, or that safeguards have been taken to prevent or mitigate any pollution damages in that territory, including the territorial sea, or in such a zone, it may only be submitted to the courts of that or those Contracting States. Notice must be given to the defendant, within a reasonable time, of the introduction of such applications.
Article 9
After Article XII of the 1969 Convention on Liability, two new articles are inserted as follows:
Article XIIbis
Transitional provisions
The following transitional provisions apply in the case of a State that, on the date of an event, is a Party both to this Convention and to the 1969 Liability Convention:
(a) where an event has caused pollution damage within the scope of this Convention, the liability governed by this Convention shall be considered to be assumed in the case and to the extent that it is also governed by the 1969 Liability Convention;
(b) where an event has caused pollution damage within the scope of this Convention and that the State is a Party to this Convention and to the 1971 International Convention for the Establishment of an International Compensation Fund for Oil Pollution Damage, the liability that remains to be assumed after the provisions of paragraph (a) of this Article shall not be fully regulated by this Convention shall be repaired by the extent that the damages caused by
(c) for the purposes of article III, paragraph 4, of this Convention, the words "this Convention" shall be interpreted as referring to this Convention or the 1969 Convention on Liability, as the case may be;
(d) for the purposes of Article V, paragraph 3, of this Convention, the total amount of the fund to be established shall be reduced from the amount for which the liability is considered to be assumed in accordance with paragraph (a) of this Article.
Article XII
Final clauses
The final clauses of this Convention are articles 12 to 18 of the 1992 Protocol amending the 1969 Convention on Liability. In this Convention, references to Contracting States are considered to be references to the Contracting States to this Protocol.
Article 10
The certificate model annexed to the 1969 Convention on Liability is replaced by the model annexed to this Protocol.
Article 11
1. The 1969 Convention on Liability and this Protocol shall be, between the Parties to this Protocol, considered and interpreted as forming a single instrument.
2. Articles I to XIIter, including the certificate model, of the 1969 Convention on Liability, as amended by this Protocol, are referred to as the "International Convention on Civil Liability for Damage Caused by Hydrocarbons" ("Convention on Liability of 1992").
Final clauses
Article 12
Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession
1. This Protocol is open for signature by all States in London from 15 January 1993 to 14 January 1994.
2. Subject to paragraph 4, any State may become a Party to this Protocol by:
(a) signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval followed by ratification, acceptance or approval; or
(b) accession.
3. Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument in due form with the Secretary-General of the Organization.
4. Any Contracting State to the 1971 International Convention for the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Damage Caused by Hydrocarbons, hereafter referred to as the "Convention for the Establishment of the Fund", shall not ratify, accept or approve this Protocol or accede to it unless it ratifies, accepts or approves at the same time the 1992 Protocol amending or acceding to this Convention, unless it denounces the Convention
5. A State that is a Party to this Protocol but is not a Party to the 1969 Convention on Liability is bound by the provisions of the 1969 Convention on Liability, as amended by this Protocol, with respect to other States Parties to the Protocol but is not bound by the provisions of the 1969 Convention on Liability to States Parties to that Convention.
6. Any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, deposits after the entry into force of an amendment to the 1969 Liability Convention, as amended by this Protocol, shall be deemed to apply to the Convention as amended and as amended by that amendment.
Article 13
Entry into force
1. This Protocol comes into force twelve months after the date on which ten States, including four States each with at least one million units of gross tonnage of tank vessels, have deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary-General of the Organization.
2. However, any Contracting State to the 1971 Convention establishing the Fund may, at the time of deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession relating to this Protocol, declare that this instrument shall be deemed without effect for the purposes of this Article until the expiration of the six-month period provided for in Article 31 of the 1992 Protocol amending the 1971 Convention establishing the Fund. A State that is not a Contracting State to the 1971 Convention establishing the Fund but deposits an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession relating to the 1992 Protocol amending the 1971 Convention establishing the Fund, may also make a declaration at the same time in accordance with this paragraph.
3. Any State that has made a declaration in accordance with the preceding paragraph may withdraw it at any time by means of a notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the Organization. Any such withdrawal shall take effect on the date of receipt of the notification, provided that that State is considered to have deposited on that date its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession relating to this Protocol.
4. For any State ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to it after the entry into force conditions provided for in paragraph 1 have been met, this Protocol comes into force twelve months after the date of the deposit by that State of the appropriate instrument.
Article 14
Revision and amendment
1. The Organization may convene a conference to revise or amend the 1992 Liability Convention.
2. The Organization shall convene a conference of the Contracting States whose purpose is to revise or amend the 1992 Convention on Liability at the request of at least one third of the Contracting States.
Article 15
Change in liability limits
1. At the request of at least one quarter of the Contracting States, any proposal to amend the limits of liability provided for in Article V, paragraph 1, of the 1969 Convention on Liability, 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 Organization's Legal Committee for consideration at least six months after the date on which it was broadcast.
3. All Contracting States to the 1969 Convention on Liability, 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 present and voting in the Legal Committee, extended in accordance with paragraph 3, provided that at least half of the Contracting States are present at the time of the vote.
5. When deciding on a proposal to change the limits, the Legal Committee takes into account the experience gained in the event and, in particular, the amount of the resulting damage, the fluctuations in the value of currencies and the impact of the proposed amendment on the cost of insurance. It also takes into account the relationship between the limits provided for in Article V, paragraph 1, of the 1969 Convention on Liability, as amended by this Protocol, and the limits provided for in Article 4, paragraph 4, of the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Damage Due to Hydrocarbon Pollution.
6. (a) No amendment to amend the limits of liability under this section may be considered before 15 January 1998 or before the expiry of a five-year period from the date of entry into force of an earlier amendment adopted under this section. No amendment under this Article shall be considered before the entry into force of this Protocol.
(b) No limit may be raised to the extent that it exceeds the limit set out in the 1969 Liability Convention, as amended by this Protocol, increased by 6 per cent per annum, in a composite interest, effective 15 January 1993.
(c) No limit may be raised to the extent to exceed the three-fold limit set out in the 1969 Liability Convention, as amended by this Protocol.
7. Any amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article 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 Contracting States at the time of the adoption of the amendment by the Legal Committee inform the Organization 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 Article 16, paragraphs 1 and 2, 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 adapted by the Legal Committee but the acceptance period of eighteen months has not yet expired, any State that becomes a Contracting State during that period is bound by that amendment if the amendment 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 for that State, if the latter date is later.
Article 16
Denunciation
1. This Protocol may be denounced by any of the Parties at any time from the date on which it comes into force with respect to that Party.
2. The denunciation is made by the deposit of an instrument with the Secretary General of the Organization.
3. The denunciation takes effect twelve months after the date of deposit of the denunciation instrument with the Secretary General of the Organization or at the expiry of any longer period that may be specified in that instrument.
4. Between the Parties to this Protocol, the denunciation by any of them of the 1969 Convention on Liability under Article XVI of that Convention is in no way construed as a denunciation of the 1969 Convention on Liability, as amended by this Protocol.
5. The denunciation of the 1992 Protocol amending the 1971 Convention establishing the Fund by a State that remains a Party to the 1971 Convention establishing the Fund is considered a denunciation of this Protocol. This denunciation takes effect on the date on which the denunciation of the 1992 Protocol amending the 1971 Convention establishing the Fund takes effect in accordance with Article 34 of that Protocol.
Article 17
Depositary
1. This Protocol and all amendments accepted under Article 15 shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Organization.
2. The Secretary General of the Organization:
(a) inform all States that have signed or acceded to this Protocol:
(i) any new signature or new instrument deposit, and the date on which this signature or deposit occurred;
(ii) any declaration and notification made under Article 13 and any declaration and communication made under Article V, paragraph 9, of the 1992 Liability Convention;
(iii) the effective date of this Protocol;
(iv) any proposal to amend the limits of liability, which was submitted in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 1;
(v) any amendment adopted in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 4;
(vi) any amendment that is deemed to have been accepted under section 15, paragraph 7, and the date on which the 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;
(viii) any denunciation deemed to have been made under section 16, paragraph 5;
(ix) any communication under any of the articles of this Protocol;
(b) transmit certified copies of this Protocol to all signatories and to all States that adhere to it.
3. Upon the entry into force of this Protocol, the Secretary-General of the Organization 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 18
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 twenty-seventh November nine hundred and eighty- twelve.
In the belief that the undersigned, duly authorized to do so by their respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.

Annex
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