Key Benefits:
President of the Republic,
On the report of the Prime Minister and the Minister Foreign Affairs,
Having regard to Articles 52 to 55 of the Constitution;
In view of Act No. 2004-146 of 16 February 2004 authorizing the ratification of the conventions of the International Labour Organisation No. 163 concerning the welfare of seafarers, At sea and in ports, No. 164 concerning the protection of the health and medical care of seafarers, No. 166 concerning the repatriation of seafarers, No. 178 concerning the inspection of the working and living conditions of seafarers, No. 179 Concerning the recruitment and placement of seafarers, No. 180 concerning the working hours of seafarers and the number of ships, No. 185 concerning seafarers' identity documents (revised) and the Protocol on Convention No 147 Concerning the minimum standards to be observed on merchant ships;
In view of the amended Decree No. 53-192 of 14 March 1953 on the ratification and publication of international commitments entered into by France,
International Labour Organisation Convention No 178 concerning inspection of working and living conditions Seafarers, adopted in Geneva on 22 October 1996, will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs shall each have responsibility for the execution of this Decree, which shall be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
C O N V E N T I O N N ° 178
DE L' ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE DU WORK CONCERNING THE INSPECTION OF WORKING CONDITIONS AND LIFE PEOPLE OF SEA, ADOPTED IN GENEVA OCTOBER 22, 1996
The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Convened in Geneva by the Governing Council of the International Labour Office, and met on 8 October 1996, in Its eighty-fourth session;
Noting the changes in the nature of the maritime sector and the resulting changes to the working and living conditions of seafarers since the recommendation on the inspection of the Work (seafarers), 1926, was adopted;
Recalling the provisions of the Convention and Recommendation on Labour Inspection, 1947; the Recommendation on Labour Inspection (Mining and Transport), 1947, and the Convention on Merchant Navy (Minimum Standards), 1976;
Recalling the entry into force on November 16, 1994, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982;
Having decided to adopt various proposals for the revision of the Recommendation on labour inspection (seafarers), 1926, which is the first item on the agenda of the session;
After deciding that these proposals would take the form of an international convention Only to the flag State, shall adopt, on this twenty-second day of October a thousand nine hundred and ninety-six, the following Convention, which shall be called the Labour Inspection Convention (seafarers), 1996.
PART I
CHAMP APPLICATION AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
1. Subject to the provisions contrary in this Article, this Convention shall apply to any ship registered in the territory of a Member for which the Convention is in force, of public or private property, Assigned, for commercial purposes, to the carriage of goods or passengers or used for other commercial purposes. For the purposes of the Convention, a ship registered in the territory of two Members shall be considered to be registered in the territory of its flag.
2. National legislation shall determine which vessels shall be registered. For the purposes of this Agreement.
3. This Agreement applies to sea tugs.
4. This Agreement shall not apply to ships of less than 500 gross tonnage or to ships such as drilling and operating platforms when not used for navigation. It shall be the responsibility of the central coordinating authority to decide, in consultation with the most representative organisations of ship owners and seafarers, which ships are covered by this paragraph.
5. In so far as the central coordinating authority deems it feasible, after consulting the representative organisations of the shipowners and fishermen, the provisions of the Convention shall apply to maritime fishing vessels Sales.
6. In case of doubt as to whether a ship is to be considered as assigned to commercial maritime operations or to commercial maritime fishing for the purposes of the Convention, the matter shall be settled by the central coordinating authority, After consultation with shipowners, seafarers and interested fishermen.
7. For convention purposes:
a) expression " Central coordinating authority " Designates ministers, government departments or other public authorities empowered to issue orders, regulations or other binding instructions for the inspection of the working and living conditions of seafarers, Concerning any ship registered in the territory of the Member, and to monitor its application;
(b) the term " Inspector " Means any public official or other public official responsible for inspecting any aspect of the working and living conditions of seafarers, as well as any other person with appropriate supporting credentials who carries out such inspections for the purpose of Account of an institution or organisation authorized by the central coordinating authority, in accordance with the provisions of Article 2 (3);
c) the expression " Legal provisions " Covers, in addition to national legislation, arbitral awards and binding collective agreements;
(d) the expression " Seafarers " Means persons employed, in any capacity, on board a seagoing vessel to which the Convention applies. In case of doubt as to the categories of persons to be considered as seafarers for the purposes of this Convention, the matter shall be settled by the central coordinating authority after consultation with the shipowners' organisations and Interested seafarers;
e) the expression " Working and living conditions of seafarers' Refers to conditions such as those concerning standards of maintenance and cleanliness of places of life and work on board, minimum age, contracts of engagement, food and table service, accommodation of the crew, recruitment, Staff, qualifications, length of work, medical examinations, prevention of accidents at work, medical care, sickness and accident benefits, welfare and related matters, repatriation, conditions and Terms and conditions of employment subject to national legislation, and freedom of association as defined in the Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organus, 1948, of the International Labour Organisation.
PART II
ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION
Article 2
1. Any Member to whom the Convention applies shall ensure an inspection system for the working and living conditions of seafarers.
2. The central coordinating authority shall coordinate the inspections wholly or partly on the working and living conditions of seafarers and establish principles to be respected.
3. The central coordinating authority will in all cases assume responsibility for the inspection of the working and living conditions of seafarers. It may authorize public institutions or other organizations for which it acknowledges the competence and independence to carry out such an inspection on its behalf. It will have to maintain and make available to the public a list of these institutions or organizations.
Article 3
1. Each Member shall ensure that all vessels registered in its territory are inspected at intervals not exceeding three years and, where practicable, every year, in order to verify that the working and living conditions of the people
a Member receives a complaint or acquires the evidence that a ship registered in its territory does not comply with the national legislation concerning the conditions of work and life Of seafarers, the Member shall take measures to inspect the vessel as soon as practicable,
3. In the case of significant changes to the ship's construction or development, its inspection will be carried out within three months of these changes.
Article 4
All Member shall designate qualified inspectors to carry out the duties of which they are responsible and shall take the necessary measures to ensure that they are sufficient to meet the requirements of this Convention.
Article 5
1. The status and conditions of service of inspectors will be required to make them independent of any change in government and any undue external influence.
2. Inspectors, with supporting documentation of their duties, shall be authorized :
a) to board ships registered in the Member's territory and to enter the premises for inspection;
(b) to carry out any examinations, controls or investigations that they deem necessary to ensure that the provisions
c) to require that deficiencies be remedied;
(d) to prohibit, subject to any right of appeal to the administrative authority or the judicial authority, a ship from leaving the port until such time as The necessary arrangements have been made, where they have reason to believe that a deficiency constitutes a significant danger to the health and safety of seafarers, the ship should not be unduly withheld or delayed.
Article 6
1. When an inspection or action is taken in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, reasonable efforts shall be made to ensure that the vessel is not unduly withheld or delayed.
2. The shipowner or the operator of the ship shall be entitled to compensation for any damage or loss which would result from such an undue hardship or delay, the burden of proof imposed on him.
PART III
SANCTIONS
Article 7
1. Appropriate sanctions for violations of the legal provisions for inspectors and for obstructing inspectors in the performance of their duties will have to be provided for by national legislation and effectively
2. Inspectors will have the option of giving warnings and advice instead of initiating or recommending prosecutions.
PART IV
REPORTS
Article 8
1. The central coordinating authority will keep records of the inspections of the working and living conditions of seafarers.
2. It will publish an annual report on inspection activities, including a list of institutions and organisations Authorized to carry out inspections on its behalf. This report shall be published within a reasonable period of time, not exceeding six months, from the end of the year to which it refers.
Article 9
1. Inspectors shall, for any inspection carried out, submit a report to the central coordinating authority. A copy of this report in English or in the language of work of the ship shall be given to the master, another shall be displayed on the board of the ship for the information of seafarers on board or communicated to their representatives
2. In the case of an inspection following a major incident, the report shall be submitted as soon as possible and no later than one month after the conclusion of the inspection.
PART V
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 10
This convention replaces the recommendation on labour inspection (seafarers), 1926.
Article 11
The formal ratifications of this Agreement will be Communicated to and registered by the Director General of the International Labour Office.
Article 12
1. This Convention shall only bind the Members of the International Labour Organization whose ratification has been registered by the Director General of the International Labour Office.
2. It shall enter into force twelve months after the Ratifications by two Members will have been registered by the Director
. Thereafter, this Convention shall enter into force for each Member twelve months after the date on which its ratification is registered.
Article 13
1. Any Member having ratified this Convention may denounce it at the expiration of a period of ten years after the date of the initial entry into force of the Convention by an act communicated to the Director General of the International Labour Office and By registered. The denunciation shall take effect only one year after being registered.
2. Any Member having ratified this Convention which, within one year of the expiration of the ten-year period referred to in the preceding paragraph, shall not No use of the right of denunciation provided for in this Article shall be bound for a further period of ten years and thereafter may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each ten-year period under the conditions laid down in the Article.
Article 14
l. The Director General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organization of the registration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated to it by Members of the International Labour Organization The Organization.
2. By notifying the Members of the Organization of the second ratification which has been communicated to it, the Director General shall call the attention of the Members of the Organization on the date on which the present Convention will enter into force.
Article 15
The Director General of the International Labour Office will communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for registration, in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, complete information on all ratifications and acts of denunciation recorded in accordance with the preceding Articles.
Article 16
Whenever it deems it necessary, the Governing Council of the International Labour Office will report to the General Conference on the application of this Convention and consider whether to include The Conference's agenda the question of its total or partial revision.
Article 17
1. In the event that the Conference adopts a new convention for the total or partial revision of this Convention, and unless the new Convention provides otherwise:
a) Ratification by a Member of the new Convention Revising, notwithstanding Article 13 above, the immediate termination of this Convention, provided that the new revision agreement has entered into force;
(b) from the date of entry into force of this Convention; This Convention would cease to be open for ratification by Members.
2. This Convention would in any case remain in force in its form and content for Members who would have Ratified and who would not ratify the revision agreement.
Article 18
The English and French versions of the text of this agreement are equally authentic.
The preceding text is The authentic text of the Convention duly adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization in its eighty-fourth session, which was held in Geneva and declared closed on 22 October 1996
Signed on this twenty-second day of October 1996:
Director General
of the International Bureau
of Labour,
Michel Hansenne
The President of the Conference,
James Hubbard
Done at Paris, May 11, 2005.
Jacques Chirac
By the President of the Republic:
The Prime Minister,
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Foreign Minister,
Michel Barnier
