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Original text
(Status on 7 March 2006)
The Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Belgium, the French Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Swiss Confederation,
Recognising the usefulness of harmonising the applicable law on limitation of liability in inland navigation in particular on the Rhine and the Moselle,
Have decided to conclude a Convention for this purpose and, accordingly, have agreed as follows:
Boaters and wizards, as defined below, may limit their liability in accordance with the rules of this Convention in respect of claims under Art. 2.
2. The expression
3. If any of the claims referred to in s. 2 shall be made against any person whose facts, negligence or misconduct lead to the liability of the owner or assistant, that person shall have the right to avail himself of the limitation of liability provided for in this Convention.
4. In this Convention, the term " liability of the owner of a vessel shall include liability arising out of an action taken against the vessel itself.
5. The insurer covering liability in respect of claims subject to limitation in accordance with this Convention shall have the right to avail itself of it to the same extent as the insured person himself.
6. The fact of relying on limitation of liability does not imply recognition of that responsibility.
1. Subject to s. 3 and 4, the following claims, irrespective of the basis of liability, are subject to limitation of liability:
(2) The claims referred to in paragraph 1 shall be subject to limitation of liability even if they are the subject of an action, whether contractual or not, recuring or guaranteeing. However, the claims filed under s. 1, let. (d), (e) and (f) are not subject to limitation of liability to the extent that they relate to remuneration pursuant to a contract with the person in charge.
The rules of this Convention shall not apply to:
A responsible person is not entitled to limit his liability if it is proved that the damage is the result of his personal act or omission, committed with the intention of causing such damage, or recklessly and conscientiously committed That such damage would likely result.
If a person entitled to limit his liability in accordance with the rules of this Convention has against his creditor a debt arising out of the same event, their respective claims shall be compensated and the provisions of this Convention shall not Apply to the potential balance.
1. Limits of liability for claims other than those referred to in s. 7, from the same event, are calculated as follows:
2. However, without prejudice to the right of claims for death or bodily injury in accordance with para. 1, let. (c) a State Party may stipulate in its national law that claims for damage caused to works of art in ports, basins, waterways, locks, bridges and aids to navigation have, on the other claims referred to in subs. 1, let. (b) the priority provided for in that legislation.
3. The limits of liability referred to in s. 1, let. (d) shall also apply to any assistant who provides assistance or rescue services to a vessel and does not act from a ship of inland navigation or from a seagoing ship or any assistant acting solely on board the vessel Vessel to which it provides assistance or rescue services.
1. In the case of claims resulting from the death or personal injury of passengers of a vessel and arising from the same event, the limit of the liability of the owner of the vessel shall be set at a sum of 60 000 units of account multiplied by the Number of passengers that the vessel is authorised to transport according to the certificate of the vessel or, if the number of passengers that the vessel is authorised to carry is not prescribed, this limitation shall be determined by the number of passengers actually Transported by the vessel at the time of the event.
These limits cannot be less than 720,000 units of account or greater than the following amounts:
2. For the purposes of this Article, "claims resulting from the death or bodily injury of passengers of a vessel" means any claim made by any person carried on or on behalf of that person:
1. The unit of account referred to in s. 6 and 7 is the Special Drawing Right as defined by the International Monetary Fund. Amounts referred to in s. 6 and 7 shall be converted into the national currency of the State in which the limitation of liability is invoked; conversion shall be effected according to the value of that currency on the date on which the fund was established, the payment made or the guarantee Equivalent provided in accordance with the law of that State.
2. The value, in the Special Drawing Right, of the national currency of a State Party shall be calculated according to the method of valuation applied by the International Monetary Fund on the date in question for its own transactions and transactions.
3. States Parties may fix, on the basis of the method of calculation referred to in par. 1, the equivalent of amounts referred to in s. 6 and 7 in their national currency in rounded numbers. Where, as a result of a change in the value of the Special Drawing Right of the national currency, the amounts expressed in that currency deviate from more than 10 % of the actual value expressed in Right of Special Drawing Right to Art. 6 and 7, the amounts will have to be adjusted to the actual value. The States Parties shall communicate to the depositary the sums expressed in national currency and any modification thereof.
1. Without prejudice to s. 2, the limits of liability determined under s. 6 apply to all claims arising from the same event:
3. The limits of liability determined under s. 7 applies to all claims arising out of the same event in respect of the person or persons referred to in s. 1, para. 2, let. (a) in the case of the vessel referred to in s. 7 and any person whose facts, negligence or misconduct lead to the liability of the person or the person concerned.
1. Limitation of liability may be invoked even if the limitation fund referred to in s. 11 has not been constituted. However, a State Party may stipulate in its national law that where an action is brought before its courts in order to obtain payment of a claim subject to limitation, a responsible person may not invoke the right to limit his Liability if a limitation fund has been established in accordance with the provisions of this Convention or is constituted where the right to limit liability is invoked.
2. If the limitation of liability is invoked without the creation of a limitation fund, the provisions of Art. 12 apply.
(3) The rules of procedure for the application of this Article shall be governed by the national law of the State Party in which the action is brought.
(1) Any person whose responsibility may be called into question may constitute a fund with the competent court or any other competent authority of any State Party in which an action is engaged for a claim subject to limitation, or, If no action is taken, before the competent court or any other competent authority of any State Party in which an action may be instituted for a claim subject to limitation. The fund must be made up of the amount as calculated in accordance with the provisions of s. 6 and 7 applicable to claims for which the person who constitutes the fund may be liable, plus interest accrued from the date of the event giving rise to liability up to the date of the establishment of the fund. Any such fund shall be available only to pay the claims in respect of which the limitation of liability may be invoked.
2. A fund may be constituted either by recording the sum or by providing a guarantee acceptable under the legislation of the State Party in which the fund is constituted and considered adequate by the court or any other authority Competent.
3. A fund constituted by one of the persons referred to in s. 9, para. 1, let. (a), (b) or (c), at para. 3, or by its insurer, is deemed to be constituted by all persons referred to in s. 9, para. 1, let (a), (b) or (c) or (c). 3.
1. Subject to the provisions of s. 6, para. 1 and 2, and those of s. 7, the fund is distributed among the creditors in proportion to the amount of their claims against the fund.
2. If, before the distribution of the fund, the responsible person, or its insurer, has settled a claim against the fund, that person is subrogated to the amount that it has paid, in the rights that the beneficiary of that settlement would have Under this Convention.
3. The right of subrogation under subs. 2 may also be exercised by persons other than those mentioned above, for any amount that they would have paid as compensation, but only to the extent that such subrogation is permitted by the applicable national law.
4. If the responsible person or any other person establishes that it may subsequently be forced to pay as compensation an amount for which it would have enjoyed a right of subrogation under subs. 2 and 3 if that amount had been paid before the distribution of the fund, the court or any other competent authority of the State in which the fund is constituted may order that a sufficient sum be provisionally reserved for that purpose Person to subsequently enforce his or her rights against the fund.
1. If a limitation fund has been established in accordance with s. 11, no person who has filed a claim against the fund may be permitted to exercise rights in respect of that debt on other property of a person by or on behalf of which the fund has been constituted.
2. After the establishment of a fund in accordance with Art. 11, any vessel or other property belonging to a person to whom the fund has been constituted, which has been seized in the jurisdiction of a State Party for a claim which may be opposed to the fund, and any guarantee Shall be released by the court or any other competent authority of that State.
3. The provisions of s. 1 and 2 apply only if the creditor can file a claim against the fund before the court administering that fund and if the fund is actually available and freely transferable in respect of that claim.
Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, the rules on the constitution and distribution of a limitation fund and any rules of procedure relating thereto shall be governed by the law of the State Party in which the fund is Made.
(1) This Convention shall apply to the limitation of the liability of the owner of a vessel or assistant when at the time of the event giving rise to claims:
This Convention shall also apply to the limitation of the liability of an assistant providing assistance services of an inland navigation vessel to a marine vessel in danger in the scope of one of those waterways or to the cargo Of such a ship.
(2) Any State may at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or at any subsequent time, declare by means of a notification addressed to the depositary that this Convention is also applicable to Other waterways than those mentioned in par. 1 provided that they are located in the territory of that State.
This Convention shall take effect, for the waterways mentioned in the notification, on the first day of the month following the expiration of a period of three months following receipt of the notification or, if this Convention is not yet Entry into force, with its entry into force.
3. Any State which has made a declaration under s. 2 may withdraw it at any time by means of a notification addressed to the depositary. The withdrawal shall take effect on the first day of the month following the expiration of one year from the date on which the notification is received or at the expiration of any longer period that may be specified in the declaration.
1 RS 0.747.224.101
1. This Convention shall be open for signature by all States Parties to the Revised Convention for the Navigation of the Rhine of 17 October 1868 1 And the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, from 4 November 1988 to 4 November 1989 at the headquarters of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine in Strasbourg and remains open to accession.
2. This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by the States which have signed it.
3. States other than those referred to in par. 1, having a direct navigable link with the waterways referred to in s. 15, para. 1, may, by unanimous decision of the States in respect of which this Convention entered into force, be invited to accede. The depositary shall convene the States referred to in the first sentence to rule on the invitation decision. The decision shall include the adaptations of this Convention necessary in the event of the accession of the State to be invited, in particular with regard to the conversion of the amounts of liability into the national currency of a State, which is not a member of the Fund International monetary policy. The decision shall enter into force when all the States party to this Convention mentioned in the first sentence have notified the Secretary General of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine of the acceptance of the decision. Any State so invited may accede to the Convention as amended by the decision.
4. The ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument in good form with the Secretary General of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine.
1 RS 0.747.224.101
(1) This Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiration of a period of three months from the date on which three of the States referred to in Art. 16, para. 1, shall have deposited the instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
2. For a State which deposits an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession after the conditions governing entry into force of this Convention have been fulfilled, the Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the Months after the expiry of a period of three months from the date on which that State has deposited its instrument.
(1) Any State may, upon signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, as well as, for a reservation referred to in the let. (b) at any time thereafter, reserve the right to exclude the application of the rules of this Convention in whole or in part:
2. Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, declare that it will not apply to claims arising out of an event on its waterways, the maximum limits of liability Under s. 7, para. 1, second sentence, let. (a) and (b).
3. Reservations made at the time of signature must be confirmed upon ratification, acceptance or approval.
(4) Any State which has made a reservation in respect of this Convention may withdraw it at any time by means of a notification addressed to the depositary. The withdrawal shall take effect on the date on which the notification is received or at a later date specified in the notification.
(1) This Convention may be denounced by any of the States Parties by notification addressed to the depositary at any time, one year after the date on which the Convention enters into force in respect of that Party.
(2) Denunciation shall take effect on the first day of the month following the expiration of one year from the date on which the notification is received or at the expiration of any longer period that may be specified therein.
At the request of a State Party to this Convention, the depositary shall convene a Conference of all Contracting States to deliberate on the revision of the amounts of limitation provided for in Art. 6 and 7 or the replacement of the unit of account referred to in s. 8 of this Convention.
2. During the debate on the revision of the amounts of limitation provided for in Art. 6 and 7, account must be taken of the experience acquired in relation to harmful events and, in particular, the amount of damage resulting from them, fluctuations in the value of the currencies and the impact of the proposed amendment on the cost of the Insurance.
4. The decision to review the amounts of limitation under s. 6 and 7, or to replace the unit of account referred to in s. 8, shall be taken by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting States present and voting, comprising a two-thirds majority of the States referred to in Art. 16, para. 1, for which this Convention has entered into force.
The depositary shall notify all Contracting States of the amendments adopted in accordance with subs. 2. The amendment shall be deemed to have been accepted after the expiry of a period of six months from the date of the notification, unless, within that period, one third of the Contracting States have notified the depositary of their refusal to accept the amendment.
6. An amendment deemed to have been accepted in accordance with s. 5 shall enter into force eighteen months after its acceptance, in respect of all States which, at that time, are Parties to this Convention, unless they denounce this Convention, in accordance with art. 19, para. 1, at least six months before the entry into force of this amendment. Such denunciation shall take effect when the said amendment enters into force. The amendment shall bind any State becoming a Party to this Convention after the date referred to in the first sentence.
1. This Convention shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine.
2. The Secretary General of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine
This Convention shall be established in a single original in the German, French and Dutch languages, each text being equally authentic.
In witness whereof, The undersigned, having deposited their full powers, have signed this Convention.
Done at Strasbourg, 4 November 1988.
(Suivent signatures)
States Parties |
Ratification |
Entry into force |
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Germany * |
March 9 |
1999 |
1 Er July |
1999 |
Luxembourg * |
July 5 |
1993 |
1 Er September |
1997 |
Netherlands * |
April 16 |
1997 |
1 Er September |
1997 |
Switzerland * |
21 May |
1997 |
1 Er September |
1997 |
* |
Reservations and declarations. |
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Reservations and declarations, with the exception of those of Switzerland, are not published in the RO. The texts in French and German can be obtained from the Directorate of Public International Law (DDIP), International Treaty Section, 3003 Berne. |
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Switzerland 3
Reservations
Statement
The Federal Council also declares, in accordance with Art. 15, para. 2, of the Convention, that the Swiss Confederation will also apply the provisions of the Rhine Convention between Basel and Rheinfelden.
1 Art. 1 Er Al. 1 of March 22, 1996 (RO) 1998 998)
2 A version of the updated scope of application is published on the DFAE website (http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/f/home/foreign/intagr/dabase.html).
3 Article 2 of the AF of 22 March 1996 (RO 1998 998).