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RS 0.747.331.52 International Convention of 10 October 1957 on limitation of the liability of shipowners (with signature protocol)

Original Language Title: RS 0.747.331.52 Convention internationale du 10 octobre 1957 sur la limitation de la responsabilité des propriétaires de navires de mer (avec protocole de signature)

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0.747.331.52

Original text

International Convention on the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Seagoing Ships 1

Conclue in Brussels on 10 October 1957
Approved by the Federal Assembly on 1 Er December 1965 2
Instrument of ratification deposited by Switzerland on 21 January 1966
Entry into force for Switzerland on 31 May 1968 3

(State on 13 July 2011)

The High Contracting Parties,

Having recognised the usefulness of establishing a common agreement on certain uniform rules concerning the limitation of the liability of shipowners;

Have decided to conclude a Convention for this purpose, and accordingly agreed as follows:

Art. 1

(1) The owner of a seagoing ship may limit its liability to the amount determined by s. 3 of this Convention for claims arising out of one of the following causes, unless the event giving rise to the debt was caused by the owner's personal fault:

A.
Death or bodily harm of any person on board to be transported, and loss or damage of any property on board the ship;
B.
Death or bodily harm of any other person on land or water, loss or damage to any other property or damage to any right caused by the fact, negligence or fault of any person on board the ship, including the owner Shall be liable; provided that, in the latter case, the fact, negligence or fault relate to the navigation, the administration of the ship, the loading, transport or unloading of the cargo, boarding, transport or Landing of passengers;
C.
Any liability or liability imposed by law relating to the removal of shipwrecks and relating to the bailing, removal or destruction of a ship that is sunk, failed or abandoned (including all that is on board), as well as any Obligation or liability resulting from damage caused by a sea vessel to the works of art of ports, basins and waterways.

(2) In this Convention, "personal injury" means claims for compensation resulting from death and bodily injury; the term "property damage" means all other claims referred to in subs. (1) above.

(3) The right of a shipowner to limit its liability in the cases referred to in s. (1) of this section is recognized even if its liability derives from the ownership, possession, custody or control of the ship without evidence of its fault or that of persons to whom it must respond.

(4) This section does not apply to:

A.
To the claims of the head of assistance, rescue or contribution in common damage;
B.
To the claims of the master, members of the crew or other servants of the owner of the ship on board or whose duties are related to the service of the ship, and to the claims of their heirs and successors in title, if Law governing the contract of engagement, the owner does not have the right to limit his liability in respect of such claims, or, if, under that law, he or she can do so only at an amount higher than that provided for in s. 3 below.

(5) If the owner of a ship is authorized to claim a claim in respect of a creditor for damage resulting from the same event, the respective claims shall be compensated, and the provisions of this Convention shall not apply The balance, if any.

(6) The lex fori shall determine the person to whom the evidence shows that the event giving rise to the claim was caused by the owner's personal fault.

(7) The fact of relying on limitation of liability does not imply recognition of that responsibility.

Art. 2

(1) Limitation of liability determined by s. 3 of this Convention, applies to all claims of the head of personal injury and property damage arising out of the same event, without having regard to claims arising out of or arising from another event.

(2) Where all claims resulting from the same event exceed the limits of liability as determined by s. 3, the overall amount corresponding to these limits may be set up in a single limitation fund.

(3) The fund so constituted shall be allocated exclusively to the settlement of claims to which the limitation of liability is enforceable.

(4) After the establishment of the fund, no right may be exercised, for the same claims, on other property of the owner by the creditors to which the fund is reserved, provided that the limitation fund is actually available to the Benefit of the applicant.

Art. 3 1

(1) The amounts to which the owner of a ship may limit its liability in the cases provided for in section 1 are:

A.
In the event of the event giving rise only to property damage, a total sum of 1000 francs per ship's gauge rod;
B.
In the event that the event gave rise only to personal injury, a total sum of 3100 francs per ship's gauge rod;
C.
In the event of the event giving rise to both bodily injury and property damage, a total sum of 3100 francs per ship's tonnage, of which a first part of 2100 francs per gauge rod will be allocated exclusively to the Settlement of the claims of the head of personal injury, and of which a second part of 1000 francs per ship's tonnage will be allocated to the payment of the claims of the head of property damage; however, where the first part is insufficient In order to pay in full the claims of the head of personal injury, the unpaid balance shall be paid In competition with the claims of the chief of property damage to be paid by the second part of the fund.

(2) In each part of the limitation fund, the distribution shall be between the creditors, in proportion to the amount of their recognized claims.

(3) If, before the allocation of the fund, the owner of a ship has paid in whole or in part one of the claims referred to in s. 1, para. (1), it is entitled to take, due to competition, the place and place of its creditor in the distribution of the fund, but only to the extent that, according to the law of the country in which the fund is constituted, that creditor could have brought to justice The claim against the owner.

(4) Where the owner establishes that he may subsequently be forced to pay in whole or in part one of the claims referred to in Article 1, paragraph (1), the court or other competent authority of the country where the fund is constituted May order that a sufficient sum be provisionally reserved to allow the owner to subsequently assert his rights in the fund, under the conditions set out in the preceding paragraph.

(5) In determining the limit of the liability of a ship owner in accordance with the provisions of this section, a ship of less than 300 tons shall be deemed to be a ship of that tonnage.

(6) The franc referred to in this section is considered to be related to a unit consisting of sixty-five and a half milligrams of gold in the title of nine hundred thousand million. The amounts referred to in par. (1) of this Article shall be converted into the national currency of the State in which the limitation of liability is invoked; the conversion shall be effected by the value of that currency in relation to the unit defined above, on the date on which The owner of the ship shall have constituted the fund, made the payment or provided, in accordance with the law of that State, any equivalent guarantee.

(7) For the purposes of this Convention, tonnage shall be calculated as follows:

-
For steamships or other power-driven vessels, the net tonnage increased by the volume which, due to the space occupied by the power-driven aircraft, was deducted from the gross tonnage in order to determine the net tonnage;
-
For all other vessels, the net tonnage.

1 See also prot. Of Dec 21. 1979 (RS 0.747.331.521 ).

Art. 4

Without prejudice to the provisions of Art. 3, para. (2) of this Convention, the rules on the constitution and distribution of the possible fund and all rules of procedure shall be determined by the national law of the State in which the fund is constituted.

Art. 5

(1) In all cases where an owner is authorized to limit his liability under this Convention, and when the ship or any other ship or property belonging to the same owner has been seized within the jurisdiction of a State Or that a guarantor or other guarantee has been provided to avoid the seizure, the court or any other competent authority of that State may order the release of the seizure of the ship or any other property or the release of the guarantee Provided that it is proved that the owner has already provided sufficient security or other Guarantee for an amount equal to the full limit of its liability, as set out in this Convention, and that the surety or guarantee thus provided is effectively available to the applicant, in accordance with its rights.

(2) Where, in the circumstances referred to in subs. (1) of this section, a surety or other guarantee has already been given:

A.
At the port where the accident giving rise to the debt occurred;
B.
The first port of call after the accident if the accident did not take place in a port;
C.
At the port of landing or unloading, if it is a claim for personal injury or damage to the goods.

The court or other competent authority shall order the release of the seizure of the ship or the release of the surety or other guarantee when the conditions indicated in par. (1) of this section shall be in place.

(3) The provisions of s. (1) and (2) of this Article shall also apply, if the surety or any other guarantee already given is less than the entire limit of liability under the empire of this Convention, provided that a surety or any other Sufficient guarantee is given for the difference.

(4) Where the owner has provided security or another guarantee for an amount equal to the full extent of his liability in accordance with this Convention, such security or other guarantee may be used for the payment of All claims deriving from the same event and for which the owner can limit his liability.

(5) The proceedings relating to actions taken by application of the provisions of this Convention and the time limits in which those actions are to be carried out shall be governed by the national law of the Contracting State in which the trial takes place.

Art. 6

(1) In this Agreement, the liability of the owner of the ship shall include the responsibility of the ship itself.

(2) Subject to subs. (3) of this Article, the provisions of this Convention shall apply to the charterer, the shipowner, the owner-manager, as well as to the master, crew and other servants of the owner, the charterer, the shipowner, or The manager-manager, acting in the performance of their duties, in the same manner as they apply to the owner himself, without the overall amount of the limited liability of the owner and all those other persons of the chief Physical and material damage resulting from the same event may exceed the fixed amounts Pursuant to s. 3 of this Convention.

(3) Where an action is directed against the master or crew members, they may limit their liability even if the event which is the cause of the claim is due to their personal fault. However, if the master or crew member is at the same time sole owner, co-owner, charterer, shipowner or manager-manager, the provision of this paragraph shall apply only where it is a fault committed in its capacity Captain or crew member.

Art. 7

This Convention shall apply whenever the owner of a ship or other person having the same right under s. 6, limit or seek to limit its liability to the courts of one of the Contracting States or attempt to release a ship or other seized property or surety or any other guarantee in the territory of one of those States.

Nevertheless, any Contracting State shall have the right to exclude wholly or partly from the benefit of that Convention any non-Contracting State or any person who has not, at the time when it takes measures to limit its liability or for Obtain, in accordance with s. 5, the discharge of a ship, or any other property seized or surety or any other guarantee, habitual residence or principal place of business in one of the Contracting States or whose ship it wishes to limit The flag of one of the Contracting States shall not, as of the above mentioned date, beats the flag of one of the Contracting States.

Art. 8

Each Contracting State reserves the right to determine which other categories of vessels shall be assimilated to seagoing vessels for the purposes of this Convention.

Art.

This Convention shall be open for signature by the States represented at the tenth session of the Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Law.

Art. 10

This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of Belgium, which shall notify the deposit by diplomatic means to all signatory and acceding States.

Art. 11

(1) This Convention shall enter into force six months after the date of the deposit of at least ten instruments of ratification, of which at least five are issued by States which each have a global tonnage equal to or greater than one million gross tons.

(2) For each signatory State, ratifying the Convention after the date of the deposit of the instrument of ratification determining the entry into force as set out in s. (1) of this Article, it shall enter into force six months after the deposit of its instrument of ratification.

Art. 12

Any State not represented at the tenth session of the Diplomatic Conference of Maritime Law may accede to this Convention.

The instruments of accession will be deposited with the Belgian Government, which will notify all signatory and acceding States through diplomatic channels.

The Convention shall enter into force for the acceding State six months after the date of the deposit of its instrument of accession, but not before the date of entry into force of the Convention as laid down in Art. 11 (1).

Art. 13

Each of the High Contracting Parties shall have the right to denounce this Convention at any time after its entry into force. However, such denunciation shall take effect only one year after the date of receipt of the notification of denunciation to the Government of Belgium, which shall inform the Belgian Government through diplomatic channels of all signatory and acceding States.

Art. 14

(1) Any High Contracting Party may, at the time of ratification, accession, or at any subsequent time notify in writing to the Government of Belgium that this Convention applies to the territories or certain territories for which it provides the International relations.

The Convention shall be applicable to the said Territories six months after the date of receipt of such notification by the Government of Belgium, but not before the date of entry into force of this Convention in respect of that High Contracting Party;

(2) Any High Contracting Party that has entered into a declaration under subs. (1) of this Article, extending the application of the Convention to the territories or to certain territories for which it ensures international relations, may at any time notify the Belgian Government that the Convention ceases to apply to the Territories in question.

Such denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of receipt by the Belgian Government of the notification of denunciation;

(3) The Belgian Government shall, through diplomatic channels, notify all signatory and acceding States of any notification received by it under this Article.

Art. 15

Any High Contracting Party may, upon the expiration of the three-year period following the entry into force of this Convention, request the meeting of a Conference to decide on all proposals for the revision of This Convention.

Any High Contracting Party wishing to avail itself of this option will notify the Belgian Government which will convene the Conference within six months.

Art. 16 Protocol of signature Scope of application on 13 July 2011

This Convention replaces and repeals, for relations between States that ratify or accede to it, the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules concerning the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Ships Sea, signed in Brussels, 25 August 1924 1 .

In witness whereof, The Plenipotentiaries, duly authorised, have signed this Convention.

Done at Brussels, on 10 October 1957, in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy, which will remain deposited in the archives of the Government of Belgium which will issue certified copies.


1 [RS 7 565]

Signing Protocol

(1) Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession to this Convention, formulate the reservations provided for in par. (2). No other reservation to this Convention shall be admissible.

(2) The following reservations shall be admissible only:

A.
Reservation of the right to exclude the application of s. 1, para. (1) (c);
B.
Reservation of the right to regulate by national law the system of limitation of liability applicable to ships of less than 300 tons;
C.
Reservation of the right to give effect to this Convention, either by force of law or by including in national legislation the provisions of this Convention in a form appropriate to that legislation.

(Suivent signatures)


Scope of application on 13 July 2011 4

States Parties

Ratification Accession (A) Declaration of succession (S)

Entry into force

Algeria

August 18

1964 A

May 31

1968

China

Macao A

6 December

1999

20 December

1999

Congo, Kinshasa

17 July

1967 A

May 31

1968

Fiji *

22 August

1972 S

10 October

1970

Ghana *

26 July

1961 A

May 31

1968

India *

1 Er June

1971

1 Er December

1971

Iran *

April 26

1966 A

May 31

1968

Israel *

30 November

1967

May 31

1968

Lebanon

December 23

1994 A

23 June

1995

Madagascar

July 13

1965 A

May 31

1968

Monaco *

24 January

1977 A

24 July

1977

Papua New Guinea *

March 14

1980 A

September 14

1980

Netherlands

Aruba

June 16

1986

16 December

1986

Poland

1 Er December

1972

1 Er June

1973

Portugal *

April 8

1968

8 October

1968

Solomon Islands *

September 17

1981 S

7 July

1978

Switzerland

21 January

1966

May 31

1968

Syria

10 July

1972 A

10 January

1973

Tonga *

13 June

1978 A

13 December

1978

*

Reservations and declarations, see below.

A

Of the Sept 23. 1999 to 19 Dec. 1999, the conv. Was applicable to Macao on the basis of a declaration of territorial extension of Portugal. From Dec 20. 1999, Macao became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. According to the Chinese declaration of 6 Dec. 1999, the conv. Is also applicable to the Macao SAR from 20 Dec. 1999.

Reservations and declarations

Fiji

The Government of Fiji has ratified the Convention on the following reservations:

1.
In accordance with the provisions of s. 2, let. Has the signature protocol, it excludes the application of s. 1, para. 1, let. C of the Convention;
2.
In accordance with the provisions of s. 2, let. B of the said Memorandum of Signing, the Government of Fiji shall, by special provisions of its national law, regulate the system of limitation of liability applicable to ships of less than 300 tons;
3.
It also reserves the right to extend the said Convention to any territory for which it is responsible for international relations, to subordinate such an extension to one or all of the reservations set out in subs. 2 of the said Protocol of signature; in addition, in accordance with the provisions of par. 2, let. He states that the said Convention, as such, does not form part of the legislation, but that the appropriate provisions to give effect to it have been included in the national legislation.

Ghana

The Government of Ghana reserves the right:

1.
To exclude from the scope of the Convention the obligations and responsibilities laid down in Art. 1, para. 1, let. C;
2.
To regulate by special provisions of its national law the system of limitation of liability applicable to shipowners less than 300 tonnes of tonnage;
3.
To give effect to this Convention, either by force of law or by including in national law the provisions of the Convention in a form appropriate to that legislation.

India

Same reservations as Ghana.

Iran

In signing the Convention, the Government of Iran reserved the right to:

1.
To exclude the application of s. 1, para. 1, let. C;
2.
To regulate by national law the system of limitation of liability applicable to ships of less than 300 tons;
3.
To give effect to this Convention, either by force of law or by including in national law the provisions of this Convention in a form appropriate to that legislation.

Israel

Same reservations as Ghana.

Monaco

Monaco has formulated the three reservations provided for in para. 2 (a), (b) and (c) of the Protocol of Signing.

Papua New Guinea

(a) The Government of Papua New Guinea excludes the application of art. 1; para. 1 (c).

(b) The Government of Papua New Guinea will regulate under the special provisions of the national law the system of limitation of liability applicable to ships of less than 300 tons.

(c) The Government of Papua New Guinea shall give force of law to this Convention by including the provisions of this Convention in the national legislation of Papua New Guinea.

Portugal

Same reservations as Ghana.

Solomon Islands

Same reservations as those of Great Britain, namely the reservations set out in par. 2, let. A and b, signature protocol (RO 1973 701).

Tonga

The Government of Tonga reserves the right to:

1.
To exclude the application of s. 1, para. 1 (c) of the Convention;
2.
To regulate by special provisions of its national law the system of limitation of liability applicable to ships of less than 300 tons.

RO 1966 1517; FF 1965 II 1


1 This Convention is still applicable to Switzerland only in relations with Contracting Powers which are not party to the 1976 Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (RS 0747.331.53 Art. 17 hp. 4). See the list of States Parties published below.
2 Art. 1 al. 1 let. A of the 1 Er Dec. 1965 (RO 1966 1001).
3 RO 1968 1388
4 RO 1973 698, 1982 508, 1984 530, 1985 605, 1986 2262, 1987 1149, 1988 1538, 1990 1732, 2005 1599, 2008 625 and 2011 3555. A version of the updated scope of application is published on the DFAE website (http://www.dfae.admin.ch/traites).


Status on July 13, 2011