PROTOCOL
AMENDING THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION RELATING
TO THE LIMITATION OF THE LIABILITY OF OWNERS OF SEA-GOING
SHIPS DATED 10 OCTOBER 1957
(Brussels, 21.XII.1979)
The Contracting Parties to the present Protocol,
Being parties to the International Convention relating to the
limitation of the liability of owners of sea-going ships, done at
Brussels on 10th October, 1957,
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
For the purpose of this Protocol, "Convention" means the
International Convention relating to the limitation of the
liability of owners of sea-going ships and its Protocol of
signature, done at Brussels on 10th October, 1957.
Article II
1. Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Convention is replaced by the
following:
"1 The amounts to which the owner of ship may limit his
liability under Article 1 shall be:
a) where the occurrence has only given rise to property claims
an aggregate amount of 66.67 units of account for each ton of the
ship's tonnage;
b) where the occurrence has only given, rise to personal
claims an aggregate amount of 206.67 units of account for each ton
of the ship's tonnage;
c) where the occurrence has given rise both to personal claims
and property claims an aggregate amount of 206.67 units of account
for each ton of the ship's tonnage, of which a first portion
amounting to 140 units of account for each ton of the ship's
tonnage shall be exclusively appropriated to the payment of
personal claims and of which a second portion amounting to 66.67
units of account for each ton of the ship's tonnage shall be
appropriated to the payment of property claims.
Provided however that in cases where the first portion is
insufficient to pay the personal claims in full, the unpaid
balance of such claims shall rank rateably with the property
claims for payment against the second portion of the fund."
2. Article 3, paragraph 6 of the Convention is replaced by the
following:
"6. The unit of account mentioned in paragraph 1 of this
Article is the Special Drawing Right as defined by the
International Monetary Fund. The amounts mentioned in that
paragraph shall be converted into the national currency of the
State in which limitation is sought on the basis of the value of
that currency on the date on which the shipowner shall have
constituted the limitation fund, made the payment or given a
guarantee which under the law of that State is equivalent to such
payment. The value of the national currency, in terms of the
Special Drawing Rights, of a State which is a member of the
International Monetary Fund, shall be calculated in accordance
with the method of valuation applied by the International Monetary
Fund in effect at the date in question for its operations and
transactions. The value of the national currency, in terms of the
Special Drawing Right, of a State which is not a member of the
International Monetary Fund, shall be calculated in a manner
determined by that State.
7. Nevertheless, a State which is not a member of the
International Monetary Fund and whose law does not permit the
application of the provisions of the paragraph 6 of this Article
may, at the time of ratification of the Protocol of 1979 or
accession thereto or at any time thereafter, declare that the
limits of liability provided for in this Convention to be applied
in its territory shall be fixed as follows:
(a) in respect of paragraph 1, a) of this Article, 1000
monetary units;
(b) in respect of paragraph 1, b) of this Article, 3100
monetary units;
(c) in respect of paragraph 1, c) of this Article, 3100, 2100
and 1000 monetary units, respectively.
The monetary unit referred to in this paragraph corresponds to
65.5 milligrammes of gold of millesimal fineness 900'. The
conversion of the amounts specified in this paragraph into the
national currency shall be made according to the law of the State
concerned.
8. The calculation mentioned in the last sentence of
paragraph 6 of this Article and the conversion mentioned in
paragraph 7 of this Article shall be made in such a manner as to
express in the national currency of the State as far as possible
the same real value for the amounts in paragraph 1 of this Article
as is expressed there in units of account. States shall
communicate to the depositary the manner of calculation, pursuant
to paragraph 6 of this Article or the result of the conversion in
paragraph 7 of this Article, as the case may be, when depositing
an instrument of ratification of the Protocol of 1979 or of
accession thereto or when availing themselves of the option
provided for in paragraph 7 of this Article and whenever there is
a change in either."
3. Article 3, paragraph 7 of the Convention shall be
renumbered Article 3, paragraph 9.
Article III
This Protocol shall be open for signature by the States which
have signed the Convention or which are Parties thereto.
Article IV
(1) This Protocol shall be ratified.
(2) Ratification of this Protocol by any State which is not a
Party to the Convention shall have the effect of ratification of
the Convention.
(3) The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with
the Belgian Government.
Article V
(1) States not referred to in Article III may accede to this
Protocol.
(2) Accession to this Protocol shall have the effect of
accession to the Convention.
(3) The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the
Belgian Government.
Article VI
(1) This Protocol shall come into force three months after the
date of the deposit of six instruments of ratification or
accession.
(2) For each State which ratifies this Protocol or accedes
thereto after the sixth deposit, this Protocol shall come into
force three months after the deposit of its instrument of
ratification or accession.
Article VII
(1) Any Contracting Party may denounce this Protocol by
notification to the Belgian Government.
(2) The denunciation shall take effect one year after the date
on which the notification has been received by the Belgian
Government.
Article VIII
(1) Each State may at the time of signature, ratification or
accession or at any time thereafter declare by written
notification to the Belgian Government which among the territories
for whose international relations it is responsible, are those to
which the present Protocol applies. The Protocol shall three
months after the date of the receipt of such notification by the
Belgian Government extend to the territories named therein, but
not before the date of the coming into force of the Protocol in
respect of such State.
(2) This extension also shall apply to the Convention if the
latter is not yet applicable to these territories.
(3) Any Contracting Party which has made a declaration under
paragraph (1) of this Article may at any time thereafter declare
by notification given to the Belgian Government that the Protocol
shall cease to extend to such territories. This denunciation shall
take effect one year after the date on which notification thereof
has been received by the Belgian Government.
Article IX
The Belgian Government shall notify the signatory and acceding
States of the following:
1. the signatures, ratifications and accessions received in
accordance with Articles III, IV and V.
2. the date on which the present Protocol will come into force
in accordance with Article VI.
3. the notifications with regard to the territorial
application in accordance with Article VIII.
4. the declarations and communications made in accordance with
Article II.
5. the denunciations received in accordance with Article VII.
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