Статья 21«Международная конвенция об унификации некоторых правил относительно ограничения ответственности владельцев морских судов» [рус., англ.]

Каждое Договаривающееся государство будет иметь возможность потребовать созыва новой конференции в целях изыскания улучшений, которые могли бы быть привнесены в настоящую Конвенцию. Каждое из государств, которое воспользовалось бы этой возможностью, будет обязано уведомить другие государства за год вперед о своем намерении через посредство Бельгийского Правительства, на которое ляжет обязанность созвать конференцию.

Постановления статьи 5 Конвенции об унификации некоторых правил относительно столкновения судов от 23 сентября 1910 года, вступление в силу которых было приостановлено в соответствии с дополнительной статьей этой Конвенции, вступают в силу в отношении государств, присоединившихся к этой Конвенции.

Совершено в Брюсселе, в одном экземпляре, 25 августа 1924 года.

(Брюссель, 25 августа 1924 года)

Приступая к подписанию Международной конвенции об унификации некоторых правил относительно ограничения ответственности владельцев морских судов, нижеподписавшиеся полномочные представители приняли настоящий Протокол, который будет иметь ту же силу и то же значение, как если бы его постановления были включены в самый текст Конвенции, к которой он относится.

1. Высокие Договаривающиеся Стороны сохраняют за собой право не допускать ограничения ответственности стоимостью судна, фрахта и акцессориев за причиненный ущерб искусственным сооружениям портов, докам и навигационным путям и за расходы по поднятию потерпевшего крушение судна или право ратифицировать Соглашение по этим пунктам только на основе взаимности. Тем не менее согласовано, что предел ответственности виновного за причиненный ущерб не будет превышать 8 фунтов стерлингов с тонны водоизмещения судна, за исключением расходов по поднятию потерпевшего крушение судна.

2. Высокие Договаривающиеся Стороны сохраняют за собой право решать, что владелец судна, не предназначенного к перевозке пассажиров и водоизмещение которого не превышает 300 тонн, несет ответственность в отношении обязательств за смерть или телесные повреждения согласно положениям Конвенции, однако без применения к этой ответственности положений статьи 7, абзац 1.

Совершено в Брюсселе, в одном экземпляре, 25 августа 1924 года.

При сдаче на хранение ратификационных грамот Его Величество Короля Бельгии министр иностранных дел Бельгии в соответствии с положениями статьи 18 Конвенции заявил, что настоящая ратификация распространяется только на Бельгию и не применима к Бельгийскому Конго и Руанда-Урунди — подмандатным территориям Бельгии.

Подписывая Международную конвенцию об унификации некоторых правил относительно ограничения ответственности владельцев морских судов, которая подлежит ратификации, Правительство Дании заявляет, что оно желает воспользоваться выбором, предусмотренным в пункте 1 Протокола о подписании, в силу которого ограничение стоимостью судна, фрахта и акцессориев ответственности за ущерб, причиненный искусственным сооружениям портов, докам и навигационным путям, и за расходы по поднятию потерпевшего крушение судна будет применяться в Дании по отношению к другим государствам, подписавшим Конвенцию, только на основе взаимности.

С другой стороны, Правительство Дании заявляет, что оно желает также воспользоваться оговоркой, предусмотренной в пункте 2 упомянутого Протокола, согласно положениям которого владелец судна, не предназначенного к перевозке пассажиров и имеющего водоизмещение не свыше 300 тонн, несет ответственность в отношении обязательств за смерть или телесные повреждения согласно положениям Конвенции, однако без применения к этой ответственности положений пункта 1 статьи 7.

При подписании первой Конвенции по морскому праву, подготовленной на Конференции в Брюсселе, я должен сделать от имени Правительства Италии следующие оговорки:

«С оговоркой, что ограничение ответственности, предусмотренное в пункте 3 статьи 3 Конвенции, не предрешает применения специальных положений законов Италии во всем, что касается ответственности пассажиров, рассматриваемых в качестве эмигрантов».

Я, нижеподписавшийся, Посол Его Величества в Брюсселе, ставя свою подпись под Протоколом о подписании Международной конвенции об унификации некоторых правил относительно ограничения ответственности владельцев морских судов, сего 15 ноября 1924 года настоящим делаю по поручению моего Правительства следующую декларацию:

Я заявляю, что Правительство Его Величества принимает оговорку к статье 1 упомянутой выше Конвенции, которая изложена в Протоколе о подписании (Protocole de Cloture).

Я далее заявляю, что моя подпись применима лишь к Великобритании и Северной Ирландии. Я сохраняю за всеми британскими доминионами, колониями, заморскими владениями и протекторатами и за всеми территориями, над которыми Его Величество осуществляет мандат, право на присоединение к этой Конвенции согласно статье 18.

В момент подписания Международной конвенции об унификации некоторых правил относительно ограничения ответственности владельцев морских судов нижеподписавшийся полномочный представитель Японии делает следующие оговорки:

a) К статье 1:

Япония сохраняет за собой право не применять ограничение стоимостью судна, акцессориев и фрахта ответственности за ущерб, причиненный портовым сооружениям, докам и навигационным путям, а также за расходы по поднятию потерпевшего крушение судна.

b) К статье 7:

Япония сохраняет за собой право решить, что владелец судна, которое не предназначено для перевозки пассажиров и имеет водоизмещение не свыше 300 тонн, несет ответственность в отношении обязательств за смерть или телесные повреждения согласно положениям Конвенции, однако без применения к этой ответственности положений пункта 1 статьи 7.

с) Япония истолковывает положения статьи 8 и статьи 14 в том смысле, что, если по законам некоторых государств преференциальное право вытекает из наложения ареста, осуществление преференциального права никоим образом не предопределяет права других кредиторов на распределение суммы.

(Brussels, 25.VIII.1924)

The liability of the owner of a seagoing vessel is limited to an amount equal to the value of the vessel, the freight, and the accessories of the vessel, in respect of:

(1) Compensation due to third parties by reason of damage caused, whether on land or on water, by the acts or faults of the master, crew, pilot, or any other person in the service of the vessel;

(2) Compensation due by reason of damage caused either to cargo delivered to the master to be transported, or to any goods and property on board;

(3) Obligations arising out of bills of lading;

(4) Compensation due by reason of a fault of navigation committed in the execution of a contract;

(5) Any obligation to remove the wreck of a sunken vessel, and any obligations connected therewith;

(6) Any remuneration for assistance and salvage;

(7) Any contribution of the shipowner in general average;

(8) Obligations arising out of contracts entered into or transactions carried out by the master, acting within the scope of this authority, away from the vessel's home port, where such contracts or transactions are necessary for the preservation of the vessel or the continuation of the voyage, provided that the necessity is not caused by any insufficiency or deficiency of equipment or stores at the beginning of the voyage.

Provided that, as regards the cases mentioned in Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the liability referred to in the preceding provisions shall not exceed an aggregate sum equal to 8 pounds sterling per ton of the vessel's tonnage.

The limitation of liability laid down in the foregoing article does not apply:

(1) to obligations arising out of acts or faults of the owner of the vessel;

(2) to any of the obligations referred to in No. 8 of article 1, when the owner has expressly authorized or ratified such obligation;

(3) to obligations on the owner arising out of the engagement of the crew and other persons in the service of the vessel.

Where the owner or a part owner of the vessel is at the same time master, he cannot claim limitation of liability for his faults, other than his faults of navigation and the faults of persons in the service of the vessel.

An owner who avails himself of the limitation of his liability to the value of the vessel, freight, and accessories of the vessel must prove that value. The valuation of the vessel shall be based upon the condition of the vessel at the points of time hereinafter set out:

1. In cases of collision or other accidents, as regards all claims connected therewith, including contractual claims which have originated up to the time of arrival of the vessel at the first port reached after the accident, and also as regards claims in general average arising out of the accident, the valuation shall be according to the condition of the vessel at the time of her arrival at that first port.

If before that time a fresh accident, distinct from the first accident, has reduced the value of the vessel, any diminution of value so caused shall not be taken into account in considering claims connected with the previous accident.

For accidents occurring during the sojourn of a vessel in port, the valuation shall be according to the condition of the vessel at that port after the accident.

2. If it is a question of claims relating to the cargo, or arising on a bill of lading, not being claims provided for in the preceding paragraphs, the valuation shall be according to the condition of the vessel at the port of destination of the cargo, or at the place where the voyage is broken.

If the cargo is destined to more than one port, and the damage is connected with one and the same cause, the valuation shall be according to the condition of the vessel at the first of those ports.

3. In all the other cases referred to in article 1 the valuation shall be according to the condition of the vessel at the end of the voyage.

The freight referred to in article 1, including passage money, is deemed, as respects vessels of every description, to be a lump sum fixed at all events at 10 per cent of the value of the vessel at the commencement of the voyage.

That indemnity is due even through no freight be then earned by vessel.

The accessories referred to in article 1 mean:

1. Compensation of material damage sustained by the vessel since the beginning of the voyage, and not repaired;

2. General average contributions in respect of material damage sustained by the vessel since the beginning of the voyage, and not repaired.

Payments on policies of insurance, as well as bounties, subventions, and other national subsidies, are not deemed to be accessories.

The various claims connected with a single accident, or in respect of which, in the absence of an accident, the value of a vessel in ascertained at a single port, rank with one another against the amount representing the extent of the owner's liability, regard being had to the order of the liens.

In proceedings with respect to the distribution of this sum the decisions given by the competent courts of the contracting states shall be evidence of a claim.

Where death or bodily injury is caused by the acts or faults of the captain, crew, pilot, or any other person in the service of the vessel, the owner of the vessel is liable to the victims or their representatives in an amount exceeding the limit of liability provided for in the preceding articles up to 8 pounds sterling per ton of the vessel's tonnage. The victims of a single accident or their representatives rank together against the sum constituting the extent of liability.

If the victims or their representatives are not fully compensated by this amount, they rank, as regards the balance of their claims, with the other claimants against the amounts mentioned in the preceding articles, regard being had to the order of the liens.

The same limitation of liability applies to passengers as respects the carrying vessel but does not apply to the crew or other persons in the service of that vessel whose right of action in the case of death or bodily injury remains governed by the national law of the vessel.

Where a vessel is arrested and security is given for an amount equal to the full limit of liability, it shall accrue to the benefit of all creditors whose claims are subject to this limit.

Where the vessel is subsequently again arrested, the court may order its release, if the owner, while submitting to the jurisdiction of the court, proves that he has already given security for an amount equal to the full limit of his liability, that the security so given is satisfactory, and that the creditor is assured of receiving the benefit thereof.

If the security is given for a smaller amount or if security is required on several successive occasions, the effect will be regulated by agreement between the parties, or by the court, so as to insure that the limit of liability be not exceeded.

If different creditors take proceedings in the courts of different states, the owner may, before each court, require account to be taken of the whole of the claims and debts so as to insure that the limit of liability be not exceeded.

The national laws shall determine questions of procedure and time limits for the purpose of applying the preceding rules.

In the event of any action or proceeding being taken on one of the grounds enumerated in article 1, the court may, on the application of the owner of the vessel order that proceedings against the property of the owner other than the vessel, its freight and accessories shall be stayed for a period sufficient to permit of the sale of the vessel and distribution of the proceeds amongst the creditors.

Where the person who operates the vessel, without owning it or the principal charterer is liable under one of the heads enumerated in article 1, the provisions of this convention are applicable to him.

For the purposes of the provisions of the present convention, «tonnage» is calculated as follows:

In the case of steamers and other mechanically propelled vessels, net tonnage, with the addition of the amount deducted from the gross tonnage on account of engine-room space for the purpose of ascertaining the net tonnage.

In the case of sailing vessels, net tonnage.

The provisions of this convention shall be applied in each contracting state in cases in which the ship for which the limit of responsibility is invoked is a national of another contracting state, as well as in any other cases provided for by the national laws.

Nevertheless the principle formulated in the preceding paragraph does not affect the right of the contracting state not to apply the provisions of this convention in favor of the nationals of a non-contracting state.

This convention does not apply to vessels of war, not to government vessels appropriated exclusively to the public service.

Nothing in the foregoing provisions shall be deemed to affect in any way the competence of tribunals modes, of procedure, or methods of execution authorized by the national laws.

The monetary units mentioned in this convention mean their gold value.

Those contracting states in which the pound sterling is not a monetary unit reserve to themselves the right of translating the sums indicated in this convention in terms of pound sterling into terms of their own monetary system in round figures.

The national laws may reserve to the debtor the right of discharging his debt in national currency according to the rate of exchange prevailing at the dates fixed in article 3.

After an interval of not more than two years from the day on which the convention is signed, the Belgian Government shall place itself in communication with the Governments of the High Contracting Parties which have declared themselves prepared to ratify the convention, with a view to deciding whether it shall be put into force. The ratifications shall be deposited at Brussels at a date to be fixed by agreement among the said Governments. The first deposit of ratifications shall be recorded in a proces-verbal signed by the representatives of the powers which take part therein and by the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The subsequent deposits of ratifications shall be made by means of a written notification, addressed to the Belgian Government, and accompanied by the instrument of ratification.

A duly certified copy of the proces-verbal relating to the first deposit of ratifications, of the notifications referred to in the previous paragraph, and also of the instruments of ratification accompanying them, shall be immediately sent by the Belgian Government through the diplomatic channel to the powers who have signed this convention or who have acceded to it. In the cases contemplated in the preceding paragraph the said Government shall inform them at the same time of the date on which it received the notification.

Nonsignatory states may accede to the present convention whether or not they have been represented at the International Conference at Brussels.

A state which desires to accede shall notify its intention in writing to the Belgian Government, forwarding to it the document of accession, which shall be deposited in the archives of the said Government.

The Belgian Government shall immediately forward to all the states which have signed or acceded to the convention a duly certified copy of the notification and of the act of accession, mentioning the date on which it received the notification.

The High Contracting Parties may at the time of signature, ratification, or accession declare that their acceptance of the present convention does not include any or all of the self-governing dominions, or of the colonies, overseas possessions, protectorates, or territories under their sovereignty or authority, and they may subsequently accede separately on behalf of any self-governing dominion, colony, overseas possession, protectorate, or territory excluded in their declaration. They may also denounce the convention separately in accordance with its provisions in respect of any self-governing dominion, or any colony, overseas possession, protectorate, or territory under their sovereignty or authority.

The present convention shall take effect, in the case of the states which have taken part in the first deposit of ratifications, one year after the date of the proces-verbal recording such deposit. As respects the states which ratify subsequently or which accede, and also in cases in which the convention is subsequently put into effect in accordance with article 18, it shall take effect six months after the notifications specified in article 16, paragraph 2, and article 17, paragraph 2, have been received by the Belgian Government.

In the event of one of the contracting states wishing to denounce the present convention, the denunciation shall be notified in writing to the Belgian Government, which shall immediately communicate a duly certified copy of the notification to all the other states informing them of the date on which it was received.

The denunciation shall only operate in respect of the state which made the notification, and on the expiration of one year after the notification has reached the Belgian Government.

Any one of the contracting states shall have the right to call for a fresh conference with a view to considering possible amendments.

A state which would exercise this right should give one year advance notice of its intention to the other states through the Belgian Government, which would make arrangements for convening the conference.

The provisions of article 5 of the convention for the unification of certain rules relating to collisions at sea, of September 23, 1910, the operation of which had been put off by virtue of the additional article of that convention become applicable in regard to the states bound by this convention.

Done at Brussels, in a single copy, August 25, 1924.

(Brussels, 25.VIII.1924)

In proceeding to the signature of the international convention for the unification of certain rules relating to the limitation of the liability of owners of seagoing vessels, the undersigned plenipotentiaries adopted the present protocol which will have the same force and the same value as if the provisions were inserted in the text of the convention to which it relates:

I. The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right not to admit the limitation of the liability to the value of the vessel, the accessories and the freight for damages done to works in ports, docks, and navigable ways and for the cost of removing the wreck, or the right only to ratify the treaty on those points on condition of reciprocity.

It is nevertheless agreed that the limitation of liability under the head of those damages will not exceed eight pounds sterling per ton of measurement, except as regards the cost of removing the wreck.

II. The High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the right to decide that the owner of a vessel that is not used for the carriage of persons and measures not more than three hundred tons is liable as to claims arising from death or bodily injuries, in accordance with the provisions of the convention, but without there being occasion to apply to that liability the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 7.

Done at Brussels, in a single copy, August 25, 1924.

In proceeding to the deposit of the ratifications of His Majesty the King of the Belgians, the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs declared, in accordance with the provisions of article 18 of the Convention, that these ratifications extend only to Belgium and do not apply to the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi, Territories under mandate.

In signing, subject to ratification, the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Seagoing Vessels, the Danish Government declares it wishes to avail itself of the option stipulated under No. 1 of the protocol of signature, by virtue of which the limitation of the liability to the value of the vessel, the accessories and the freight for damages done to works in ports, docks, and navigable ways, and for the cost of raising the wreck, shall not be admitted in Denmark toward co-signatory States except on condition of reciprocity.

On the other hand the Danish Government declares it wishes also to avail itself of the reservation stipulated under No. 2 of the said protocol and according to the terms of which the owner of a vessel that is not used for the carriage of persons and measures not more than three hundred tons is liable as to claims arising from death or bodily injuries, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, but without there being occasion to apply to that liability the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 7.

In signing the first convention on maritime law prepared by the conference at Brussels, I must make, on behalf of the Italian Government the following reservation:

With the reservation that the limitation of liability provided by paragraph 3 of article 3 of the convention shall not prejudice the application of the special provisions of Italian law in all that concerns the liability to passengers considered as emigrants.

At the time of signing the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Seagoing Vessels, the undersigned, plenipotentiary of Japan makes the following reservations:

(a) To article 1:

Japan reserves to itself the right not to admit the limitation of the liability to the value of the vessel, the accessories and the freight for damages done to works in ports, docks, and navigable ways, and for the cost of removing the wreck.

(b) To article 7:

Japan reserves to itself the right to decide that the owner of a vessel that is not used for the carriage of persons and measures not more than three hundred tons is liable as to claims arising from death or bodily injuries, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, but without there being occasion to apply to that liability the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 7.

(c) Japan construes the provisions of article 8 and article 14 in the sense that, if under the laws of certain States, a preferential right grows out of an attachment, the fact that the preferential right is exercised shall in no wise prejudice the rights of the other creditors to the sum to be distributed.

I, the Undersigned, His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador at Brussels, on affixing my signature to the Protocol of Signature of the International Convention for the unification of certain rules of law relating to the limitation of the liability of owners of sea-going vessels, on this the 15th day of November, 1924, hereby make the following Declarations by direction of my Government:

I declare that His Britannic Majesty's Government adopt the reservation to article 1 of the above mentioned Convention which is set forth in the Protocol of Signature (Protocole de cloture).

I further declare that my signature applies only to Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I reserve the right of each of the British Dominions, Colonies, Overseas Possessions and Protectorates, and of each of the territories over which His Britannic Majesty exercises a mandate to accede to this Convention under article 18.

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