Protocol to the Athens Convention
relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea of 13 December
1974
THE PARTIES TO THE PRESENT PROTOCOL,
BEING PARTIES to the Athens Convention
relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, done at
Athens on 13 December 1974;
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article I
For the purpose of the present Protocol:
1. "Convention" means the Athens Convention
relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974.
2. "Organization" has the same meaning as
in the Convention.
3. "Secretary-General" means the Secretary-General
of the Organization.
Article II
(1) Article 7, paragraph 1 of the Convention
is replaced by the following text:
1. The liability of the carrier for the death
of or personal injury to a passenger shall in no case exceed 46,666 units
of account per carriage. Where in accordance with the law of the court
seized of the case damages are awarded in the form of periodical income
payments, the equivalent capital value of those payments shall not exceed
the said limit.
(2) Article 8 of the Convention is replaced
by the following text:
1. The liability of the carrier for the loss
of or damage to cabin luggage shall in no case exceed 833 units of account
per passenger, per carriage.
2. The liability of the carrier for the loss
of or damage to vehicles including all luggage carried in or on the vehicle
shall in no case exceed 3,333 units of account per vehicle, per carriage.
3. The liability of the carrier for the loss
of or damage to luggage other than that mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2
of this Article shall in no case exceed 1,200 units of account per passenger,
per carriage.
4. The carrier and the passenger may agree
that the liability of the carrier shall be subject to a deductible not
exceeding 117 units of account in the case of damage to a vehicle and not
exceeding 13 units of account per passenger in the case of loss of or damage
to other luggage, such sum to be deducted from the loss or damage.
(3) Article 9 of the Convention and its title
are replaced by the following:
Unit of Account or Monetary Unit and Conversion
1. The Unit of Account mentioned in this Convention
is the Special Drawing Right as defined by the International Monetary Fund.
The amounts mentioned in Articles 7 and 8 shall be converted into the national
currency of the State of the Court seized of the case on the basis of the
value of that currency on the date of the judgment or the date agreed upon
by the Parties. The value of the national currency, in terms of the Special
Drawing Right, 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.
2. 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 paragraph 1 of this Article may, at the time of ratification
or accession 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 Article 7, paragraph 1,
700,000 monetary units;
(b) in respect of Article 8, paragraph 1,
12,500 monetary units;
(c) in respect of Article 8, paragraph 2,
50,000 monetary units;
(d) in respect of Article 8, paragraph 3,
18,000 monetary units;
(e) in respect of Article 8, paragraph 4,
the deductible shall not exceed 1,750 monetary units in the case of damage
to a vehicle and shall not exceed 200 monetary units per passenger in the
case of loss of or damage to other luggage.
The monetary unit referred to in this paragraph
corresponds to sixty-five and a half milligrammes of gold of millesimal
fineness nine hundred. The conversion of the amounts specified in this
paragraph into the national currency shall be made according to the law
of the State concerned.
3. The calculation mentioned in the last sentence
of paragraph 1 and the conversion mentioned in paragraph 2 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 Articles 7 and 8
as is expressed there in units of account. States shall communicate to
the depositary the manner of calculation pursuant to paragraph 1 or the
result of the conversion in paragraph 2 as the case may be, when depositing
an instrument referred to in Article III and whenever there is a change
in either.
Article III
Signature, ratification and accession
1. The present Protocol shall be open for
signature by any State which has signed the Convention or acceded thereto
and by any State invited to attend the Conference to Revise the Unit of
Account Provisions in the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of
Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974, held in London from 17 to 19
November 1976. This Protocol shall be open for signature from 1 February
1977 to 31 December 1977 at the Headquarters of the Organization.
2. Subject to paragraph 4 of this Article,
the present Protocol shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval
by the States which have signed it.
3. Subject to paragraph 4 of this Article,
this Protocol shall be open for accession by States which did not sign
it.
4. The present Protocol may be ratified, accepted,
approved or acceded to by States Parties to the Convention.
5. Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession
shall be effected by the deposit of a formal instrument to that effect
with the Secretary-General.
6. Any instrument of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession deposited after the entry into force of an amendment
to the present Protocol with respect to all existing Parties or after the
completion of all measures required for the entry into force of the amendment
with respect to all existing Parties shall be deemed to apply to the Protocol
as modified by the amendment.
Article IV
Entry into force
1. The present Protocol shall enter into force
for the States which have ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to it
on the ninetieth day following the date on which ten States have either
signed it without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval
or have deposited the requisite instruments of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession.
2. However, the present Protocol shall not
enter into force before the Convention has entered into force.
3. For any State which subsequently signs
this Protocol without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval,
or deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession,
the present Protocol shall come into force on the ninetieth day after the
date of such signature or deposit.
Article V
Denunciation
l. The present Protocol may be denounced by
a Party at any time after the date on which the Protocol enters into force
for that party.
2. Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit
of an instrument with the Secretary-General who shall inform all other
Parties of the receipt of the instrument of denunciation and of the date
of its deposit.
3. A denunciation shall take effect one year
after the deposit of an instrument of denunciation, or after such longer
period as may be specified in the instrument.
Article VI
Revision and amendment
1. A Conference for the purpose of revising
or amending the present Protocol may be convened by the Organization.
2. The Organization shall convene a Conference
of the Parties to the present Protocol for revising or amending it at the
request of not less than one-third of the Parties.
Article VII
Depositary
1. The present Protocol shall be deposited
with the Secretary-General.
2. The Secretary-General shall:
(a) inform all States which have signed or
acceded to the present Protocol of:
(i) each new signature and each deposit of
an instrument together with the date thereof;
(ii) the date of entry into force of the present
Protocol;
(iii) the deposit of any instrument of denunciation
of the present Protocol together with the date on which the denunciation
takes effect;
(iv) any amendments to the present Protocol;
(b) transmit certified true copies of the
present Protocol to all States which have signed the present Protocol or
acceded thereto.
3. Upon entry into force of the present Protocol,
a certified true copy thereof shall be transmitted by the Secretary-General
to the Secretariat of the United Nations for registration and publication
in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article VIII
Languages
The present Protocol is established in a single
original in the English and French languages, both texts being equally
authentic. Official translations in the Russian and Spanish languages shall
be prepared by the Secretary-General and deposited with the signed original.
DONE at London this nineteenth day
of November one thousand nine hundred and seventy-six.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned
being duly authorized for that purpose have signed the present Protocol. |