INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION RELATING TO STOWAWAYS, 1957
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION RELATING TO STOWAWAYS, 1957
Whole document
The High Contracting Parties,
Having recognised the desirability of determining by agreement certain
uniform rules relating to stowaways, have decided to conclude a Convention
for this purpose and thereto have agreed as follows:
Article 1
In this Convention the following expressions shall have the meanings
specified hereunder:
"Stowaway" means a person who, at any port or place in the vicinity
thereof, secretes himself in a ship without the consent of the shipowner
or the Master or any other person in charge of the ship and who is on
board after the ship has left that port or place.
"Port of Embarkation" means the port or place in the vicinity thereof
at which a stowaway boards the ship on which he is found.
"Port of Disembarkation" means the port at which the stowaway is
delivered to the appropriate authority in accordance with the provisions
of this Convention.
"Appropriate authority" means the body or person at the port of
disembarkation authorised by the Government of the State in which that
port is situated to receive and deal with stowaways in accordance with the
provisions of this Convention.
"Owner" includes any charterer to whom the ship is demised.
Article 2
(1) If on any voyage of a ship registered in or bearing the flag of a
Contracting State a stowaway is found in a port or at sea, the Master of
the ship may, subject to the provisions of paragraph (3), deliver the
stowaway to the appropriate authority at the first port in a Contracting
State at which the ship calls after the stowaway is found, and at which he
considers that the stowaway will be dealt with in accordance with the
provisions of this Convention.
(2) Upon delivery of the stowaway to the appropriate authority, the
Master of the ship shall give to that authority a signed statement
containing all information in his possession relating to that stowaway
including his nationality or nationalities, his port of embarkation and
the date, time and geographical position of the ship when the stowaway was
found, as well as the port of departure of the ship and the subsequent
ports of call with dates of arrival and departure.
(3) Unless the stowaway is under a previous individual order of
deportation or prohibition from entry, the appropriate authority of a
Contracting State shall receive any stowaway delivered to it in accordance
with the foregoing provisions of this Article and deal with him in
accordance with the provisions of this Convention.
Article 3
When a stowaway is delivered to the appropriate authority at the port
of disembarkation:
(1) This authority may return him to any State of which it considers
that he is a national and is admitted as such by that State.
(2) When, however, the State or States of which the appropriate
authority consider the stowaway to be a national refuses or refuse to
accept his return, or when the appropriate authority is satisfied that the
stowaway possesses no nationality or that, for reasons mentioned in
Article 5 (2), he should not be returned to his own country, then the said
authority may, subject to the provisions of Article 5 (2), return the
stowaway to the State in which the port which they consider to have been
his port of embarkation is situated.
(3) However, if the stowaway cannot be returned as provided under
paragraph (1) or (2) of this Article, the appropriate authority may,
subject to the provisions of Article 5 (2), return him to the State in
which the last port at which the ship called prior to his being found is
situated.
(4) Finally, when the stowaway cannot be returned as provided under
paragraph (1), (2) or (3) of this Article, the appropriate authority may
return him to the Contracting State whose flag was flown by the ship in
which he was found.
The State to which the stowaway is accordingly returned, shall be
bound to accept the stowaway, subject to the provisions of Article 2 (3).
Article 4
The costs of maintenance of a stowaway at his port of disembarkation
as well as those for returning him to the country of which he is a
national shall be defrayed by the shipowner, without prejudice to the
right of recovery, if any, from the State of which the stowaway is a
national.
In all other cases the shipowner shall defray the costs of returning
the stowaway but he will not be liable to defray maintenance costs for a
period exceeding three months from the time when the stowaway is delivered
to the appropriate authority.
Any obligation to provide a deposit or bail as a guarantee for payment
of the above costs shall be determined by the law of the port of
disembarkation.
Article 5
(1) The powers conferred by this Convention on the Master of a ship
and on an appropriate authority, with respect to the disposal of a
stowaway, shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other
powers or obligations which he or they may have in that respect.
(2) As regards the application of the provisions of this Convention,
the Master and the appropriate authorities of the port of disembarkation
will take into account the reasons which may be put forward by the
stowaway for not being disembarked at or returned to those ports of States
mentioned in this Convention.
(3) The provisions of this Convention shall not in any way affect the
power or obligation of a Contracting State to grant political asylum.
Article 6
This Convention shall be open for signature by the States represented
at the tenth session of the Diplomatic Conference on Maritime Law.
Article 7
This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification
shall be deposited with the Belgian Government which shall notify through
diplomatic channels all signatory and acceding States of their deposit.
Article 8
(1) This Convention shall come into force between the ten States which
first ratify it, six months after the date of the deposit of the tenth
instrument of ratification.
(2) This Convention shall come into force in respect of each signatory
State which ratifies it after the deposit of the tenth instrument of
ratification, six months after the date of the deposit of the instrument
of ratification of that State.
Article 9
Any State not represented at the tenth session of the Diplomatic
Conference on Maritime Law may accede to this Convention.
The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Belgian
Government which shall inform through diplomatic channels all signatory
and acceding States of the deposit of any such instruments.
The Convention shall come into force in respect of the acceding State
six months after the date of the deposit of the instrument of accession of
that State, but not before the date of entry into force of the Convention
as established by Article 8 (1).
Article 10
Each High Contracting Party shall have the right to denounce this
Convention at any time after the coming into force thereof in respect of
such High Contracting Party. Nevertheless, this denunciation shall only
take effect one year after the date on which notification thereof has been
received by the Belgian Government which shall inform through diplomatic
channels all signatory and acceding States of such notification.
Article 11
(1) Any High Contracting Party may at the time of its ratification of
or accession to this Convention or at any time thereafter declare by
written notification to the Belgian Government that the Convention shall
extend to any of the territories for whose international relations it is
responsible. The Convention shall six 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
Convention in respect of such High Contracting Party.
(2) Any High Contracting party which has made a declaration under
paragraph (1) of this Article extending the Convention to any territory
for whose international relations it is responsible may at any time
thereafter declare by notification given to the Belgian Government that
the Convention shall cease to extend to such territory. This denunciation
shall take effect one year after the date on which notification thereof
has been received by the Belgian Government.
(3) The Belgian Government shall inform through diplomatic channels
all signatory and acceding States of any notification received by it under
this Article.
Article 12
Any High Contracting Party may three years after the coming into force
of this Convention in respect of such High Contracting Party or at any
time thereafter request that a Conference be convened in order to consider
amendments to this Convention.
Any High Contracting Party proposing to avail itself of this right
shall notify the Belgian Government which shall convene the Conference
within six months thereafter.
In witness whereof the Plenipotentiaries, duly authorized, have signed
this Convention.
Done at Brussels, this tenth day of October 1957, in the French and
English languages, the two texts being equally authentic, in a single
copy, which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Belgian
Government, which shall issue certified copies.
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