PROTOCOL OF 1990 TO AMEND THE ATHENS CONVENTION RELATING TO THECARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND THEIR LUGGAGE BY SEA, 1974
PROTOCOL OF 1990 TO AMEND THE ATHENS CONVENTION RELATING TO THECARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND THEIR LUGGAGE BY SEA, 1974
Whole document
THE PARTIES TO THE PRESENT PROTOCOL,
CONSIDERING that it is desirable to amend the Athens Convention
relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, done at
Athens on 13 December 1974, to provide for enhanced compensation and to
establish a simplified procedure for updating the limitation amounts.
HAVE AGREED as follows:
Article I
For the purpose of this Protocol:
1. "Convention" means the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage
of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974. For States Parties to the
Protocol of 1976 to the Convention, such reference shall be deemed to
include the Convention as amended by that Protocol.
2. "Organization" means the International Maritime Organization.
3. "Secretary-General" means the Secretary-General of the
Organization.
Article II
(1) Article 1, paragraph 10 of the Convention is replaced by the
following text:
10 "Organization" means the International Maritime Organization.
(2) 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 175,000 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.
(3) 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 1,800 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 10,000 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 2,700 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 300 units of
account in the case of damage to a vehicle and not exceeding 135 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.
(4) Article 9 of the Convention and its title are replaced by the
following:
Unit of account 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 Article 7, paragraph 1, and Article 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 by reference to the Special Drawing
Right 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 Party 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 on 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 Party which is
not a member of the International Monetary Fund, shall be calculated in a
manner determined by that State Party.
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, acceptance, approval of or accession to this Convention or
at any time thereafter, declare that the unit of account referred to in
paragraph 1 shall be equal to 15 gold francs. The gold franc referred to
in this paragraph corresponds to sixty five and a half milligrams of gold
of millesimal fineness nine hundred. The conversion of the gold franc 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 States Parties, as far as
possible, the same real value for the amounts in Article 7, paragraph 1,
and Article 8 as would result from the application of the first three
sentences of paragraph 1. States shall communicate to the
Secretary-General 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 of ratification, acceptance, approval of or
accession to this Convention and whenever there is a change in either.
Article III
1. The Convention and this Protocol shall, as between the Parties to
this Protocol, be read and interpreted together as one single instrument.
2. A State which is a Party to this Protocol but not a Party to the
Convention shall be bound by the provisions of the Convention as amended
by this Protocol in relation to other States Parties hereto, but shall not
be bound by the provisions of the Convention in relation to States Parties
only to the Convention.
3. Nothing in this Protocol shall affect the obligations of a State
which is a Party both to the Convention and to this Protocol with respect
to a State which is a Party to the Convention but not a Party to this
Protocol. FINAL CLAUSES
Article IV
Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession.
1. This Protocol shall be open for signature at the Headquarters of
the Organization from 1 June 1990 to 31 May 1991 by all States.
2. Any state may express its consent to be bound by this Protocol by:
(a) signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance
or approval;
(b) signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval
followed by ratification, acceptance or approval; or
(c) accession.
3. Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be effected
by the deposit of an instrument to that effect with the Secretary-General.
4. Any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession
deposited after the entry into force of an amendment to the Convention as
amended by this Protocol shall be deemed to apply to the Convention so
amended, as modified by such amendment.
Article V Entry into force
1. This Protocol shall enter into force 90 days following the date on
which 10 States have expressed their consent to be bound by it.
2. For any State which expresses its consent to be bound by this
Protocol after the conditions in paragraph 1 for entry into force have
been met, this Protocol shall enter into force 90 days following the date
of expression of such consent.
Article VI Denunciation
1. This Protocol may be denounced by any State Party at any time after
the date on which it enters into force for that State Party.
2. Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of
denunciation with the Secretary-General.
3. A denunciation shall take effect 12 months, or such longer period
as may be specified in the instrument of denunciation, after its deposit
with the Secretary-General.
4. As between the States Parties to this Protocol, denunciation by any
of them of the Convention in accordance with Article 25 thereof shall not
be construed in any way as a denunciation of the Convention as amended by
this Protocol.
Article VII Revision and amendment
1. A conference for the purpose of revising or amending this Protocol
may be convened by the Organization.
2. The Organization shall convene a conference of Contracting States
to this Protocol for revising or amending it at the request of not less
than one third of the Contracting States.
Article VIII Amendment of limits
1. Upon the request of at least one half, but in no case less than
six, of the States Parties to this Protocol, any proposal to amend the
limits, including the deductibles, specified in Article 7, paragraph 1,
and Article 8 of the Convention as amended by this Protocol shall be
circulated by the Secretary-General to all Members of the Organization and
to all Contracting States.
2. Any amendment proposed and circulated as above shall be submitted
to the Legal Committee of the Organization (hereinafter referred to as
"the Legal Committee") for consideration at a date at least six months
after the date of its circulation.
3. All Contracting States to the Convention as amended by this
Protocol, whether or not Members of the Organization, shall be entitled to
participate in the proceedings of the Legal Committee for the
consideration and adoption of amendments.
4. Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the
Contracting States to the Convention as amended by this Protocol present
and voting in the Legal Committee expanded as provided for in paragraph 3,
on condition that at least one half of the Contracting States to the
Convention as amended by this Protocol shall be present at the time of
voting.
5. When acting on a proposal to amend the limits, the Legal Committee
shall take into account the experience of incidents and, in particular,
the amount of damage resulting therefrom, changes in the monetary values
and the effect of the proposed amendment on the cost of insurance.
6. (a) No amendment of the limits under this Article may be considered
less than five years from the date on which this Protocol was opened for
signature nor less than five years from the date of entry into force of a
previous amendment under this Article.
(b) No limit may be increased so as to exceed an amount which
corresponds to the limit laid down in the Convention as amended by this
Protocol increased by six per cent per year calculated on a compound basis
from the date on which this Protocol was opened for signature.
(c) No limit may be increased so as to exceed an amount which
corresponds to the limit laid down in the Convention as amended by this
Protocol multiplied by three.
7. Any amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 4 shall be
notified by the Organization to all Contracting States. The amendment
shall be deemed to have been accepted at the end of a period of eighteen
months after the date of notification, unless within that period not less
than one fourth of the States that were Contracting States at the time of
the adoption of the amendment have communicated to the Secretary-General
that they do not accept the amendment, in which case the amendment is
rejected and shall have no effect.
8. An amendment deemed to have been accepted in accordance with
paragraph 7 shall enter into force eighteen months after its acceptance.
9. All Contracting States shall be bound by the amendment, unless they
denounce this Protocol in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article VI
at least six months before the amendment enters into force. Such
denunciation shall take effect when the amendment enters into force.
10. When an amendment has been adopted but the eighteen-month period
for its acceptance has not yet expired, a State which becomes a
Contracting State during that period shall be bound by the amendment if it
enters into force. A State which becomes a Contracting State after that
period shall be bound by an amendment which has been accepted in
accordance with paragraph 7. In the cases referred to in this paragraph, a
State becomes bound by an amendment when that amendment enters into force,
or when this Protocol enters into force for that State, if later.
Article IX Depositary
1. This Protocol and any amendments accepted under Article VIII shall
be deposited with the Secretary-General.
2. The Secretary-General shall:
(a) inform all States which have signed or acceded to this
Protocol of:
(i) each new signature or deposit of an instrument together
with the date thereof;
(ii) each declaration and communication under Article 9,
paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Convention as amended by this Protocol;
(iii) the date of entry into force of this Protocol;
(iv) any proposal to amend limits which has been made in
accordance with Article VIII, paragraph 1;
(v) any amendment which has been adopted in accordance with
Article VIII, paragraph 4;
(vi) any amendment deemed to have been accepted under Article
VIII, paragraph 7, together with the date on which that amendment shall
enter into force in accordance with paragraphs 8 and 9 of that Article;
(vii) the deposit of any instrument of denunciation of this
Protocol together with the date of the deposit and the date on which it
takes effect;
(b) transmit certified true copies of this Protocol to all
Signatory States and to all States which accede to this Protocol.
3. As soon as this Protocol enters into force, the text 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 X Languages
This Protocol is established in a single original in the Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish languages, each text being
equally authentic.
DONE AT LONDON this twenty-ninth day of March, one thousand nine
hundred and ninety.
IN WITHESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized by their
respective Governments for that purpose, have signed this Protocol.
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