The States Parties to this Protocol,
Recognizing the significant contribution which can be made by the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the “Convention”), to the adequate, prompt and effective compensation of persons who suffer damage caused by incidents in connection with the carriage of hazardous and noxious substances by sea, as well as to the preservation of the marine environment,
Recognizing also that, over many years, a large number of States have consistently expressed their determination to establish a robust and effective compensation regime for the maritime carriage of hazardous and noxious substances based on a system of shared liability and have worked towards a uniform implementation of the Convention,
Acknowledging, however, that certain issues have been identified as inhibiting the entry into force of the Convention and, consequently, the implementation of the international regime contained therein,
Determined to resolve these issues without embarking on a comprehensive revision of the Convention,
Aware of the need to take into account the possible impact on developing countries, as well as the interests of those States which have already ratified the Convention or have almost completed the ratification process,
Recalling the principles enshrined in IMO resolution A.998(25) “Need for capacity-building for the development and implementation of new, and amendments to existing, instruments”, adopted on 29 November 2007,
Considering that these objectives may best be achieved by the conclusion of a Protocol to the Convention,
Article
1
Definitions
For the purposes of this Protocol:
Article
2
General obligations
The Parties to this Protocol shall give effect to the provisions of this Protocol and the provisions of the Convention, as amended by this Protocol.
Article
3
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
4
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
5
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
6
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
7
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
8
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
9
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
10
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
11
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
12
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
13
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
14
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
15
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
15
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
17
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
Article
18
Interpretation and application
1. The
Convention and this Protocol shall, as between the Parties to this Protocol, be read and interpreted together as one single instrument.
2.
Articles 1 to 44 and
Annexes I and
II of the Convention, as amended by this Protocol and the
annex thereto, together with
articles 20 to 29 of this Protocol (the final clauses), shall
mutatis mutandis constitute and be called the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 2010 (2010 HNS Convention). Articles 20 to 29 of this Protocol shall be renumbered sequentially with the preceding articles of the
Convention. References within the final clauses to other articles of the final clauses shall be renumbered accordingly.
Article
19
[Red: Wijzigt het Internationaal Verdrag inzake aansprakelijkheid en vergoeding voor schade in verband met het vervoer over zee van gevaarlijke en schadelijke stoffen, 1996; Londen, 3 mei 1996.]
FINAL CLAUSES
Article
20
Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession
1. This Protocol shall be open for signature at the Headquarters of the Organization from 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2011 and shall thereafter remain open for accession.
2. Subject to the provisions in paragraphs 4 and 5, States may express their consent to be bound by this Protocol by:
(a)signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval; or
(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. An expression of consent to be bound by this Protocol shall be accompanied by the submission to the Secretary-General of data on the total quantities of contributing cargo liable for contributions received in that State during the preceding calendar year in respect of the general account and each separate account.
5. An expression of consent which is not accompanied by the data referred to in paragraph 4 shall not be accepted by the Secretary-General.
6. Each State which has expressed its consent to be bound by this Protocol shall annually thereafter on or before 31 May until this Protocol enters into force for that State, submit to the Secretary-General data on the total quantities of contributing cargo liable for contributions received in that State during the preceding calendar year in respect of the general account and each separate account.
7. A State which has expressed its consent to be bound by this Protocol and which has not submitted the data on contributing cargo required under paragraph 6 for any relevant years shall, before the entry into force of the Protocol for that State, be temporarily suspended from being a Contracting State until it has submitted the required data.
Article
21
Entry into force
1. This Protocol shall enter into force eighteen months after the date on which the following conditions are fulfilled:
2. For a State which expresses its consent to be bound by this Protocol after the conditions for entry into force have been met, such consent shall take effect three months after the date of expression of such consent, or on the date on which this Protocol enters into force in accordance with paragraph 1, whichever is the later.
Article
22
Revision and amendment
1. A conference for the purpose of revising or amending the
Convention, as amended by this Protocol, may be convened by the Organization.
2. The Secretary-General shall convene a conference of the States Parties to this Protocol, for revising or amending the
Convention, as amended by this Protocol, at the request of six States Parties or one third of the States Parties, whichever is the higher figure.
3. Any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession deposited after the date of entry into force of an amendment to the
Convention, as amended by this Protocol, shall be deemed to apply to the Convention as amended.
Article
23
Amendment of limits
2. Upon the request of at least one half, but in no case less than six, of the States Parties, any proposal to amend the limits specified in
article 9, paragraph 1, and
article 14, paragraph 5, 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.
3. Any amendment proposed and circulated in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be submitted to the Legal Committee of the Organization (the Legal Committee) for consideration at a date at least six months after the date of its circulation.
4. All Contracting States, 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.
5. Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting States present and voting in the Legal Committee, expanded as provided in paragraph 4, on condition that at least one half of the Contracting States shall be present at the time of voting.
6. When acting on a proposal to amend the limits, the Legal Committee shall take into account the experience of incidents, 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. It shall also take into account the relationship between the limits established in
article 9, paragraph 1, and those in
article 14, paragraph 5, of the Convention, as amended by this Protocol.
7.
(a)No amendment of the limits under this article may be considered less than five years from the date 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 a limit laid down in 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 a limit laid down in this Protocol multiplied by three.
8. Any amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 5 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 no less than one-fourth of the States which 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.
9. An amendment deemed to have been accepted in accordance with paragraph 8 shall enter into force eighteen months after its acceptance.
10. All Contracting States shall be bound by the amendment, unless they denounce this Protocol in accordance with
article 24, paragraphs 1 and 2, at least six months before the amendment enters into force. Such denunciation shall take effect when the amendment enters into force.
11. 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 8. 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
24
Denunciation
1. This Protocol may be denounced by any State Party at any time after the expiry of one year following the date on which this Protocol comes into force for that State.
2. Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument to that effect with the Secretary-General.
3. A denunciation shall take effect twelve months, or such longer period as may be specified in the instrument of denunciation, following its receipt by the Secretary-General.
4. Notwithstanding a denunciation by a State Party pursuant to this article, any provisions of this Protocol relating to obligations to make contributions under
articles 18,
19 or
article 21, paragraph 5, of the Convention, as amended by this Protocol, in respect of such payments of compensation as the Assembly may decide relating to an incident which occurs before the denunciation takes effect shall continue to apply.
Article
25
Extraordinary sessions of the Assembly
1. Any State Party may, within ninety days after the deposit of an instrument of denunciation the result of which it considers will significantly increase the level of contributions from the remaining States Parties, request the Director to convene an extraordinary session of the Assembly. The Director shall convene the Assembly to meet not less than sixty days after receipt of the request.
2. The Director may take the initiative to convene an extraordinary session of the Assembly to meet within sixty days after the deposit of any instrument of denunciation, if the Director considers that such denunciation will result in a significant increase in the level of contributions from the remaining States Parties.
3. If the Assembly, at an extraordinary session convened in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2, decides that the denunciation will result in a significant increase in the level of contributions from the remaining States Parties, any such State may, not later than one hundred and twenty days before the date on which the denunciation takes effect, denounce this Protocol with effect from the same date.
Article
26
Cessation
1. This Protocol shall cease to be in force:
Notwithstanding subparagraph (b), if the total quantity of contributing cargo to the general account in accordance with
article 18, paragraphs 1(a) and (c), of the Convention, as amended by this Protocol, received in the States Parties in the preceding calendar year was less than 30 million tonnes but more than 25 million tonnes, the Assembly may, if it considers that this was due to exceptional circumstances and is not likely to be repeated, decide before the expiry of the above-mentioned twelve-month period that the Protocol shall continue to be in force. The Assembly may not, however, take such a decision in more than two subsequent years.
2. States which are bound by this Protocol on the day before the date it ceases to be in force shall enable the HNS Fund to exercise its functions as described under
article 27 and shall, for that purpose only, remain bound by this Protocol.
Article
27
Winding up of the HNS Fund
1. If this Protocol ceases to be in force, the HNS Fund shall nevertheless:
(a)meet its obligations in respect of any incident occurring before this Protocol ceased to be in force; and
(b)be entitled to exercise its rights to contributions to the extent that these contributions are necessary to meet the obligations under (a), including expenses for the administration of the HNS Fund necessary for this purpose.
2. The Assembly shall take all appropriate measures to complete the winding up of the HNS Fund including the distribution in an equitable manner of any remaining assets among those persons who have contributed to the HNS Fund.
3. For the purposes of this article the HNS Fund shall remain a legal person.
Article
28
Depositary
1. This Protocol and any amendment adopted under
article 23 shall be deposited with the Secretary-General.
2. The Secretary-General shall:
3. As soon as this Protocol enters into force, a certified true copy thereof shall be transmitted by the depositary to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration and publication in accordance with
Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article
29
Languages
This Protocol is established in a single original in the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish languages, each text being equally authentic.