OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

ANNEXES TO THE PROCES-VERBAL OF THE TENTH PLENARY SESSION OF THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MARITIME LAW.

ANNEX I.

OUTLINE OF A PROPOSED CONVENTION, REGARDING THE LIMITATION OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SHIP OWNERS, AS SUBMITTED TO THE EXAMINATION OF THE GOVERNMENTS CONCERNED.

(October 6-7, 1909.)

ARTICLE 1.

The stipulations of this convention shall be applicable in each contracting nation when one of the interested parties is a citizen or subject of another contracting nation, as well as in other cases provided for in the national laws.

However, the principle laid down in the foregoing paragraph shall not affect the rights of the contracting nations not to apply the stipulations of this convention in favor of the citizens or subjects of a non-contracting nation.

ARTICLE 2.

To the extent only of the (value of) a vessel and of the (amount of) freight (received therefor) (for a given voyage), as well as of any perquisites received in connection with the vessel and with the freight and arising from the voyage (in question), the owner of the vessel shall be liable —

1. For any injury caused to the property and rights of any nature. belonging to third parties, on land or water, by the acts and omissions of the master, the crew, the pilot, or any other person in the service of the vessel.

2. For any injury caused to the cargo transported or to any other property or articles on board the vessel, as well as for any other injury caused. by a fault of navigation even in the execution of a contract.

3. For compensation allowed for assistance, and for salvage.

4. For any obligations resulting from contracts concluded by the master in accordance with his legal powers, in case of necessity, outside

of the port of registry of the vessel, for the sake of preserving the vessel or continuing the voyage, if the need has been occasioned by accident. When the owner of the vessel is at the same time the master, the same limitation applies, but solely with respect to faults of navigation.

ARTICLE 3.

The freight referred to in Article 2 is the rent or the freight without deduction, whether it be a question of freight or rent paid in advance, or freight or rent still due, or of freight or rent acquired at all hazards. Passages and demurrage are classed with freight within the meaning of this convention.

The perquisites mentioned in Article 2 are:

1. Any compensation paid to or due the owner of the vessel for gross average, as far as the latter constitutes a material injury sustained by the vessel and not repaired, or losses of freight.

2. Compensation paid or due in reparation of damages, whether it be a question of damages sustained by the vessel and not repaired, or losses of freight.

3. Amounts paid or due to the owner of the vessel for assistance or salvage, after deducting the sums allowed to the master and to the crew. Indemnities due or paid under insurance contracts, and premiums, subsidies, or other national pecuniary assistance, are not considered as perquisites of the vessel.

ARTICLE 4.

If there is a first lien on the vessel or on the freight in favor of creditors toward whom it is not permissible to limit the responsibility, the owner of the vessel shall be personally obliged to make up in cash the sum constituting the limit of his responsibility, including the amounts deducted by his creditors.

ARTICLE 5.

The owner may substitute in lieu of the vessel the value thereof at the end of the voyage.

ARTICLE 6.

The owner shall have the privilege of exempting the vessel, the freight, and the perquisites mentioned in Article 2 by paying a sum corresponding per voyage to eight pounds sterling per ton of the gross burden of his vessel.

This provision does not apply either to the compensation for assistance or to salvage or to the case contemplated under number 4 of Article 2.

ARTICLE 7.

The voyage is considered to be terminated, as far as the vessel is concerned, at the first port of call (d'cacle ou de relache) which it reaches after the event justifying an action for damages (donnant lieu au recours) or at the port in which it is situated when such event occurs.

If the place where the event has occurred is not determined, the voyage is considered terminated at the point where the performance of the obligation (the non-fulfillment of) which gives rise to remedial action. was to terminate.

ARTICLE 8.

As regards the freight, various formulas have been suggested:

1. The freight and perquisites mentioned in Article 3 are the freight and the perquisites acquired from the beginning of the voyage to the port determined in Article 7.

2. To substitute a stipulated amount (forfeit), calculated per ton, in place of the freight, the passage, the demurrage, and the perquisites mentioned in Article 3, taking into account the distance already traveled and the nature of the vessel.

ARTICLE 9.

The owner may, in the interest of whom it may concern, take any useful measure with respect to the vessel, without forfeiting the right to exercise the options provided in the foregoing clauses.

He shall be responsible for any deterioration or any injury which may be sustained by the vessel, in consequence of a new voyage, to the detriment of the creditors toward whom a limitation of responsibility is permissible.

ARTICLE 10.

The foregoing provisions shall not affect the right of the creditors to seize the vessel.

ARTICLE 11.

The foregoing provisions do not apply to obligations arising from the personal faults of the owner, from contracts concluded by him, or from such as he has authorized or ratified.

They apply to the obligation to remove the hulk of a sunken vessel, and to the responsibilities connected therewith, whether or not the master be at fault.

ARTICLE 12.

If the person who fits out a vessel of which he is not the owner is responsible for the claims in regard to which the responsibility of the owners is limited according to this convention, he shall be entitled to the same limitation.

If the sub-charterer is responsible for claims arising from the subcharter contracts, he is entitled to this limitation in as far as the master has undertaken to carry out these contracts by receiving the merchandise or by signing a bill of lading.

ARTICLE 13.

The present convention shall be inapplicable to claims for loss of human lives or bodily injury, which shall continue to be governed exclusively by the national laws.

Nothing in the foregoing provisions shall affect the jurisdiction of courts, procedure, and methods of enforcement established by national laws.

ANNEX II.

OUTLINE OF A PROPOSED CONVENTION, REGARDING MARITIME MORTGAGES AND PRIVILEGED LIENS, AS SUBMITTED TO THE EXAMINATION OF THE GOVERNMENTS CONCERNED.

(Oct. 6-7, 1909.)
ARTICLE 1.

Hypothecations, mortgages, and pledges, on vessels, regularly established in accordance with the laws of a contracting nation to which a vessel belongs, and recorded in a public record either of the port of registry or of a central recording office, shall be respected in all the other countries and shall produce the same effect there as in the country of origin.1

ARTICLE 2.

Privileged liens shall take precedence over the rights mentioned in the foregoing article.

1 Certain objections have been made to the words underscored, it having been recognized that 1) questions of procedure and 2) sovereign rights in case of contraband war, prizes, etc., are not affected by the provisions.

ARTICLE 3.

The following claims, in the order given, shall alone constitute privileged liens on a vessel, on the perquisites pertaining thereto, and on the rent or freight received therefor for the voyage during which the privileged claims arise:

1. Judicial expenses, tonnage, lighthouse, and port dues, and other public taxes and imposts of the same kind, and expenses of guarding and preservation after the entrance of the vessel into the last port.

2. Claims arising from the contract of hire of the master, the crew, or other persons embarked in the service of the vessel, and the expenses of piloting.

3. Compensation due for salvage and assistance, and the contribution of the vessel to gross average.

4. Claims for supplies and repairs and other obligations contracted for the same purpose by the master, in case of necessity, outside the port of registry, for the preservation of the vessel or for the sake of continuing the voyage, as far as such acts have been rendered necessary by an actual need, whether or not the master is at the same time the owner of the vessel and whether the claim is his or that of the suppliers, repairers, lenders, or other contractors.

5. Indemnities due to another vessel, its cargo, its crew, or its passengers by reason of a collision or any other accident arising from a fault of navigation.2

ARTICLE 4.

The order of preference of the privileged liens relating to the same voyage is regulated in accordance with the enumeration given in Article 3. The claims appearing under one and the same number of this article are considered according to their proportionate amounts.

However, the claims enumerated in Article 3 under numbers 3 and 4 shall be considered in the inverse order of the dates on which they have

2 The closing protocol would contain the following provisions: It is understood that the legislation of each nation shall retain the privilege of granting, to the authorities of the nation or to other public authorities who have caused a hulk or other objects obstructing navigation to be removed, the right to sell these objects and to compensate themselves, from the proceeds of the sale, for the expenses of removal in preference to other creditors. It is likewise understood that the national legislation retains the right to grant a privileged lien to public insurance institutions for claims arising from the insurance of the personnel of the vessels.