International
convention relating to intervention on the high seas in case of oil pollution
casualties
Brussels,
29 November 1969
The
States Parties to the present Convention,
Conscious
of the need to protect the interests of their peoples against the grave consequences
of a maritime casualty resulting in danger of oil pollution of sea and coastlines,
convinced that under these circumstances measures of an exceptional character
to protect such interests might be necessary on the high seas and that these
measures do not affect the principle of freedom of the high seas,
Have
agreed as follows:
Article
I
1.
Parties to the present Convention may take such measures on the high seas
as may be necessary to prevent, mitigate or eliminate grave and imminent danger
to their coastline or related interests from pollution or threat of pollution
of the sea by oil, following upon a maritime casualty or acts related to such
a casualty, which may reasonably be expected to result in major harmful consequences.
2.
However, no measures shall be taken under the present Convention against any
warship or other ship owned or operated by a State and used, for the time
being, only on government non-commercial service.
Article
II
For
the purpose of the present Convention:
1.
"maritime casualty" means a collision of ships, stranding or other incident
of navigation, or other occurrence on board a ship or external to it resulting
in material damage or imminent threat of material damage to a ship or cargo;
2.
"ship" means:
(a)
any sea-going vessel of any type whatsoever, and
(b)
any floating craft, with the exception of an installation or device engaged
in the exploration and exploitation of the resources of the sea-bed and the
ocean floor and the subsoil thereof;
3.
"oil" means crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil and lubricating oil;
4.
"related interests" means the interests of a coastal State directly affected
or threatened by the maritime casualty, such as:
(a)
maritime coastal, port or estuarine activities, including fisheries activities
constituting an essential means of livelihood of the persons concerned;
(b)
tourist attractions of the area concerned;
(c)
the health of the coastal population and the well-being of the area concerned,
including conservation of living marine resources and of wildlife;
5.
"Organization" means the Inter-Governmental Maritime Cosultative Organization.
Article
III
When
a coastal State is exercising the right to take measures in accordance with
Article I, the following provisions shall apply:
(a)
before taking any measures, a coastal State shall proceed to consultations
with other States affected by the maritime casualty, particularly with the
flag State or States;
(b)
the coastal State shall notify without delay the proposed measures to any
persons physical or corporate known to the coastal State, or made known to
it during the consultations, to have interests which can reasonably be expected
to be affected by those measures. The coastal State shall take into account
any views they may submit;
(c)
before any measure is taken, the coastal State may proceed to a consultation
with independent experts, whose names shall be chosen from a list maintained
by the Organization;
(d)
in cases of extreme urgency requiring measures to be taken immediately, the
coastal State may take measures rendered necessary by the urgency of the situation,
without prior notification or consultation or without continuing consultations
already begun;
(e)
a coastal State shall, before taking such measures and during their course,
use its best endeavours to avoid any risk to human life, and to afford persons
in distress any assistance of which they may stand in need, and in appropriate
cases to facilitate the repatriation of ships crews, and to raise no obstacle
thereto;
(f)
measures which have been taken in application of Article I shall be notified
without delay to the States and to the known physical or corporate persons
concerned, as well as to the Secretary-General of the Organization.
Article
IV
1.
Under the supervision of the Organization, there shall be set up and maintained
the list of experts contemplated by Article III of the present Convention,
and the Organization shall make necessary and appropriate regulations in connexion
therewith, including the determination of the required qualifications.
2.
Nominations to the list may be made by Member States of the Organization and
by Parties to the Convention. The experts shall be paid on the basis of services
rendered by the States utilizing those services.
Article
V
1.
Measures taken by the coastal State in accordance with Article I shall be
proportionate to the damage actual or threatened to it.
2.
Such measures shall not go beyond what is reasonably necessary to achieve
the end mentioned in Article I and shall cease as soon as that end has been
achieved; they shall not unnecessarily interfere with the right and interests
of the flag State, third States and of any persons, physical or corporate,
concerned.
3.
In considering whether the measures are proportionate to the damage, account
shall be taken of:
(a)
the extent and probability of imminent damage if those measures are not taken;
and
(b)
the likelihood of those measures being effective; and
(c)
the extent of the damage which may be caused by such measures.
Article
VI
Any
Party which has taken measures in contravention of the provisions of the present
Convention causing damage to others, shall be obliged to pay compensation
to the extent of the damage caused by measures which exceed those reasonably
necessary to achieve the end mentioned in Article I.
Article
VII
Except
as specified provided, nothing in the present Convention shall prejudice any
otherwise applicable right, duty, privilege or immunity or deprive any of
the Parties or any interested physical or corporate person of any remedy otherwise
applicable.
Article
VIII
1.
Any controversy between the Parties as to whether measures taken under Article
I were in contravention of the provisions of the present Convention, to whether
compensation is obliged to be paid under Article VI, and to the amount of
such compensation shall, if settlement by negotiation between the Parties
involved or between the Party which took the measures and the physical or
corporate claimants has not been possible, and if the Parties do not otherwise
agree, be submitted upon request of any of the Parties concerned to conciliation,
or if conciliation does not succeed, to arbitration, as set out in the annex
to the present Convention.
2.
The Party which took the measures shall not be entitled to refuse a request
for conciliation or arbitration under provisions of the preceding paragraph
solely on the grounds that any remedies under municipal law in its own courts
have not been exhausted.
Article
IX
1.
The present Convention shall remain open for signature until 31 December 1970
and shall thereafter remain open for accession.
2.
States Members of the United Nations or any of the specialized Agencies or
of the International Atomic Energy Agency or Parties to the Statute of the
International Court of Justice may become Parties to this Convention 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.
Article
X
1.
Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be effected by the deposit
of a formal instrument to that effect with the Secretary-General of the Organization.
2.
Any instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession deposited
after the entry into force of an amendment to the present Convention 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 those Parties shall
be deemed to apply to the Convention as modified by the amendment.
Article
XI
1.
The present Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following
the date on which Governments of fifteen States have either signed it without
reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval or have deposited instruments
of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary-General
of the Organization.
2.
For each State which subsequently ratifies, accepts, approves or accede to
it the present Convention shall come into force on the ninetieth day after
deposit by such State of the appropriate instrument.
Article
XII
1.
The present Convention may be denounced by any Party at any time after the
date on which the Convention comes into force for that State.
2.
Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument with the Secretary-General
of the Organization.
3.
A denunciation shall take effect one year, or such longer period as may be
specified in the instrument of denunciation, after its deposit with the Secretary-General
of the Organization.
Article
XIII
1.
The United Nations where it is the administering authority for a territory,
or any State Party to the present Convention responsible for the international
relations of a territory, shall as soon as possible consult with the appropriate
authorities of such territories or take such other measures as may be appropriate,
in order to extend the present Convention to that territory and may at any
time by notification in writing to the Secretary-General of the Organization
declare that the present Convention shall extend to such territory.
2.
The present Convention shall, from the date of receipt of the notification
or from such other date as may specified in the notification, extend the territory
named therein.
3.
The United Nations, or any Party which has made a declaration under paragraph
1 of this Article may at any time after the date on which the Convention has
been so extended to any territory declare by notification in writing to the
Secretary-General of the Organization that the present Convention shall cease
to extend to any such territory named in the notification.
4.
The present Convention shall cease to extend to any territory mentioned in
such notification one year, or such longer period as may be specified therein,
after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General of
the Organization.
Article
XIV
1.
A Conference for the purpose of revising or amending the present Convention
may be convened by the Organization.
2.
The Organization shall convene a Conference of the States Parties to the present
Convention for revising or amending the present Convention at the request
of not less than one-third of the Parties.
Article
XV
1.
The present Convention shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the
Organization.
2.
The Secretary-General of the Organization shall:
(a)
inform all States which have signed or acceded to the Convention of:
(i)
each new signature or deposit of instrument together with the date thereof:
(ii)
the deposit of any instrument of denunciation of this Convention together
with the date of the deposit;
(iii)
the extension of the present Convention to any territory under paragraph 1
of Article XIII and of the termination of any such extension under the provisions
of paragraph 4 of that Article stating in each case the date on which the
present Convention has been or will cease to be so extended;
(b)
transmit certified true copies of the present Convention to all Signatory
States and to all States which accede to the present Convention.
Article
XVI
As
soon as the present Convention comes into force, the text shall be transmitted
by the Secretary-General of the Organization to the Secretariat of the United
Nations for registration and publication in accordance with Article 102 of
the Charter of the United Nations.
Article
XVII
The
present Convention is established in a single copy in the English and French
languages, both texts being equally authentic. Official translations in the
Russian and Spanish languages shall be prepared and deposited with the signed
original.
In
witness whereof the undersigned being duly authorized by their respective
Governments for that purpose have signed the present Convention.
Done
at Brussels this twenty-ninth day of November 1969.