The Consular Relations (Merchant Shipping) (United States of Mexico) Order 1970

Made17th December 1970

Laid before Parliament23rd December 1970

Coming into Operation1st January 1971

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 17th day of December 1970

Present,

The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Her Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the powers conferred on Her by sections 4, 6 and 16(2) of the Consular Relations Act 1968 or otherwise in Her Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:—

1

This Order may be cited as the Consular Relations (Merchant Shipping) (United States of Mexico) Order 1970 and shall come into operation on 1st January 1971.

2

1

For the purposes of Article 3 of this Order and for the purposes of section 6 of the Consular Relations Act 1968 as applied by virtue of Article 4 of this Order a ship shall be treated as belonging to the United States of Mexico if it is registered at a port in any of the territories of the United States of Mexico.

2

Nothing in this Order shall apply to any ship of war.

3

The Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply for the interpretation of this Order as it applies for the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

3

Proceedings relating to the remuneration or any contract of service of the master or a member of the crew of any ship belonging to the United States of Mexico shall not be entertained by any court in the United Kingdom unless either:

a

the proceedings are instituted by or against a person who is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, a citizen of Southern Rhodesia, a British subject by virtue of section 2, 13 or 16 of the British Nationality Act 1948 or the British Nationality Act 1965, or a British protected person within the meaning of the said Act of 1948; or

b

a consular officer of the United States of Mexico has been notified of the intention to invoke the jurisdiction of that court and has not objected within a period of two weeks from the date of such notification and a statement to that effect is included among the details on which the claim is based at the time when the proceedings are commenced.

4

The United States of Mexico is designated for the purposes of section 6 of the Consular Relations Act 1968 (which relates to detention on board ship for disciplinary offences).

W. G. Agnew

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order, which is made pursuant to the Consular Relations Act 1968, provides, in relation to ships (other than ships of war) of the United States of Mexico,

(i) for limiting the jurisdiction of the courts of the United Kingdom to entertain proceedings relating to the remuneration or any contract of service of the master or a member of the crew;

(ii) for the detention on board of a member of the crew for a disciplinary offence to be treated as not unlawful except in certain cases.

It gives effect to the relevant provisions of the Consular Convention between the United Kingdom and the United States of Mexico which was signed at Mexico City on 20th March 1954 (Cmnd. 633).