Draft Order in Council laid before Parliament under sections 183(7) and 184(4) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, for approval by resolution of each House of Parliament.
Draft Statutory Instruments
2014 No. XXXX
Merchant Shipping
The Merchant Shipping (Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea) Order 2014
Made
2014
Coming into force in accordance with article 1(1)
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the day of 2014
Present,
The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council
It appears to Her Majesty in Council that the government of the United Kingdom has agreed to the Protocol of 2002(1) to the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974 and that the Protocol revises the Convention. In consequence of those revisions She considers that modifications should be made to Parts I and II of Schedule 6 to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(2).
A draft of this Order has, in accordance with sections 183(7) and 184(4) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 183(4) and (6) and 184(1) and (3) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order as follows:—
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea) Order 2014 and comes into force on the day after the date on which it is made.
(2) In this Order—
“the Act” means the Merchant Shipping Act 1995; and
“the Protocol of 2002” means the Protocol of 2002 to the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974.
Amendment of Schedule 6 to the Act
2.—(1) In Schedule 6 to the Act, for Part I (text of Convention) substitute the Part I set out in the Schedule to this Order.
(2) In paragraph 4 of Part II (provisions having effect in connection with the Convention) of Schedule 6 to the Act, for “46,666” substitute “400,000”.
(3) After paragraph 9 of Part II of Schedule 6 to the Act insert—
“9A. The provisions of the Convention in Part I of this Schedule have effect subject to the reservation made by the United Kingdom (see the reservation set out in the Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 392/2009 of 23 April 2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents).”(3).
Application of the Convention within the British Islands
3. The provision made by article 2 of this Order does not affect the operation of the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (Domestic Carriage) Order 1987(4), and accordingly references in that Order to Schedule 6 to the Act are to be read as references to that Schedule as it had effect immediately before the coming into force of this Order.
Revocation
4. The Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (Interim Provisions) Order 1980(5) is revoked.
Application to the Crown.
5. This Order shall bind the Crown.
Review
6.—(1) The Secretary of State must from time to time —
(a)carry out a review of article 2 of this Order;
(b)set out the conclusions of the review in a report; and
(c)publish the report.
(2) In carrying out the review the Secretary of State must so far as is reasonable have regard to how other states which are parties to the Protocol of 2002 have implemented it.
(3) The report must in particular—
(a)set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system established by that article;
(b)assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved; and
(c)assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.
(4) The first report under this article must be published before 23rd April 2019.
(5) Reports under this article are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.
Clerk of the Privy Council
Article 2
SCHEDULENew Part I to be substituted in Schedule 6 to the Act
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order amends the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (c.21) in consequence of the ratification by the United Kingdom of the Protocol of 2002 to the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974 (“the Protocol”) which comes into force on 23rd April 2014.
The Protocol amends the Convention. It raises the limit of carrier liability for claims for death or personal injury to 400,000 units of account per passenger and introduces a requirement for the carrier to have insurance of not less than 250,000 units of account per passenger.
The principal provisions of the Convention as amended by the Protocol are part of the law of the United Kingdom by virtue of Regulation (EC) No. 392/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea in the event of accidents (O.J. L131, 28.5.2009, p.24) which came into effect on 31st December 2012. Further provision was made through the Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Passengers by Sea) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/3152).
Article 2 substitutes, for the text of the provisions of the Convention set out in Part I of Schedule 6 to the Act, the text of the provisions of the Convention as amended by the Protocol. The amendments to Part II of Schedule 6 takes account of the new higher limit of liability on claims for death or personal injury of 400,000 units of account in article 7 of the Convention and the fact that the ratification of the Convention by the United Kingdom is subject to a reservation with regard to war and terrorism risks .
Article 3 preserves the operation of the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (Domestic Carriage) Order 1987, which applies the Convention to carriage of passengers within the United Kingdom, the Channels Islands and the Isle of Man.
Article 4 revokes the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea (Interim Provisions) Order 1980.
Article 5 provides that the Order will bind the Crown.
Article 6 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of article 2 of the Order and to publish a report before 23rd April 2019 and within every five years after that. Following a review it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether article 2 of the Order should remain or be revoked or amended. A further instrument would be needed to amend article 2.
A full impact assessment of the effect this Order will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Department for Transport, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road London SW1P 4DR and is published with the Explanatory Memorandum alongside this Order at http://www.legislation.gov.uk.
Cm 8760.
O. J.No. L.131, 28.5.2009, p.24.
S.I.1987/670. Following the repeal and re-enactment of section 16 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c.39) this order has effect as if made under section 184 of the Act.