Merchant Shipping Act 1981

2 Substitution of special drawing rights in limitation provisions of Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971.

(1) In section 1 of the [1971 c. 19.] Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971 (which gives effect to the International Convention for the unification of certain rules of law relating to bills of lading signed at Brussels on 25th August 1924 as amended by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 23rd February 1968) after the words in subsection (1) "as amended by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 23rd February 1968 " there shall be inserted the words " and by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 21st December 1979 ".

(2) In consequence of the said Protocol of 1979 Article IV of the Rules set out in the Schedule to that Act shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions.

(3) In paragraph 5(a) of that Article—

(a) for the words " the equivalent of 10,000 francs " there shall be substituted the words " 666.67 units of account " ;

(b) for the words " 30 francs per kilo" there shall be substituted the words " 2 units of account per kilogramme ".

(4) For paragraph 5 (d) of that Article there shall be substituted—

“(d) The unit of account mentioned in this Article is the special drawing right as defined by the International Monetary Fund. The amounts mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph shall be converted into national currency on the basis of the value of that currency on a date to be determined by the law of the Court seized of the case”.

(5) In its application by virtue of the said Act of 1971 paragraph 5(d) of the said Article IV shall have effect as if the date there mentioned were the date of the judgment in question.

(6) In its application by virtue of the said Act of 1971 Article X of the Rules set out in the Schedule to that Act shall have effect as if references to a contracting State included references to a State that is a contracting State in respect of the Rules without the amendments made by the said Protocol of 1979 as well as to one that is a contracting State in respect of the Rules as so amended, and section 2 of that Act (certification of contracting States) shall have effect accordingly.