The Convention shall come into force in respect of the acceding State six months after the date of the receipt of such notification but not before the Convention has come into force in accordance with the provisions of Article XII (a).

ENTRY INTO FORCE

Article XII

a) This Convention shall come into force between the two States which first ratify it, six months after the date of the deposit of the second instrument of ratification.

b) This Convention shall come into force in respect of each signatory State which ratifies it after the deposit of the second instrument of ratification six months after the date of the deposit of the instrument of ratification of that State.

DENUNCIATION

Article XV

Any High Contracting Party shall have the right to denounce this Convention at any time after the coming into force thereof in respect of such High Contracting Party. This denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on which notification thereof has been received by the Belgian Government which shall inform through diplomatic channels all the other High Contracting Parties of such notification.

AMENDMENTS

Article XIV

Any High Contracting Party may three years after the coming into force of this Convention in respect of such High Contracting Party or at any time thereafter request that a conference be convened in order to consider amendments to the Convention.

Any High Contracting Party proposing to avail itself of this right shall notify the Belgian Government which shall convene the conference within six months thereafter.

TERRITORIAL APPLICATION

Article XVI

a) Any High Contracting Party may at the time of its ratification of or accession to this Convention or at any time thereafter declare by written notification to the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Convention shall extend to any of the territories for whose international relations it is responsible. The Convention shall six months after the date of the receipt of such notification by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs extend to the territories named therein, but not before the date of the coming into force of the Convention in respect of such High Contracting Party.

b) A High Contracting Party which has made a declaration under paragraph (a) of this Article extending the Convention to any territory for whose international relations it is responsible may at any time thereafter declare by notification given to the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Conventions shall cease to extend to such territory and the Convention shall one year after the receipt of the notification by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs cease to extend thereto.

c) The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall inform through diplomatic channels all signatory and acceding States of any notification received by it under this Article.

Consequently, the Republic of Costa Rica does not consider subsections (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 of article I as binding.

In compliance with the Code of International Private Law, approved by the 6th International American Conference, held in Havana (Cuba), the government of Costa Rica, whilst accepting this Convention, makes the express reservation that in no case will it give up the right to apply Costa Rican law with regard to collision on the high seas or within its own territorial waters, to the detriment of a Costa Rican ship.

Fiji

On 22 August 1972 a letter was received at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Overseas Trade, Co-operation and Development from Mr. K.K.T. Mara, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Fiji, notifying that as far as this Convention was concerned, the Fiji Government was assuming the rights and liabilities previously undertaken by the United Kingdom, from the date of independence, that is to say, 10 October 1970.

German Democratic Republic

Reservation with regard to article IX

The German Democratic Republic does not consider itself subject to the conditions of article IX of the Convention, according to which disputes arising from the interpretation or application of the Convention, not resolved through negotiation, must be submitted to arbitration at the request of one of the interested parties involved in the dispute.

In this matter, the German Democratic Republic is of the opinion that, in each individual case, the consent of all parties involved in the dispute is required in order to judge it by arbitration.

Declaration regarding article XVI

“The German Democratic Republic, in its position regarding article XVI of the Convention, as far as the application of the Convention to colonial and other dependent territories is concerned, the German Democratic Republic is governed by the terms of the U.N. Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (Resolution 1514, (XV) of 14 December 1960) which proclaims the necessity of bringing to a speedy and unconditional end to colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.”

Khmer Republic

[IML Translation] Whilst acceding to the said Convention the government of the Khmer Republic makes the following reservation: that any civil action resulting from collision between sea-going vessels and internal navigation ships or between sea-going vessels may only be brought before the courts of the country of usual residence of the defender or before those of the country whose flag the ship is flying.

Consequently, the government of the Khmer Republic does not consider subsections (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 of article I to be binding. Whilst accepting the said Convention, the government of the Khmer Republic makes the express reservation that, in no case, will it renounce its right to apply Khmer law regarding collision on the high seas or in its territorial waters to the detriment of a Khmer ship.

Yugoslavia

[IML Translation] “The Government of the People’s Federal Republic of Yugoslavia reserves the right to declare at the time of ratification on the principle of ‘sistership’ provided in article I(b) of this Convention.”

(s) P. Nikolic