• (a) at least eight States have signed the Protocol without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval, or have deposited instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary-General; and
• (b) the Secretary-General has received information from the Director of the 1992 Fund that those persons who would be liable to contribute pursuant to article 10 have received during the preceding calendar year a total quantity of at least 450 million tons of contributing oil, including the quantities referred to in article 14, paragraph 1.

2. For each State which signs this Protocol without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval, or which ratifies, accepts, approves or accedes to this Protocol, after the conditions in paragraph 1 for entry into force have been met, the Protocol shall enter into force three months following the date of the deposit by such State of the appropriate instrument.

3. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, this Protocol shall not enter into force in respect of any State until the 1992 Fund Convention enters into force for that State.

REVISION AND AMENDMENT

Article XXIII

1. A conference for the purpose of revising or amending this Protocol may be convened by the Organization.

2. The Organization shall convene a Conference of Contracting States for the purpose of revising or amending this Protocol at the request of not less than one third of all Contracting States.

Article XXIV

1. Upon the request of at least one quarter of the Contracting States, any proposal to amend the limit of the amount of compensation laid down in article 4, paragraph 2(a), shall be circulated by the Secretary-General to all Members of the Organization and to all Contracting States.

2. Any amendment proposed and circulated as above shall be submitted to the Legal Committee of the Organization for consideration at a date at least six months after the date of its circulation.

3. All Contracting States to this Protocol, whether or not Members of the Organization, shall be entitled to participate in the proceedings of the Legal Committee for the consideration and adoption of amendments.

4. Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting States present and voting in the Legal Committee, expanded as provided for in paragraph 3, on condition that at least one half of the Contracting States shall be present at the time of voting.

5. When acting on a proposal to amend the limit, the Legal Committee shall take into account the experience of incidents and in particular the amount of damage resulting therefrom and changes in the monetary values.

6. (a) No amendments of the limit under this article may be considered before the date of entry into force of this Protocol nor less than three years from the date of entry into force of a previous amendment under this article.

(b) The limit may not be increased so as to exceed an amount which corresponds to the limit laid down in this Protocol increased by six per cent per year calculated on a compound basis from the date when this Protocol is opened for signature to the date on which the Legal Committee’s decision comes into force.

(c) The limit may not be increased so as to exceed an amount which corresponds to the limit laid down in this Protocol multiplied by three.

7. Any amendment adopted in accordance with paragraph 4 shall be notified by the Organization to all Contracting States. The amendment shall be deemed to have been accepted at the end of a period of twelve months after the date of notification, unless within that period not less than one quarter of the States that were Contracting States at the time of the adoption of the amendment by the Legal Committee have communicated to the Organization that they do not accept the amendment, in which case the amendment is rejected and shall have no effect.

8. An amendment deemed to have been accepted in accordance with paragraph 7 shall enter into force twelve months after its acceptance.

9. All Contracting States shall be bound by the amendment, unless they denounce this Protocol in accordance with article 26, paragraphs 1 and 2, at least six months before the amendment enters into force. Such denunciation shall take effect when the amendment enters into force.

10. When an amendment has been adopted by the Legal Committee but the twelve-month period for its acceptance has not yet expired, a State which becomes a Contracting State during that period shall be bound by the amendment if it enters into force. A State which becomes a Contracting State after that period shall be bound by an amendment which has been accepted in accordance with paragraph 7. In the cases referred to in this paragraph, a State becomes bound by an amendment when that amendment enters into force, or when this Protocol enters into force for that State, if later.

DENUNCIATION

Article XXVI

1. This Protocol may be denounced by any Contracting State at any time after the date on which it enters into force for that Contracting State.

2. Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument with the Secretary-General.

3. A denunciation shall take effect twelve months, or such longer period as may be specified in the instrument of denunciation, after its deposit with the Secretary-General.

4. Denunciation of the 1992 Fund Convention shall be deemed to be a denunciation of this Protocol. Such denunciation shall take effect on the date on which denunciation of the Protocol of 1992 to amend the 1971 Fund Convention takes effect according to article 34 of that Protocol.

5. Notwithstanding a denunciation of the present Protocol by a Contracting State pursuant to this article, any provisions of this Protocol relating to the obligations to make contributions to the Supplementary Fund with respect to an incident referred to in article 11, paragraph 2(b), and occurring before the denunciation takes effect, shall continue to apply.

TERMINATION

Article XXVIII

1. This Protocol shall cease to be in force on the date when the number of Contracting States falls below seven or the total quantity of contributing oil received in the remaining Contracting States, including the quantities referred to in article 14, paragraph 1, falls below 350 million tons, whichever occurs earlier.

2. States which are bound by this Protocol on the day before the date it ceases to be in force shall enable the Supplementary Fund to exercise its functions as described in article 29 and shall, for that purpose only, remain bound by this Protocol.