ATHENS CONVENTION
RELATING TO THE CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND THEIR LUGGAGE BY SEA, 1974 (PAL)
(Athens,
13.XII.1974)
The
States Parties to this Convention,
Having
recognized the desirability of determining by agreement certain rules relating
to the carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea;
Have
decided to conclude a Convention for this purpose and have thereto agreed as
follows:
In
this Convention the following expressions have the meaning hereby assigned to
them:
1.
a) "carrier" means
a person by or on behalf of whom a contract of carriage has been concluded,
whether the carriage is actually performed by him or by a performing carrier;
b) "performing
carrier" means a person other than the carrier, being the owner, charterer
or operator of a ship, who actually performs the whole or a part of the
carriage;
2.
"contract of carriage" means a contract made by or on behalf of a
carrier for the carriage by sea of a passenger or of a passenger and his
luggage, as the case may be;
3.
"ship" means only a seagoing vessel, excluding an air-cushion
vehicle;
4.
"passenger" means any person carried in a ship:
a) under a contract of
carriage, or
b) who, with the consent of
the carrier, is accompanying a vehicle or live animals which are covered by a
contract for the carriage of goods not governed by this Convention;
5.
"luggage" means any article or vehicle carried by the carrier under a
contract of carriage, excluding:
a) articles and vehicles
carried under a charter party, bill of lading or other contract primarily
concerned with the carriage of goods, and
b) live animals;
6.
"cabin luggage" means luggage which the passenger has in his cabin or
is otherwise in his possession, custody or control. Except for the application
of paragraph 8 of this Article and Article 8, cabin luggage includes luggage
which the passenger has in or on his vehicle;
7.
"loss of or damage to luggage" includes pecuniary loss resulting from
the luggage not having been re-delivered to the passenger within a reasonable
time after the arrival of the ship on which the luggage has been or should have
been carried, but does not include delays resulting from labour disputes;
8.
"carriage" covers the following periods:
a) with regard to the
passenger and his cabin luggage, the period during which the passenger and / or
his cabin luggage are on board the ship or in the course of embarkation or
disembarkation, and the period during which the passenger and his cabin luggage
are transported by water from land to the ship or vice-versa, if the cost of
such transport is included in the fare or if the vessel used for this purpose
of auxiliary transport has been put at the disposal of the passenger by the
carrier. However, with regard to the passenger, carriage does not include the
period during which he is in a marine terminal or station or on quay or in or
on any other port installation;
b) with regard to cabin
luggage, also the period during which the passenger is in a marine terminal or
station or on a quay or in or on any other port installation if that luggage
has been taken over by the carrier or his servant or agent and has not been
re-delivered to the passenger;
c) with regard to other
luggage which is not cabin luggage, the period from the time of its taking over
by the carrier or his servant or agent on shore or on board until the time of
its re-delivery by the carrier or his servant or agent;
9.
"International carriage" means any carriage in which, according to
the contract of carriage, the place of departure and the place of destination
are situated in two different States, or in a single State if, according to the
contract of carriage or the scheduled itinerary, there is an intermediate port
of call in another State;
10.
"Organization" means the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative
Organization.
1.
This Convention shall apply to any international carriage if:
a) the ship is flying the
flag of or is registered in a State Party to this Convention, or
b) the contract of carriage
has been made in a State Party to this Convention, or
c) the place of departure or
destination, according to the contract of carriage, is in a State Party to this
Convention.
2.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, this Convention shall not apply
when the carriage is subject, under any other international convention
concerning the carriage of passengers or luggage by another mode of transport,
to a civil liability regime under the provisions of such convention, insofar as
those provisions have mandatory application to carriage by sea.
Article 3
Liability of the carrier
1.
The carrier shall be liable for the damage suffered as a result of the death of
or personal injury to a passenger and the loss of or damage to luggage if the
incident which caused the damage so suffered occurred in the course of the
carriage and was due to the fault or neglect of the carrier or of his servants
or agents acting within the scope of their employment.
2.
The burden of proving that the incident which caused the loss or damage
occurred in the course of the carriage, and the extent of the loss or damage,
shall lie with the claimant.
3.
Fault or neglect of the carrier or of his servants or agents acting within the
scope of their employment shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, if
the death of or personal injury to the passenger or the loss of or damage to
cabin luggage arose from or in connexion with shipwreck, collision, stranding,
explosion or fire, or defect in the ship. In respect of loss of or damage to
other luggage, such fault or neglect shall be presumed, unless the contrary is
proved, irrespective of the nature of the incident which caused the loss or
damage. In all other cases the burden of proving fault or neglect shall lie
with the claimant.
1.
If the performance of the carriage or part thereof has been entrusted to a
performing carrier, the carrier shall nevertheless remain liable for the entire
carriage according to the provisions of this Convention. In addition, the
performing carrier shall be subject and entitled to the provisions of this
Convention for the part of the carriage performed by him.
2.
The carrier shall, in relation to the carriage performed by the performing
carrier, be liable for the acts and omissions of the performing carrier and of
his servants and agents acting within the scope of their employment.
3.
Any special agreement under which the carrier assumes obligations not imposed
by this Convention or any waiver of rights conferred by this Convention shall
affect the performing carrier only if agreed by him expressly and in writing.
4.
Where and to the extent that both the carrier and the performing carrier are
liable, their liability shall be joint and several.
5.
Nothing in this Article shall prejudice any right of recourse as between the
carrier and the performing carrier.
The
carrier shall not be liable for the loss of or damage to monies, negotiable
securities, gold, silverware, jewellery, ornaments, works of art, or other
valuables, except where such valuables have been deposited with the carrier for
the agreed purpose of safe-keeping in which case the carrier shall be liable up
to the limit provided for in paragraph 3 of Article 8 unless a higher limit is
agreed upon in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 10.
If
the carrier proves that the death of or personal injury to a passenger or the
loss of or damage to his luggage was caused or contributed to by the fault or
neglect of the passenger, the court seized of the case may exonerate the
carrier wholly or partly from his liability in accordance with the provisions
of the law of that court.
Article 7
Limit of liability for personal injury
1.
The liability of the carrier for the death of or personal injury to a passenger
shall in no case exceed 700,000 francs per carriage. Where in accordance with
the law of the court seized of the case damages are awarded in the form of
periodical income payments, the equivalent capital value of those payments
shall not exceed the said limit.
2.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, the national law of any State
Party to this Convention may fix, as far as carriers who are nationals of such
State are concerned, a higher per capita limit of liability.
Article 8
Limit of liability for loss of or damage to luggage
1.
The liability of the carrier for the loss of or damage to cabin luggage shall
in no case exceed 12,500 francs per passenger, per carriage.
2.
The liability of the carrier for the loss of or damage to vehicles including
all luggage carried in or on the vehicle shall in no case exceed 50,000 francs
per vehicle, per carriage.
3.
The liability of the carrier for the loss of or damage to luggage other than
that mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall in no case exceed
18,000 francs per passenger, per carriage.
4.
The carrier and the passenger may agree that the liability of the carrier shall
be subject to a deductible not exceeding 1.750 francs in the case of damage to
a vehicle and not exceeding 200 francs per passenger in the case of loss of or
damage to other luggage, such sum to be deducted from the loss or damage.
Article 9
Monetary unit and conversion
1.
The francs mentioned in this Convention shall he deemed to refer to a unit
consisting of 65,5 milligrams of gold of millesimal fineness 900.
2.
The amounts referred to in Articles 7 and 8 shall be converted into the
national currency of the State of the court seized of the case on the basis of
the official value of that currency, by reference to the unit defined in
paragraph 1 of this Article, on the date of the judgment or the date agreed
upon by the parties. If there is no such official value, the competent
authority of the State concerned shall determine what shall be considered as
the official value for the purpose of this Convention.
Article 10
Supplementary provisions on limits of liability
1.
The carrier and the passenger may agree, expressly and in writing, to higher
limits of liability than those prescribed in Articles 7 and 8.
2.
Interest on damages and legal costs shall not be included in the limits of
liability prescribed in Articles 7 or 8.
Article 11
Defences and limits for carriers servants
If
an action is brought against a servant or agent of the carrier or of the
performing carrier arising out of damage covered by this Convention, such
servant or agent, if he proves that he acted within the scope of his
employment, shall be entitled to avail himself of the defences and limits of
liability which the carrier or the performing carrier is entitled to invoke
under this Convention.
Article 12
Aggregation of claims
1.
Where the limits of liability prescribed in Articles 7 and 8 take effect, they
shall apply to the aggregate of the amounts recoverable in all claims arising
out of the death of or personal injury to any one passenger or the loss of or
damage to his luggage.
2.
In relation to the carriage performed by a performing carrier, the aggregate of
the amounts recoverable from the carrier and the performing carrier and from
their servants and agents acting within the scope of their employment shall not
exceed the highest amount which could be awarded against either the carrier or
the performing carrier under this Convention, but none of the persons mentioned
shall be liable for a sum in excess of the limit applicable to him.
3.
In any case where a servant or agent of the carrier or of the performing
carrier is entitled under Article 11 of this Convention to avail himself of the
limits of liability prescribed in Articles 7 and 8, the aggregate of the
amounts recoverable from the carrier, or the performing carrier as the case may
be, and from that servant or agent, shall not exceed those limits.
Article 13
Loss of right to limit liability
1.
The carrier shall not be entitled to the benefit of the limits of liability
prescribed in Articles 7 and 8 and paragraph 1 of Article 10, if it is proved
that the damage resulted from an act or omission of the carrier done with the
intent to cause such damage, or recklessly and with Knowledge that such damage
would probably result.
2.
The servant or agent of the carrier or of the performing carrier shall not be
entitled to the benefit of those limits if it is proved that the damage
resulted from an act or omission of that servant or agent done with the intent
to cause such damage, or recklessly and with knowledge that such damage would
probably result.
No
action for damages for the death of or personal injury to a passenger, or for
the loss of or damage to luggage, shall be brought against a carrier or
performing carrier otherwise than in accordance with this Convention.
Article 15
Notice of loss or damage to luggage
1.
The passenger shall give written notice to the carrier or his agent:
a) in the case of apparent
damage to luggage:
i) for cabin luggage, before
or at the time of disembarkation of the passenger;
ii) for all other luggage,
before or at the time of its re-delivery;
b) in the case of damage to
luggage which is not apparent, or loss of luggage, within fifteen days from the
date of disembarkation or re-delivery or from the time when such re-delivery
should have taken place.
2.
If the passenger fails to comply with this Article, he shall be presumed,
unless the contrary is proved, to have received the luggage undamaged.
3.
The notice in writing need not be given if the condition of the luggage has at
the time of its receipt been the subject of joint survey or inspection.
Article 16
Time-bar for actions
1.
Any action for damages arising out of the death of or personal injury to a
passenger or for the loss of or damage to luggage shall be time-barred after a
period of two years.
2.
The limitation period shall be calculated as follows:
a) in the case of personal
injury, from the date of disembarkation of the passenger;
b) in the case of death
occurring during carriage, from the date when the passenger should have
disembarked and in the case of personal injury occurring during carriage and
resulting in the death of the passenger after disembarkation, from the date of
death, provided that this period shall not exceed three years from the date of
disembarkation;
c) in the case of loss of or
damage to luggage, from the date of disembarkation or from the date when
disembarkation should have taken place, whichever is later.
3.
The law of the court seized of the case shall govern the grounds of suspension
and interruption of limitation periods, but in no case shall an action under
this Convention be brought after the expiration of a period of three years from
the date of disembarkation of the passenger or from the date when
disembarkation should have taken place, whichever is later.
4.
Notwithstanding paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, the period of limitation
may be extended by a declaration of the carrier or by agreement of the parties
after the cause of action has arisen. The declaration or agreement shall be in
writing.
Article 17
Competent jurisdiction
1.
An action arising under this Convention shall, at the option of the claimant,
be brought before one of the courts listed below, provided that court is
located in a State Party to this Convention:
a) the court of the place of
permanent residence or principal place of business of the defendant, or
b) the court of the place of
departure or that of the destination according to the contract of carriage, or
c) a court of the State of
the domicile or permanent residence of the claimant, if the defendant has a
place of business and is subject to jurisdiction in that State, or
d) a court of the State
where the contract of carriage was made, if the defendant has a place of
business and is subject to jurisdiction in that State.
2.
After the occurrence of the incident which has caused the damage, the parties
may agree that the claim for damages shall be submitted to any jurisdiction or
to arbitration.
Article 18
Invalidity of contractual provisions
Any
contractual provision concluded before the occurrence of the incident which has
caused the death of or personal injury to a passenger or the loss of or damage
to his luggage, purporting to relieve the carrier of his liability towards the
passenger or to prescribe a lower limit of liability than that fixed in this
Convention except as provided in paragraph 4 of Article 8, and any such
provision purporting to shift the burden of proof which rests on the carrier,
or having the effect of restricting the option specified in paragraph 1 of
Article 17, shall be null and void, but the nullity of that provision shall not
render void the contract of carriage which shall remain subject to the
provisions of this Convention.
Other conventions on limitation of liability
This
Convention shall not modify the rights or duties of the carrier, the performing
carrier, and their servants or agents provided for in international conventions
relating to the limitation of liability of owners of seagoing ships.
No
liability shall arise under this Convention for damage caused by a nuclear
incident:
a) if the operator of a
nuclear installation is liable for such damage under either the Paris
Convention of 29 July 1960 on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear
Energy as amended by its Additional Protocol of 28 January 1964, or the Vienna
Convention of 21 May 1963 on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, or
b) if the operation of a
nuclear installation is liable for such damage by virtue of a national law
governing the liability for such damage, provided that such law is in all
respects as favourable to persons who may suffer damage as either the Paris or
the Vienna Conventions.