Merchant Shipping Act 1995, section 183

Scheduled convention to have force of law

Part VII Liability of Shipowners and Others

(1) The provisions of the Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea as set out in Part I of Schedule 6 (hereafter in this section and in Part II of that Schedule referred to as “the Convention”) shall have the force of law in the United Kingdom.

(2)The provisions of Part II of that Schedule shall have effect in connection with the Convention and subsection (1) above shall have effect subject to the provisions of that Part.

[F237 (2A)But—

(a)subsection (1) does not give the force of law in the United Kingdom to provisions to the extent that they apply to cases in which dfnEC Regulation No. 392/2009 applies; and

(b)the provisions of Part 2 of that Schedule do not have effect in such cases.F237]

(3)If it appears to Her Majesty in Council that there is a conflict between the provisions of this section or of Part I or II of Schedule 6 and any provisions relating to the carriage of passengers or luggage for reward by land, sea or air in—

(a)any convention which has been signed or ratified by or on behalf of the government of the United Kingdom before 4th April 1979 (excluding the Convention); or

(b)any enactment of the Parliament of the United Kingdom giving effect to such a convention,

She may by Order in Council make such modifications of this section or that Schedule or any such enactment as She considers appropriate for resolving the conflict.

(4)If it appears to Her Majesty in Council that the government of the United Kingdom has agreed to any revision of the Convention She may by Order in Council make such modification of Parts I and II of Schedule 6 as She considers appropriate in consequence of the revision.

(5)Nothing in subsection (1) [F238, (2) or (2A)F238] above or in any modification made by virtue of subsection (3) or (4) above shall affect any rights or liabilities arising out of an occurrence which took place before the day on which [F239the subsectionF239] , or as the case may be, the modification, comes into force.

(6)This section shall bind the Crown, and any Order in Council made by virtue of this section may provide that the Order or specified provisions of it shall bind the Crown.

(7)A draft of an Order in Council proposed to be made under subsection (3) or (4) above shall not be submitted to Her Majesty in Council unless the draft has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

[F240 (8) In this section “EC Regulation No. 392/2009” means Regulation (EC) No. 329/2009 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. F240]

Definitions used in section 183 1

the Convention

(1) The provisions of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 as set out in Part I of Schedule 7 (in this section and Part II of that Schedule referred to as “the Convention”) shall have the force of law in the United Kingdom.

Defined in s.185(1) · see it in the full Act

1 In this Part of this Schedule “the Convention” means the Convention as set out in Part I of this Schedule and any reference to a numbered article is a reference to the article of the Convention which is so numbered.

Defined in Sch.11 Pt.II · see it in the full Act

Cases considering section 183 8

Jennings v TUI UK Ltd (t/a Thomson Cruises)

[2018] EWHC 82 (Admlty) · 22 January 2018

The judgment treats section 183 as the provision incorporating the Athens Convention into English law. The court then applies the Convention’s carriage provisions to exclude liability for an accident occurring on a quay or port installation. (see para [15])

Lawrence v NCL (Bahamas) Ltd (t/a Norwegian Cruise Line)

[2016] EWHC 3876 (Admlty) · 6 May 2016

Confirms that the Athens Convention was incorporated into English law through section 183 and provides the statutory context for the liability issues decided under the Convention (see paras [1], [7]).

Warner v Scapa Flow Charters

[2018] UKSC 52 · 17 October 2018

Confirms that the Athens Convention has the force of law in the United Kingdom. (see para [6])

What each judgment says about section 183 is in the case-law panel in the full Act.

Amendments and notes

4 notes from legislation.gov.uk

Amendments

  1. F237S. 183(2A) inserted (12.1.2013) by The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Passengers by Sea) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/3152), regs. 1(2), 14(2)
  2. F238Words in s. 183(5) substituted (12.1.2013) by The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Passengers by Sea) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/3152), regs. 1(2), 14(3)(a)
  3. F239Words in s. 183(5) substituted (12.1.2013) by The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Passengers by Sea) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/3152), regs. 1(2), 14(3)(b)
  4. F240S. 183(8) inserted (12.1.2013) by The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Passengers by Sea) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/3152), regs. 1(2), 14(4)