IMO. RECORD OF DECISIONS OF THE FIRST PLENARY MEETING 21 October a.m.

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1 INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION E IMO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE REVISION OF THE ATHENS CONVENTION RELATING TO THE CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND THEIR LUGGAGE BY SEA, 1974 London, 21 October - 1 November 2002 LEG/CONF.13/RD/1 21 October 2002 Original: ENGLISH RECORD OF DECISIONS OF THE FIRST PLENARY MEETING 21 October a.m. Opening of the Conference 1 The Conference was formally opened at a.m. on Monday, 21 October 2002 by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (Mr. W.A. O'Neil). 2 Mr. O'Neil made a statement which is reproduced in annex 1 to this document. Election of the President 3 The Conference decided by acclamation to elect His Excellency Dr. Ra Jong-Yil, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United Kingdom, Head of the Korean delegation, as President of the Conference. 4 The President made a statement to the Conference, the text of which is reproduced in annex 2 to this document. Agenda item 1: Adoption of the agenda 5 The Conference unanimously adopted the agenda contained in document LEG/CONF.13/1/1. Agenda item 2: Adoption of the Rules of Procedure 6 The Conference decided to approve the Rules of Procedure contained in document LEG/CONF.13/2/1, amended as recommended by the Heads of Delegations. Agenda item 3: Election of Vice-Presidents and other officers of the Conference 7 The Conference decided to elect the following as Vice-Presidents of the Conference: H.E. Mr. A. Da Costa Fernandes - (Angola) H.E. Mr. B. G. O Brien - (Bahamas) Ms. M. Markus - (Estonia) Lt. Cdr. Mr. E. Tsantzalos - (Greece) H.E. Mr. J. Mortada - (Lebanon) For reasons of economy, this document is printed in a limited number. Delegates are kindly asked to bring their copies to meetings and not to request additional copies.

2 - 2-8 The Conference elected by acclamation, Mr. G. Sivertsen of Norway, as the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole. 9 The Conference decided that the Committee of the Whole should elect two Vice-Chairmen, as provided for in the Rules of Procedure. 10 The Conference elected by acclamation, Mr. Kofi Mbiah of Ghana, as Chairman of the Drafting Committee. 11 The Conference decided that the Drafting Committee should elect two Vice-Chairmen. Agenda item 4: Appointment of the Credentials Committee 12 The Conference decided, on the proposal of the President, to appoint a Credentials Committee consisting of the delegations of Ecuador, Indonesia, Liberia, Netherlands and Turkey. Agenda item 5: Organization of the work of the Conference, including the establishment of other committees, as necessary 13 The Conference decided to establish a Committee of the Whole open to all accredited delegations as well as observers. 14 The Conference referred to the Committee of the Whole the consideration of a draft protocol of 2002 to amend the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974 together with comments, observations and proposals relating thereto, contained in the relevant documentation of the Conference. 15 The Conference established on the proposal of the President a Drafting Committee composed of the following delegations: China, Chile, Egypt, France, Ghana, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom and United States. 16 The Drafting Committee was requested to undertake its mandate in accordance with rule 45 of the Rules of Procedure. 17 The Conference agreed to adopt the organization of work, as proposed in document LEG/CONF.13/12. The Conference also adopted the work programme and meeting schedule suggested in the annex to that document. It was emphasized that the work programme was to be considered as a flexible arrangement which was subject to modification as necessary, in the light of developments in the work of the Conference and its committees. *** I:\CONF\LEG\13\RD\1.DOC

3 ANNEX 1 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE REVISION OF THE ATHENS CONVENTION RELATING TO THE CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND THEIR LUGGAGE BY SEA, 1974 OPENING STATEMENT BY MR. W.A. O'NEIL, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION London, 21 October 2002 Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this Diplomatic Conference, which has been convened to consider the Adoption of a Protocol of 2002 to amend the Athens Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974 and I now declare the Conference open. The 1974 Athens Convention was designed to consolidate and harmonize two earlier Brussels Conventions dealing with passengers and luggage and adopted in 1961 and 1967, respectively. Like the previous treaties, it establishes a regime of liability for damage suffered by passengers carried on seagoing vessels. Under it the carrier is liable for damage or loss suffered by a passenger if the incident causing the damage occurred in the course of the carriage and was due to the fault or neglect of the carrier. Under certain circumstances, the carrier is entitled to limit his liability. The Convention has been in force since At present, 28 States are party to it. A Protocol of 1976, which entered into force on 30 April 1989 introduced the Special Drawing Right as the unit of account of the Convention, while a Protocol of 1990, which was meant to update the limits of compensation and to introduce the tacit acceptance procedure as a procedure for amendments, never entered into force. The proposed scope of the current draft protocol aims, in part, to enhance the amount of compensation available under the 1974 Convention in order to make this relevant to modern conditions. It also aims to introduce the notion of strict liability of the carrier and a simplified procedure for updating the limitation amounts. Moreover, for the benefit of the passengers, the revision aims to make insurance compulsory. The amendments will bring the regime of passenger accident liability into line with generally accepted principles of liability and compensation for environmental damage caused by oil spills and other incidents at sea. The Legal Committee over several sessions has done excellent work in finalizing the draft Protocol, which will undoubtedly facilitate the work of this Conference. I am concerned, nonetheless, at the number of outstanding and difficult issues that remain to be settled, as well as the number of new issues that have recently been tabled, in view particularly of the limited time available to consider them. I would remind delegates that the decision to convene a Diplomatic Conference of a week s duration back-to-back with the 85 th session of the Legal Committee, from which the Conference might be able to borrow some working time, was made in the expectation that such a period of time would be sufficient to adopt the new treaty instrument.

4 ANNEX 1 Page 2 It is incumbent upon this Diplomatic Conference to do its utmost to fulfil these expectations. Failure to adopt a protocol to the Athens Convention would not only rebound to the discredit of the Legal Committee and the Organization but would also disappoint States and is certain to lead to the adoption of national legislation not based on an integrated international regime. This is a risk we cannot afford to take. On the other hand, the successful adoption of the Protocol will ensure that all those likely to be affected by a shipping incident will receive prompt and adequate compensation, based on internationally acceptable criteria. Distinguished delegates, the Conference will benefit greatly from the expertise present in this room today from many representatives, and also from observers from intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, who have already contributed substantially to the work of the Legal Committee on this subject. This input is vital in ensuring that the new treaty instrument not only meets international concerns but is also practicable and implementable. In wishing you success in this task of developing a new protocol which will meet modern conditions of passenger travel, I am confident that your experience, coupled with the usual spirit of co-operation prevailing at IMO conferences, will again bring about a successful outcome which will be of major benefit to the world community. *** I:\CONF\LEG\13\RD\1.DOC

5 ANNEX 2 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE REVISION OF THE ATHENS CONVENTION RELATING TO THE CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND THEIR LUGGAGE BY SEA, 1974 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS At the opening of the Conference by H.E. Dr. Ra Jong-Jil Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Mr. Secretary-General, Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I wish to express my deepest gratitude first to the distinguished representatives who proposed and supported my nomination for the very kind words they said about me. I am more humbled than taking pride, by the confidence and the great honour you have done to my country, and to me personally, by electing me President of this Diplomatic Conference. I assure you that, in requital, I shall do everything in my power to discharge my responsibilities as efficiently and impartially as possible. To achieve this, I know I can rely first and foremost upon the co-operation and goodwill of all delegations, and in particular the support of the Secretary-General and the other Officers of the Conference. Distinguished delegates, the Secretary-General has already highlighted the importance of this Conference. There is an understanding in the international maritime community that this is the right time for amending the 1974 Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea. The Legal Committee has been working on the preparation of the draft protocol for the last six years, carefully studying and negotiating the most important and complex issues. However, as is apparent from the various submissions you have received in the past few weeks, a number of other issues will also need to be discussed and resolved. This inevitably means the Conference faces a heavy responsibility in ensuring that its work results in a positive outcome. Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, we have a very important mandate to discharge and very little time in which to do this. However, I am sure that your goodwill, experience and willingness to search for meaningful and effective compromise solutions will characterize the Conference and, as President, I shall do my utmost to contribute to its successful conclusion. I sincerely hope that, together, we shall be able to produce results that will be widely accepted by and beneficial to, the international community. In conclusion, I wish to renew my thanks to you all who have so kindly nominated me and elected me to this high office. I shall do my best to conduct the duties of my office and not disappoint your expectations. I thank you all. Thank you very much.