Merchant Shipping (International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund) Act, 2013 (Act No. 24 of 2013)ProtocolProtocol of 1992 to Amend the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971Part A1 : International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971Organization and Administration |
Article 16
The Fund shall have an Assembly, a Secretariat headed by a Director and, in accordance with the provisions of Article 21, an Executive Committee.
Assembly
Article 17
The Assembly shall consist of all Contracting States to this Convention.
Article 18
The functions of the Assembly shall, subject to the provisions of Article 26, be:
| 1. | to elect at each regular session its Chairman and two Vice-Chairmen who shall hold office until the next regular session; |
| 2. | to determine its own rules of procedure, subject to the provisions of this Convention; |
| 3. | to adopt Internal Regulations necessary for the proper functioning of the Fund; |
| 4. | to appoint the Director and make provisions for the appointment of such other personnel as may be necessary and determine the terms and conditions of service of the Director and other personnel; |
| 5. | to adopt the annual budget and fix the annual contributions; |
| 6. | to appoint auditors and approve the accounts of the Fund; |
| 7. | to approve settlements of claims against the Fund, to take decisions in respect of the distribution among claimants of the available amount of compensation in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 5, and to determine the terms and conditions according to which provisional payments in respect of claims shall be made with a view to ensuring that victims of pollution damage are compensated as promptly as possible; |
| 8. | to elect the members of the Assembly to be represented on the Executive Committee, as provided in Articles 21,22 and 23; |
| 9. | to establish any temporary or permanent subsidiary body it may consider to be necessary; |
| 10. | to determine which non-Contracting States and which inter-governmental and international non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to take part, without voting rights, in meetings of the Assembly, the Executive Committee, and subsidiary bodies; |
| 11. | to give instructions concerning the administration of the Fund to the Director, the Executive Committee and subsidiary bodies; |
| 12. | to review and approve the reports and activities of the Executive Committee: |
| 13. | to supervise the proper execution of the Convention and of its own decisions; |
| 14. | to perform such other functions as are allocated to it under the Convention or are otherwise necessary for the proper operation of the Fund. |
Article 19
| 1. | Regular sessions of the Assembly shall take place once every calendar year upon convocation by the Director; provided, however, that if the Assembly allocates to the Executive Committee the functions specified in Article 18, paragraph 5, regular sessions of the Assembly shall be held once every two years. |
| 2. | Extraordinary sessions of the Assembly shall be convened by the Director at the request of the Executive Committee or of at least one-third of the members of the Assembly and may be convened on the Director's own initiative after consultation with the Chairman of the Assembly. The Director shall give members at least thirty days' notice of such sessions. |
Article 20
A majority of the members of the Assembly shall constitute a quorum for its meetings.
Executive Committee
Article 21
The Executive Committee shall be established at the first regular session of the Assembly after the date on which the number of Contracting States reaches fifteen.
Article 22
| 1. | The Executive Committee shall consist of one-third of the members of the Assembly but of not less than seven or more than fifteen members. Where the number of members of the Assembly is not divisible by three, the one-third referred to shall be calculated on the next higher number which is divisible by three. |
| 2. | When electing the members of the Executive Committee the Assembly shall: |
| (a) | secure an equitable geographical distribution of the seats on the Committee on the basis of an adequate representation of Contracting States particularly exposed to the risks of oil pollution and of Contracting States having large tanker fleets; and |
| (b) | elect one half of the members of the Committee, or in case the total number of members to be elected is uneven, such number of the members as is equivalent to one half of the total number less one, among those Contracting States in the territory of which the largest quantities of oil to be taken into account under Article 10 were received during the preceding calendar year, provided that the number of States eligible under this subparagraph shall be limited as shown in the table below: |
Total number of Members on the Committee |
Number of States eligible under subparagraph (b) |
Number of States to be elected under subparagraph (b) |
7 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
9 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
8 |
5 |
11 |
8 |
5 |
12 |
9 |
6 |
13 |
9 |
6 |
14 |
11 |
7 |
15 |
11 |
7 |
| 3. | A member of the Assembly which was eligible but was not elected under subparagraph (b) shall not be eligible to be elected for any remaining seat on the Executive Committee. |
Article 23
| 1. | Members of the Executive Committee shall hold office until the end of the next regular session of the Assembly. |
| 2. | Except to the extent that may be necessary for complying with the requirements of Article 22, no State Member of the Assembly may serve on the Executive Committee for more than two consecutive terms. |
Article 24
The Executive Committee shall meet at least once every calendar year at thirty days' notice upon convocation by the Director, either on his own initiative or at the request of its Chairman or of at least one-third of its members. It shall meet at such places as may be convenient.
Article 25
At least two-thirds of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for its meetings.
Article 26
| 1. | The functions of the Executive Committee shall be: |
| (a) | to elect its Chairman and adopt its own rules of procedure, except as otherwise provided in this Convention; |
| (b) | to assume and exercise in place of the Assembly the following functions: |
| (i) | making provision for the appointment of such personnel, other than the Director, as may be necessary and determining the terms and conditions of service of such personnel; |
| (ii) | approving settlements of claims against the Fund and taking all other steps envisaged in relation to such claims in Article 18, paragraph 7; |
| (iii) | giving instructions to the Director concerning the administration of the Fund and supervising the proper execution, by him of the Convention, of the decisions of the Assembly and of the Committee's own decisions; and |
| (c) | to perform such other functions as are allocated to it by the Assembly. |
| 2. | The Executive Committee shall each year prepare and publish a report of the activities of the Fund during the previous calendar year. |
Article 27
Members of the Assembly who are not members of the Executive Committee shall have the right to attend its meetings as observers.
Secretariat
Article 28
| 1. | The Secretariat shall comprise the Director and such staff as the administration of the Fund may require. |
| 2. | The Director shall be the legal representative of the Fund. |
Article 29
| 1. | The Director shall be the chief administrative officer of the Fund and shall, subject to the instructions given to him by the Assembly and by the Executive Committee, perform those functions which are assigned to hint by this Convention, the Internal Regulations, the Assembly and the Executive Committee. |
| 2. | The Director shall in particular: |
| (a) | appoint the personnel required for the administration of the Fund; |
| (b) | take all appropriate measures with a view to the proper administration of the Fund's assets; |
| (c) | collect the contributions due under this Convention while observing in particular the provisions of Article 13, paragraph 3; |
| (d) | to the extent necessary to deal with claims against the Fund and carry out the other functions of the Fund, employ the services of legal, financial and other experts; |
| (e) | take all appropriate measures for dealing with claims against the Fund within the limits and on conditions to be laid down in the Internal Regulations, including the final settlement of claims without the prior approval of the Assembly or the Executive Committee where these Regulations so provide; |
| (f) | prepare and submit to the Assembly or to the Executive Committee, as the case may be, the financial statements and budget estimates for each calendar year; |
| (g) | assist the Executive Committee in the preparation of the report referred to in Article 26, paragraph 2; |
| (h) | prepare, collect and circulate the papers, documents, agenda, minutes and information that may be required for the work of the Assembly, the Executive Committee and subsidiary bodies. |
Article 30
In the performance of their duties the Director and the staff and experts appointed by him shall not seek or receive instructions from any Government or from any authority external to the Fund. They shall refrain from any action which might reflect on their position as international officials. Each Contracting State on its part undertakes to respect the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of the Director and the staff and experts appointed by him, and not to seek to influence them in the discharge of their duties.
Finances
Article 31
| 1. | Each Contracting State shall bear the salary, travel and other expenses of its own delegation to the Assembly and of its representatives on the Executive Committee and on subsidiary bodies. |
| 2. | Any other expenses incurred in the operation of the Fund shall be borne by the Fund. |
Voting
Article 32
The following provisions shall apply to voting in the Assembly and the Executive Committee:
| (a) | each member shall have one vote; |
| (b) | except as otherwise provided in Article 33, decisions of the Assembly and the Executive Committee shall be by a majority vote of the members present and voting; |
| (c) | decisions where a three-fourths or a two-thirds majority is required shall be by a three-fourths or two-thirds majority vote, as the case may be, of those present; |
| (d) | for the purpose of this Article the phrase "members present" means "members present at the meeting at the time of the vote", and the phrase "members present and voting" means "members present and casting an affirmative or negative vote". |
Members who abstain from voting shall be considered as not voting.
Article 33
| 1. | The following decisions of the Assembly shall require a three-fourths majority; |
| (a) | an increase in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 6, in the maximum amount of compensation payable by the Fund. |
| (b) | a determination, under Article 5, paragraph 4 relating to the replacement of the Instruments referred to in that paragraph; |
| (c) | the allocation to the Executive Committee of the functions specified in Article 18, paragraph 5. |
| 2. | The following decisions of the Assembly shall require a two-thirds majority: |
| (a) | a decision under Article 13, paragraph 3, not to take or continue action against a contributor; |
| (b) | the appointment of the Director under Article 18, paragraph 4; |
| (c) | the establishment of subsidiary bodies, under Article 18, paragraph 9. |
Article 34
| 1. | The Fund, its assets, income, including contributions and other property shall enjoy in all Contracting States exemption from all direct taxation. |
| 2. | When the Fund makes substantial purchases of movable or immovable property, or has important work carried out which is necessary for the exercise of its official activities and the cost of which includes indirect taxes or sales taxes, the Governments of Member States shall take, whenever possible, appropriate measures for the remission or refund of the amount of such duties and taxes. |
| 3. | No exemption shall be accorded in the case of duties, taxes or dues which merely constitute payment for public utility services. |
| 4. | The Fund shall enjoy exemption from all customs duties, taxes and other related taxes on articles imported or exported by it or on its behalf for its official use. Articles thus imported shall not be transferred either for consideration or gratis on the territory of the country into which they have been imported on conditions agreed by the government of that country. |
| 5. | Persons contributing to the Fund and victims and owners of ships receiving compensation from the Fund shall be subject to the fiscal legislation of the State where they are taxable, no special exemption or other benefit being conferred on them in this respect. |
| 6. | Information relating to individual contributors supplied for the purpose of this Convention shall not be divulged outside the Fund except in so far as it may be strictly necessary to enable the Fund to carry out its functions including the bringing and defending of legal proceedings. |
| 7. | Independently of existing or future regulations concerning currency or transfer, Contracting States shall authorize the transfer and payment of any contribution to the Fund and of any compensation paid by the Fund without any restriction. |