Merchant Shipping Act 1995

Carriage of passengers and luggage by sea U.K.

183 Scheduled convention to have force of law. U.K.

(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.

[F1 (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 EC Regulation No. 392/2009 applies; and

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

(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) [F2 , (2) or (2A)] 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 [F3 the subsection], 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.

[F4 (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.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 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)

F2 Words 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)

F3 Words 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)

F4 S. 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)

184 Application of Schedule 6 to carriage within British Islands. U.K.

(1) Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide that Part I of Schedule 6—

(a) shall have the force of law in the United Kingdom, with such modifications as are specified in the Order, in relation to, and to matters connected with, a contract of carriage where the places of departure and destination under the contract are within the British Islands and under the contract there is no intermediate port of call outside those Islands; and

(b) shall, as modified in pursuance of paragraph (a) above, have effect in relation to, and to matters connected with, any such contract subject to the provisions of Part II of that Schedule or to those provisions with such modifications as are specified in the Order.

(2) An Order in Council made by virtue of subsection (1) above may contain such provisions, including provisions modifying section 28 of the M1 Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (which relates to certain contracts as respects which the Convention mentioned in section 183(1) does not have the force of law in the United Kingdom), as the Secretary of State considers appropriate for the purpose of dealing with matters arising in connection with any contract to which the said section 28 applies before the Order is made.

(3) An Order in Council made by virtue of subsection (1) above may provide that the Order or specified provisions of it shall bind the Crown.

(4) A draft of an Order in Council proposed to be made by virtue of subsection (1) above shall not be submitted to Her Majesty in Council unless the draft of the Order in Council has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

(5) In subsection (1) above expressions to which meanings are assigned by article 1 of the Convention set out in Part I of Schedule 6 have those meanings but any reference to a contract of carriage excludes such a contract which is not for reward.

Marginal Citations

M1 1977 c. 50.