Council Decision (EU) 2017/770 of 25 April 2017 on the ratification and accession by Member States, in the interest of the European Union, to the Protocol of 2010 to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, with regard to the aspects related to judicial cooperation in civil matters

What it is

i) ratification by Member States on behalf of the Union to the Protocol of 2010 to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea ii) accession by Member States to the said Protocol with regard to aspects related to judicial cooperation in civil matters. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act. BACKGROUND: the adoption and entry into force of international rules on liability for non-contractual damages arising from the carriage of hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) by sea is crucial in view of the significant share HNS cargo represents in maritime freight transport worldwide. The International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, ('1996 HNS Convention') was aimed at ensuring adequate, prompt and effective compensation of persons who suffer damage caused by spills of hazardous and noxious substances, when carried by sea. PURPOSE: to authorise Member States to ratify the Protocol of 2010 to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, with regard to the aspects related to judicial cooperation in civil matters. BACKGROUND : the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996 ('1996 HNS Convention') aims to ensure adequate, prompt and effective compensation of persons who suffer damage caused by spills of hazardous and noxious substances, when carried by sea. The 1996 HNS Convention has been amended by the Protocol of 2010 . A text consolidating the 1996 HNS Convention and the Protocol of 2010 ('2010 HNS Convention') was prepared by the International Maritime Organization ('IMO') Secretariat and approved by the IMO Legal Committee. The 2010 HNS Convention will take effect once the Protocol of 2010 enters into force in Member States. The 2010 HNS Convention provides for improved protection of the victims of damage in connection with the carriage of HNS by sea , including in the context of environmental damage, in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Union therefore has exclusive competence in relation to Articles 38, 39 and 40 of the 2010 HNS Convention inasmuch as that Convention affects the rules laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters In order for States to become Contracting Parties to the Protocol of 2010, and thereby to the 2010 HNS Convention, they have to submit to the Secretary-General of the IMO, at the same time as their instrument of consent, relevant data on the total quantities of contributing cargo under the 2010 HNS Convention during the preceding calendar year. At its 100th meeting in 2013, the IMO Legal Committee endorsed Guidelines on the reporting of HNS contributing cargo. CONTENT: by…

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