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In this connexion Counsel's attention is drawn to the Merchant
Shipping Act 1981 (c. 10) (the 1981 Act) which enabled the UK to
ratify the 1979 Protocol to the International Convention relating
to the Limitation of Liability of Owners of Sea-going Ships 1957
and the 1979 Protocol to the International Convention for the
Unification of certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading 1924,
as amended by the 1968 Protocol thereto (known as the Hague.
Visby
Rules). These seem to be relevant because they amended the relevant
Conventions by substituting SDRS for the gold franc as the unit of
account referred to in those Conventions. The unit of account
referred to in the Paris and Brussels Conventions is also based on
the gold franc which is no longer a satisfactory base because there
is no longer a fixed price for gold.
26. The provisions of section 3 of the 1981 Act relating to
conversion of SDRs into Sterling seem. entirely satisfactory for
the present purposes. Unless Counsel sees reason why référence should
not be made to SDRS in this case, the amount to be substituted for
the present sum of £50m substituted for £43 m. in section 18 (1)
and 4 (b) should be 300m. SDRs.
Reciprocity with other States in respect of the Brussels Convention
27.
There is, of course, no provision about this in the Conventions,
but the effect of the Protocol will be to complicate the potion
which it is desired to achieve. That is, that other States should not
reap the benefit either of the Brussels Convention or the Brussels
Protocol before they become party to t. That is possible as the
Act stands because the United Kingdom chose the second alternative
allowed by Article 3 of the Brussels Convention and pivides simply
the upper limit and then whittles it away.
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