• (a) ships which are not seagoing;
• (b) ships not flying the flag of a State Party;
• (c) claims under article 1, paragraph 1(s).

2. A State may, when it is also a State Party to a specified treaty on navigation on inland waterways, declare when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to this Convention, that rules on jurisdiction, recognition and execution of court decisions provided for in such treaties shall prevail over the rules contained in article 7 of this Convention.

SIGNATURE, RATIFICATION, ACCEPTANCE, APPROVAL AND ACCESSION

Article XII

1. This Convention shall be open for signature by any State at the Headquarters of the United Nations, New York, from 1 September 1999 to 31 August 2000 and shall thereafter remain open for accession.

2. States may express their consent to be bound by this Convention by:

• (a) signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval; or
• (b) signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval, followed by ratification, acceptance or approval; or
• (c) accession.

3. Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall by effected by the deposit of an instrument to that effect with the depositary.

STATES WITH MORE THAN ONE SYSTEM OF LAW

Article XIII

1. If a State has two or more territorial units in which different systems of law are applicable in relation to matters dealt with in this Convention, it may at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession declare that this Convention shall extend to all its territorial units or only to one or more of them and may modify this declaration by submitting another declaration at any time.

2. Any such declaration shall be notified to the depositary and shall state expressly the territorial units to which the Convention applies.

3. In relation to a State Party which has two or more systems of law with regard to arrest of ships applicable in different territorial units, references in this Convention to the Court of a State and the law of a State shall be respectively construed as referring to the Court of the relevant territorial unit within that State and the law of the relevant territorial unit of that State.

ENTRY INTO FORCE

Article XIV

1. This Convention shall enter into force six months following the date on which 10 States have expressed their consent to be bound by it.

2. For a State which expresses its consent to be bound by this Convention after the conditions for entry into force thereof have been met, such consent shall take effect three months after the date of expression of such consent.

REVISION AND AMENDMENT

Article XV

1. A conference of States Parties for the purpose of revising or amending this Convention shall be convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the request of one-third of the States Parties.

2. Any consent to be bound by this Convention, expressed after the date of entry into force of an amendment to this Convention, shall be deemed to apply to the Convention, as amended.

DENUNCIATION

Article XVI

1. This Convention may be denounced by any State Party at any time after the date on which this Convention enters into force for that State.

2. Denunciation shall be effected by deposit of an instrument of denunciation with the depositary.

3. A denunciation shall take effect one year, or such longer period as may be specified in the instrument of denunciation, after the receipt of the instrument of denunciation by the depositary.

At the time of its accession, the Kingdom of Spain, in accordance with article 10, paragraph 1(b), reserves the right to exclude the application of this Convention in the case of ships not flying the flag of a State party.

Syrian Arab Republic

The accession of the Syrian Arab Republic to this Convention shall not in any way be construed to mean recognition of Israel and shall not lead to entry with it into any of the transactions regulated by the provisions of the Convention.