Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW
Simon Baughen *
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
251. Cape Town Agreement 2012
Croatia acceded to the Agreement on 16 February 2021 and Peru acceded on 26 February, making it the 16th country to become a Contracting State to the Agreement. To enter into force, at least 22 states, with an aggregate 3,600 fishing vessels meeting the length requirements operating on the high seas, must express their consent to be bound by it. It will enter into force 12 months after these conditions have been met.
Once in force, the Agreement will bring in mandatory international safety requirements for fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over, including provisions addressing stability and associated seaworthiness, machinery and electrical installations, life-saving appliances, communications equipment and fire protection, as well as fishing vessel construction.
252. Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005: UK accession
The UK Government made a fresh declaration agreeing to be bound by the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005 in its own right from the end of the transition period at 11pm, UK time, on 31 December 2020. It states: “With the intention of ensuring continuity of application of the 2005 Hague Convention, the United Kingdom has submitted the Instrument of Accession in accordance with Article 27(4) of the 2005 Hague Convention. Whilst acknowledging that the Instrument of Accession takes effect at 00:00 CET on 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom considers that the 2005 Hague Convention entered into force for the United Kingdom on 1 October 2015 and that the United Kingdom is a Contracting State without interruption from that date.”
It has also made a reservation under Art.21 of the Convention that it will not apply the Convention to insurance contracts except as stated below.
- (a) where the contract is a reinsurance contract;
- (b) where the choice of court agreement is entered into after the dispute has arisen;
- (c) where, without prejudice to Art.1(2) of the Convention, the choice of court agreement is concluded between a policyholder and an insurer, both of whom are, at the time of the conclusion of the contract of insurance, domiciled or habitually resident in the same Contracting State, and that agreement has the effect of conferring jurisdiction
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