Marine Liability Act — M-0.7 56
enjoyed under this Convention. Chapter VI Final Clauses Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession Article 45 1 This Protocol shall be open for signature at the Headquarters of the Organization from 1 November 2010 to 31 October 2011 and shall thereafter remain open for accession. 2 Subject to the provisions in paragraphs 4 and 5, States may express their consent to be bound by this Protocol 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 be effected by the deposit of an instrument to that effect with the Secretary-General. 4 An expression of consent to be bound by this Protocol shall be accompanied by the submission to the Secretary-General of data on the total quantities of contributing cargo liable for contributions received in that State during the preceding calendar year in respect of the general account and each separate account. 5 An expression of consent which is not accompanied by the data referred to in paragraph 4 shall not be accepted by the Secretary-General. 6 Each State which has expressed its consent to be bound by this Protocol shall annually thereafter on or before 31 May until this Protocol enters into force for that State, submit to the Secretary-General data on the total quantities of contributing cargo liable for contributions received in that State during the preceding calendar year in respect of the general account and each separate account. 7 A State which has expressed its consent to be bound by this Protocol and which has not submitted the data on contributing cargo required under paragraph 6 for any relevant years shall, before the entry into force of the Protocol for that State, be temporarily suspended from being a Contracting State until it has submitted the required data. 8 A State which has expressed its consent to be bound by the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996 shall be deemed to have withdrawn this consent on the date on which it has signed this Protocol or deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession in accordance with paragraph 2. Amendment of limits Article 48 1 Without prejudice to the provisions of article 47, the special procedure in this article shall apply solely for the purposes of amending the limits set out in article 9, paragraph 1, and article 14, paragraph 5, of the Convention, as amended by this Protocol. 2 Upon the request of at least one half, but in no case less than six, of the States Parties, any proposal to amend the limits specified in article 9, paragraph 1, and article 14, paragraph 5, of the Convention, as amended by this Protocol, shall be circulated by the Secretary-General to all Members of the Organization and to all Contracting States. 3 Any amendment proposed and circulated in accordance with paragraph 2 shall be submitted to the Legal Committee of the Organization (the Legal Committee) for consideration at a date at least six months after the date of its circulation. 4 All Contracting States, whether or not Members of the Organization, shall be entitled to participate in the proceedings of the Legal Committee for the consideration and adoption of amendments. 5 Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Contracting States present and voting in the Legal Committee, expanded as provided in paragraph 4, on condition that at least one half of the Contracting States shall be present at the time of voting. 6 When acting on a proposal to amend the limits, the Legal Committee shall take into account the experience of incidents, in particular the amount of damage resulting therefrom, changes in the monetary values, and the effect of the proposed amendment on the cost of insura