# Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables

The Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables is a multilateral treaty that was signed in 1884 in order to protect submarine communications cables that had begun to be laid in the 19th century.

## Content

The convention made it a punishable offence to damage submarine communications cables. In addition, all ships were to be regulated to staying a distance of 1 nautical mile (1.9 km) away from cable laying ships when in operation. Any ship that accidentally hooked a cable and sacrificed its fishing nets to avoid breaking it would be compensated for the lost equipment.

## State parties

The convention has been signed, ratified, and acceded to by the following parties. A number of dependent territories ratified the convention or had the convention extended to them.
For states that were not original signatories, the date they accepted the convention is indicated.
| State | Signature | Ratification | Notes |
| Algeria | – | 1976 | |
| Argentina | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Australia | – | 1901 | Upon federation, Australia accepted the ratifications of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia to be applicable to the Commonwealth of Australia. |
| Austria-Hungary | 1884 | 1885 | Austria and Hungary both submitted separate notifications of succession. |
| Austria | – | 1921 | Notification of succession of ratification by Austria-Hungary. |
| Belgium | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Brazil | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Canada | – | 1888 | Extension by the United Kingdom to cover Canada. |
| Cape Colony | – | 1888 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state; South Africa has not declared its succession to the ratification. |
| Colombia | 1884 | – | |
| Costa Rica | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Czechoslovakia | – | 1925 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state; neither the Czech Republic nor Slovakia have declared their succession to the ratification. |
| Free City of Danzig | – | 1926 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state. |
| Denmark | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Dominican Republic | 1884 | 1885 | |
| El Salvador | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Fiji | – | 1971 | |
| France | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Germany | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Greece | 1884 | 1888 | |
| Guatemala | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Hungary | – | 1922 | Notification of succession of the ratification by Austria-Hungary. |
| Iran (Persia) | 1884 | – | |
| Italy | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Japan | – | 1884 | |
| Luxembourg | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Malta | – | 1968 | |
| Natal | – | 1888 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state; South Africa has not declared its succession to the ratification. |
| Netherlands | 1884 | 1885 | Also applied to the colonies of the Dutch East Indies, Territory of Curaçao and Suriname (1892). Presently still applies to the territories making up the Territory of Curaçao: Aruba (1986), Curaçao (2010), Sint Maarten (2010), Caribbean Netherlands (2010) |
| Newfoundland | – | 1888 | Extension by the United Kingdom to cover Newfoundland; this ratification is now subsumed within Canada's. |
| New South Wales | – | 1888 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
| New Zealand | – | 1888 | Extension by the United Kingdom to cover New Zealand. |
| Norway | – | 1905 | Convention previously applied to Norway via the ratification of Sweden-Norway. |
| Ottoman Empire | 1884 | 1885 | This ratification now applied to Turkey. |
| Poland | – | 1934 | |
| Portugal | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Queensland | – | 1886 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
| Romania | 1884 | 1886 | |
| Russia | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Serbia | 1884 | 1885 | This ratification was previously accepted as applicable to it by Yugoslavia and by Serbia and Montenegro. |
| South Australia | – | 1885 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
| Spain | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Sweden-Norway | 1884 | 1885 | This ratification now applies to Sweden. |
| Tasmania | – | 1888 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
| Tunisia | – | 1889 | |
| United Kingdom | 1884 | 1885 | |
| United States | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Uruguay | 1884 | 1885 | |
| Victoria | – | 1885 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
| Western Australia | – | 1888 | This ratification is now subsumed within the Convention's application to Australia. |