(1) The present Convention
may be amended by any of the procedures specified in the following
paragraphs.
(2) Amendments after
consideration by the Organization:
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(a) any amendment proposed by a Party to the Convention
shall be submitted to the Organization and circulated by its Secretary-General
to all Members of the Organization and all Parties at least six months
prior to its consideration;
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(b) any amendment proposed and circulated as above
shall be submitted to an appropriate body by the Organization for
consideration;
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(c) Parties to the Convention, whether or not
Members of the Organization, shall be entitled to participate in the
proceedings of the appropriate body;
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(d) amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds
majority of only the Parties to the Convention present and voting;
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(e) if adopted in accordance with subparagraph
(d) above, amendments shall be communicated by the Secretary-General
of the Organization to all the Parties to the Convention for acceptance;
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(f) an amendment shall be deemed to have been
accepted in the following circumstances:
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(i) an amendment to an article of the Convention
shall be deemed to have been accepted on the date on which it is accepted
by two thirds of the Parties, the combined merchant fleets of which
constitute not less than 50 per cent of the gross tonnage of the world's
merchant fleet;
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(ii) an amendment to an Annex to the Convention
shall be deemed to have been accepted in accordance with the procedure
specified in subparagraph (f)(iii) unless the appropriate body, at
the time of its adoption, determines that the amendment shall be deemed
to have been accepted on the date on which it is accepted by two thirds
of the Parties, the combined merchant fleets of which constitute not
less than 50 per cent of the gross tonnage of the world's merchant
fleet. Nevertheless, at any time before the entry into force of an
amendment to an Annex to the Convention, a Party may notify the Secretary-General
of the Organization that its express approval will be necessary before
the amendment enters into force for it. The latter shall bring such
notification and the date of its receipt to the notice of Parties;
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(iii) an amendment to an appendix to an Annex
to the Convention shall be deemed to have been accepted at the end
of a period to be determined by the appropriate body at the time of
its adoption, which period shall be not less than ten months, unless
within that period an objection is communicated to the Organization
by not less than one third of the Parties or by the Parties the combined
merchant fleets of which constitute not less than 50 per cent of the
gross tonnage of the world's merchant fleet whichever condition is
fulfilled;
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(iv) an amendment to Protocol
I to the Convention shall be subject to the same procedures
as for the amendments to the Annexes to the Convention, as provided
for in subparagraphs (f)(ii) or (f)(iii) above;
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(v) an amendment to Protocol
II to the Convention shall be subject to the same procedures
as for the amendments to an article of the Convention, as provided
for in subparagraph (f)(i) above;
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(g) the amendment shall enter into force under
the following conditions:
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(i) in the case of an amendment to an article
of the Convention, to Protocol II,
or to Protocol I or to an Annex to
the Convention not under the procedure specified in subparagraph (f)(iii),
the amendment accepted in conformity with the foregoing provisions
shall enter into force six months after the date of its acceptance
with respect to the Parties which have declared that they have accepted
it;
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(ii) in the case of an amendment to Protocol I, to an appendix to an Annex or
to an Annex to the Convention under the procedure specified in subparagraph
(f)(iii), the amendment deemed to have been accepted in accordance
with the foregoing conditions shall enter into force six months after
its acceptance for all the Parties with the exception of those which,
before that date, have made a declaration that they do not accept
it or a declaration under subparagraph (f)(ii), that their express
approval is necessary.
(3) Amendment by a Conference:
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(a) Upon the request of a Party, concurred in
by at least one third of the Parties, the Organization shall convene
a Conference of Parties to the Convention to consider amendments to
the present Convention.
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(b) Every amendment adopted by such a Conference
by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting of the Parties
shall be communicated by the Secretary-General of the Organization
to all Contracting Parties for their acceptance.
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(c) Unless the Conference decides otherwise, the
amendment shall be deemed to have been accepted and to have entered
into force in accordance with the procedures specified for that purpose
in paragraph (2)(f) and (g) above.
(4)
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(a) In the case of an amendment to an Optional
Annex, a reference in the present article to a "Party to the Convention"
shall be deemed to mean a reference to a Party bound by that Annex.
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(b) Any Party which has declined to accept an
amendment to an Annex shall be treated as a non-Party only for the
purpose of application of that amendment.
(5) The adoption and
entry into force of a new annex shall be subject to the same procedures
as for the adoption and entry into force of an amendment to an article
of the Convention.
(6) Unless expressly
provided otherwise, any amendment to the present Convention made under
this article, which relates to the structure of a ship, shall apply
only to ships for which the building contract is placed, or in the
absence of a building contract, the keel of which is laid, on or after
the date on which the amendment comes into force.
(7) Any amendment to
a Protocol or to an Annex shall relate to the substance of that Protocol
or Annex and shall be consistent with the articles of the present
Convention.
(8) The Secretary-General
of the Organization shall inform all Parties of any amendments which
enter into force under the present article, together with the date
on which each such amendment enters into force.
(9) Any declaration of
acceptance or of objection to an amendment under the present article
shall be notified in writing to the Secretary-General of the Organization.
The latter shall bring such notification and the date of its receipt
to the notice of the Parties to the Convention.