5 Others – Reminder of the Basic Architecture of the Convention
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Maritime Safety Committee - MSC.1/Circular.1500 – Guidance on Drafting of Amendments to the 1974 SOLAS Convention and Related Mandatory Instruments – (5 January 2015) - Annex – Guidance on Drafting of Amendments to the 1974 SOLAS Convention and Related Mandatory Instruments - 5Others – Reminder of the Basic Architecture of the Convention

5 Others – Reminder of the Basic Architecture of the Convention

  5.1 Application provisions

  5.1.1 Application provisions in the Convention are given in three layers:

  • .1 Article II (Application): Article II of the Convention states that:

    • "The present Convention shall apply to ships entitled to fly the flag of States the Governments of which are Contracting Governments."

  • .2 Chapter I, regulation 1 (Application): regulation I/1 of the Convention states that:

    • "(a) Unless expressly provided otherwise, the present regulations apply only to ships engaged on international voyages.

    • (b) The classes of ships to which each chapter applies are more precisely defined, and the extent of the application is shown, in each chapter."

  • .3 Each chapter: Each chapter, in regulation 1 or 2, provides application of that chapter.

  • .4 Each regulation: Each regulation may provide further specific application details of the requirement.

  5.2 Application to new/existing ships

  5.2.1 In drafting a regulatory text, there should be a clear understanding of the nature of modifications to the technical regulations and of the scope of application of newly introduced or additional technical measures, e.g. whether they should be applied to "new ships", or "existing ships" (i.e. ships which are not new ships), or both; as well as the time frame for the amendments introducing the technical measures to come into force. It is essential to have proper understanding of the following:

  • .1 Article VIII (Amendments)

    • "(e) 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 the keel of which are laid or which are at a similar stage of construction, on or after the date on which the amendment enters into force."

  • .2 The Committees' Guidelines

    • In paragraph 4.26, these guidelines also provide some guidance on the application to new/existing ships.

  5.3 Ship type

  5.3.1 For ship types, it is noted that, unless expressly provided otherwise, regulation 1/2 applies. If a regulation/paragraph applies to a particular ship type, this should be clearly stated in the regulation/paragraph. If a ship type, other than that stated in regulation 1/2, or as may be specified in the chapter under amendment, is introduced, then a corresponding definition for that ship type should be specified within that chapter.

  5.4 Status of footnotes

  5.4.1 The Guidelines on methods for making reference to IMO and other instruments in IMO conventions and other mandatory instruments, adopted by resolution A.911(22), reflect that standards and specifications referred to in footnotes, as well as guidelines and recommendations, should not appear in the authentic text of mandatory instruments but may be included in sales publications and updated by the Secretariat as necessary when a new edition of the relevant publication is prepared.

  5.4.2 For future amendments to the Convention or related mandatory instruments, text intended to be a mandatory part of the instrument should not be included in a footnote.

  5.5 Human element

  5.5.1 Reference is made to paragraph 4.27 of the Committees' Guidelines, which states that, recognizing the human factor as an integral part of any effort to enhance maritime safety, maritime security or protection of the marine environment, the subsidiary bodies should consider the involvement of the human factor whenever new requirements are developed and existing requirements are reviewed, taking into account the Human element principles for the work of the MSC, the MEPC and their subsidiary bodies (MSC/Circ.763-MEPC/Circ.313).

Parent topic: Annex – Guidance on Drafting of Amendments to the 1974 SOLAS Convention and Related Mandatory Instruments
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