|
Welcome Guest
|
|
You are using Guest Account
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TITLE I - VESSELS CHAPTER I - Definition of vessels For the purpose of the present law, all sea craft of any type and tonnage capable of nndertaking maritime navigation, whether or not the navigation is undertaken for profit-making purposes, shall be considered as vessels. All accessory equipment requisite for the operation of the vessel is considered part of the vessel herself. Vessels are movable properties governed by the provisions of common law, except as provided by the present law. CHAPTER II - Nationality and individualisation of vessels Article 2 (as modified by the Law of21/12/1954, (Law W 61/64 of3 0/1 2/1 964, (Law N¡ã 11/66 of 14/2/1966 (and Law W 280 of 15/12/1993 ) Vessels irrespective of their tonnage, when registered in a Lebanese port and owned at least one half by Lebanese citizens or by Lebanese joint-stock companies whose board of directors is composed for its greater part of Lebanese citizens and whose chairman of the board of directors is Lebanese, are deemed to be of Lebanese nationality. Are equally considered Lebanese, notwithstanding their owner's nationality, all ocean-going vessels of over five hundred net registered tons, registered in a Lebanese port and fit to sail on the high seas, provided that their registration is subject to prior authorisation by ministerial order from the Minister of Public Works. a - Are equally Lebanese, irrespective of their tonnage, vessels registered in a Lebanese port and owned at least one half by : - A partnership company whose all partners arc Lebanese. - A limited partnership company whose all financed partners are Lebanese. - A limited liability company whose majority of partners, including the manager, are Lebanese and holder of the greater part of shares. b - The Treasury shall levy a percentage of twenty per cent (20%) on all gross receipts collected by pilotage stations in the ports of Beirut and Tripoli. These provisions shall also apply to all pilotage stations and authorised pilots in all ports and terminals. c - Previous taxes inconsistent with these taxes. as well as all discounts and rebates granted previously to Lebanese vessels, shall be abrogated. Article 3 The following are also deemed to be Lebanese vessels: 1 - Derelicts towed in by vessels flying the Lebanese flag. 2 - Those confiscated for infringement of Lebanese laws. All vessels designated in the present article and in the preceding one, must fly a Lebanese flag during a voyage, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2 of article 16. Article 4 Coastwise fishing and trading between Lebanese ports and towage into and out of these ports arc reserved to Lebanese vessels. Article 5 Lebanese vessels must bear the following markings in Arabic and Latin characters : a - Steam or engine-powered, coasting and ocean-going vessels: On each side of the blow: name of the vessel, At the stern: name of the vessel and port of registry. b - Sailing vessels and coasters: On each side oflhe bow : the characteristic letters of the vessel's port of registry followed by the registration number. At the stern: vessel's name and port of registry. c - Fishing vessels: On each side of the bow : the characteristic letters of the port of registry, followed by the registration number. d - Cross-harbour vessels and boats and floating gear (lighters, dredgers, pontoons and barges ... ) : Same distinguishing markings as fishing-vessels of equal tonnage. e - Cross-harbour vessels and boats of public services and concessionaire companies: At the bow and the stern or at the bow onlv : the vessel's name. ~ In the engine-room, the characteristic letters of the port of registry, followed by the registration number on the outside. f - Leisure vessels Leisure vessels engaged on pleasure cruising are authorised not to show their registration number on the outside. This number must, however, be engraven in the engine-room. Article 6 Shipowners are required to have an official control carried out on the actual payload (net tonnage) as well as the full tonnage below deck including that of all superstructures (gross tonnage). Measurement of the vessels' capacity, the inventory of their ancillary equipment and their registry shall be made by the Port Authority which shall issue a certificate at the expense of the owner, builder or agent who shall furnish the means of undertaking such operations. Article 7 TI,e net tonnage shall be engraven on the rear face of the midship beam or the binding-strake of the larger hatch in Arabic and Latin figures. CHAPTER 3 - Registry of vessels and entry of dues Article 8 (as modified by Law N"280 of 15/12/1993) There shall be kept a register book in each of the ports of Tyre, Sidon, Beirut and Tripoli. Each district sheet in this register shall be numbered and initialled. TI,e sheet number shall be the registration number of the vessel to which the sheet shall exclusively belong. All Lebanese vessels must appear therein. The determination of the port of registry is as follows: Tyre : all vessels attached to ports comprised between the Palestinian border and Nahr-el-Littani's mouth. Sidon : all vessels attached to the area falling between Nahr-el-Littani's and Nahr-el-Darnour's mouths. Beirut : all vessels attached to ports comprised between Ras-El-Barbara and Nahr-El-Damour's mouth. Tripoli : all vessels attached to ports comprised between Ras-El-Barbara and the northern border of Lebanon. The distinguishing letters of these ports are follows: Tyre (Sr), Sidon (Sa), Beirut (B), Tripoli (T). A vessel is said to belong to a port whenever its owner has elected domicile in such port. Vessels belonging to public services (customs, police, quarantine, pilotage etc .. ) shall be registered in the port where they are generally stationed The ports of Checca, Byblos, Jounieh shall be considered as vessel registration ports, and the expanse of each of these ports as well as the letters referring thereto shall be determined by a ministerial order issued by the Minister of Transport. Article 9 It is prohibited to erase, conceal, cover in any way, the statutory letters, figures or markings. Any breach of these provisions shall render the owner and master of the vessel liable to imprisonment from two to ten days and to a fine of five to one hundred pounds or either penalty . The registry offalse markings shall expose the owner and master to the penalties prescribed in article 19 of the present law (paragraph 2). Article 10 Vessels owned by aliens domiciled in Lebanon may be registered in Lebanon by permission from the Ministry of Public Works in case these vessels are intended for yachting or for sailing within a Lebanese port, to the exclusion of other form of navigation. Such permission may be withdrawn in case of infringement of the regulations or in case the vessel has changed hands. It shall be forcibly withdrawn if it is revealed that the vessel has been used for purpose other than the one for which it was registered. Foreign vessels registered in a Lebanese port shall fly the flag of the owner's nationality, or, in case there are several owners, the flag of the nationality of one of them. Article 11 The register book must state on the respective sheet of each vessel: 1 - The vessel's name, if several of them bear the same name, each name followed by a serial number; 2 - The registration number followed by the distinguishing letters of the port of registry ; 3 - The place and date of its construction; 4 - Its type (sailing-ship, steamer, etc .. ) 5 - Its size (length, width, depth, belly) ; 6 - Its tonnage, gross and net (in tons burden) ; 7 - The nature and power of engines and propelling machinery ; 8 - The names, nationality and domicile of the owners indicating the share of each of them; 9 - The names, nationality, domicile of the ship's manager, 10 - The charges in the vessel, port, owners, etc .. ; 11 - TI,e causes of its striking out, disappearance, destruction or sale; 12 - The mortgages and seizures with which it may be cumbered. Article 12 The registry shall take place at one of the ports mentioned in Article 8, following owner's declaration on oath before the harbour-master and four witnesses. The form of the oath shall be as follows: "I do swear that I own in whole or in part (insert share) the vessel for the registration of which I am applying as I myself (or with my joint-owners) have caused it to be built at my cost (or at our cost or for having acquired it from ... ) as per deed dated ... When the vessel is owned by a company, it shall be the concern of the representative of such company to make the declaration and take the oath referred to above. In support of the declaration of ownership, it is imperative to produce all documents (deed of purchase, invoices, etc .. ) or to undertake to furnish the harbour¬master with any witnesses (ship-builders, labourers etc .. ), vouchers or evidence whose production or hearing is necessary to establish this title. A statement of this operation shall be drawn and signed by the informant, the witnesses, and the harbour-master. Article 13 A statement drawn up in compliance with the preceding article shall be immediately posted on the Board intended for this purpose in the offices of the port of registry. A copy of the said atement certified true to the original by the harbour-master, shall then be addressed to the authorities in other ports for posting on their own board as soon as it is received by them. This statement shall contain the references provided for in Article II above. The posting shall be certified in each port by means of an official report signed by the harbour-master. Article 14 Within a period of three months from the last posting provided for in the preceding Article, if no claim or opposition has been lodged, registry may not be challenged; after such date, however, any person whose rights have been prejudiced by the registry may bring action for damages against the party that made the declaration. Article 15 Claims and oppositions lodged within this time-lintit of three months, shall be acknowledged by the harbour¬master of the port of registry who, on expiry of the time¬limit, shall transmit them to the Registrar's office of the Court of First Instance of the port of registry. Within fifteen days of receipt the party who made the declaration shall have fifteen days to answer, after which period the president of the Court shall summon in the same way all the parties concerned to a public meeting in order to adjudicate on the merits of the above claims and oppositions. No opposition is allowed to the judgment delivered in absentia by the Court. Appeal being the only channel available, whatever the disputed interest, it must be exercised within fifteen days from the day the judgement has been served ; all other regulations governing appeal, as provided by Title VI of the Code of Civil Procedure, being maintained. The civil application shall be entertained only in cases provided for by paragraph I, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of article 537 of the Code of Procedure. The procedure of civil application is that of common law. Article 16 (as modified by the Law of 2111211954) Registry of vessels is compulsory within the fifteen days which follow their construction or acquisition and, should they be constructed or bought abroad, within the fifteen days which follow their entry into Lebanese waters. Registration formalities are in no way affected by the presence ofthe vessel in one of the Lebanese ports. However, in case of acquisition or construction of a vessel abroad, such vessel, pending its registry, may sail under a Lebanese flag following authorisation from the Lebanese ntission in the place of purchase or construction, upon a declaration of acquisition of the ship, supported by documentary evidence. Should a vessel be acquired in Lebanon from an owner domiciled in a port other than that of the acquirer, the latter shall apply to the port of registry of the vessel for a transfer of registry to the port of his own donticile. This transfer shall be effected after entry of the change of ownership on the sheet of the register, as will be explained hereinafter. The transfer shall be effected by forwarding to the new port of registry a copy of the sheet accompanied by the declaration of the harbour-master of the preceding port stating that the transfer has become necessary as a result of change of domicile. A new sheet shall be opened for the vessel in the register book of the new home port. This sheet shall bear a number corresponding to its place in the register and reproduce the statements appearing on the sheet transmitted. The sheet of this vessel in the register book of the preceding port shall be cancelled. Any owner or joint-owner of a Lebanese vessel who has failed to comply with the registration formality in the manner required in the preceding article shall be liable, unless he has made good a case of force majeure, to imprisonment from two to ten days and to a fine from 25 to 500 Lebanese pounds or to only one of the two penalties. Article 17 Should the vessel be sold to a foreign national or taken by the enemy or burnt or lost in any other manner, the owner in whose name the vessel was registered sball be required to return the copy of the sheet of the said vessel to the office of the port of registry for cancellation simultaneously with the original sheet of the register book relating to this vessel. This copy is to be handed over within a time-lintit of fifteen days should the loss or sale occur in Lebanese waters, and within a time-lintit of three months should the sale or loss have occurred abroad. Any breach of these prescriptions shall render the owner and the master liable to imprisomnent from 2 to 10 days and to a fine of 25 to 500 Lebanese pounds or to only one of the two penalties. Such breach may, additionally, lead to the seizure of the vessel whenever practicable. Article 18 Any unregistered Lebanese vessel sailing otherwise than from the port where it was constructed or purchased to the port of registry shall be stopped in the first Lebanese port of call, or, if it happens to be met at sea, shall be taken to the nearest Lebanese port and seized by the harbour-master who shall make an official report. This report shall be transntitted to the appropriate courts with copy to the Minister of Public Works. Article 19 If it is established that the master intended to evade the registration formalities with a felonious or criminal objective, the Court shall order the forfeiture and sale of the seized vessel. The sale proceeds shall go to the office of the port where the vessel should have been registered. A copy of the relative verdict shall be submitted to the Minister of Public Works. In addition, the master shall be liable to imprisonment from three months to two years and to a fine of 25 to 500 Lebanese pounds. If it is proved that there was mere neglect or omission, both the master and the owner of the vessel shall be liable to a fine of 25 to 300 Lebanese pounds. Article 20 Any agreements between living people and any voluntary deeds gratuitous or for a consideration, any judgements in fine and, in general, any action aiming at constituting, transmitting, declaring, modifying or cancelling out a title of property in a registered vessel take effect, even between the parties themselves, only from the date of their recording in the register. The right to record titles of property of vessels is acquired as a result of conventions, deeds, judgments or actions referred to in the preceding paragraph. The obligation to give carries with it that of transferring the vessel in the register book. Should one of the parties wilfully fail to execute his engagements, the transfer can be ordered by Court, without prejudice to the injured party's right to press for damages, especially in case of transfer of the vessel to a third party. Article 21 Whoever acquires a right in a registered vessel, justifying it on the entries and statements on the register book, shall be supported in his acquisition. Such entries however cannot serve as grounds for a plea by third parties who knew, before the acquisition, the defects or causes of cancellation or eviction. In all cases, the prejudiced party shall retain a right of action for damages against the person who caused the prejudice. Article 22 Any person whose rights have been prejudiced by an entry, alteration or cancellation effected without legal ground, shall be entitled to obtain the annulment or adjustment thereof; such annulment or adjustment if not done with the parties' consent, must be carried out by Court decision. Simple mistakes in writing, such as differences between the wording of the sheet in the register book and the statement shown on the journal or on the title deeds and documents produced in support of the entry may, however, be corrected as a matter of courset bv the harbour-master. ' In case of opposition by one of the parties, the harbour-master shall require the local Justice of the Peace to make the rectification, after stating on the sheet the petition for rectification and the opposition. The annulment or rectification can never be opposed to bona fide third parties who recorded their rights prior to the annulment, rectification or recording of the opposition. Article 23 (as modified by the Law of2I/12/1954) The recording shall be made upon the declaration of the shipowner or the holder of the transferred title to the said vessel. This declaration shall be accompanied by the acceptance of the beneficiary. The declaration and acceptance shall either be received by the harbour-master of the port of registry who shall make a report thereon, or shall appear in notarial deed to be served on the harbour-master. Registration shall be final only when approved by the competent authorities in the Ministry of Public Works. They shall include: 1 - Indication of the actual sheet number of the ship to be affected by the entry. 2 - The identity of the owner or holder of the transferred title as well as that of the beneficiary of the entrv. 3 - Indication of the nature of title to be recorded. 4 - Indication, if need be, of the method and price of purchase. 5 - Indication, if need be, of the special provisions contained in the agreement (amount of the debt, interest rate, commission, kind of money, method of anticipated refund), restrictions on the right to dispose or statements the recording of which is required at the same time as that of the principal title. No declaration is, however, necessary when the applicant bases his title on the law or on a judgment in fine or on a deed entitling him to recording as a matter of right. Article 24 The harbour-master, or, in case of a notarial deed, the notary, shall verify on his responsibility, the identity and title of the applicants. Mention of this verification shall be made in the report or deed. For deeds concluded abroad, the identity of the parties is taken as verified if the signatures affixed at the bottom of the documents produced have been duly authenticated and bear the references and confirmation prescribed by the legislation in force under penalty of nullity. Article 25 If the parties cannot sign or read, full understanding and acknowledgement of the contents of the report shall take place before the harbour-master or the notary, as the case may be, in the presence of two competent witnesses able to sign. The harbour-master or the notary shall certify the acknowledgement of the contents of the report or deed and shall sign it together with the witnesses. If the parties! names, status, or domicile are not known to the harbour-master or the notary, they must be attested by two witnesses known to him who fulfill the conditions stated above. In all cases, the harbour master or notary shall certify at the bottom of the declaration that the witnesses are known to him. Article 26 The harbour-master shall keep a daily register in which he shall enter the declarations and documents as received serially. He shall give the applicant a receipt showing the number of the daily register in which his declaration is recorded as well as the date and entry number shown in the said register. Priority is determined according to the recording dale in this register. Should applications relating to the same vessel be presented on the same day, the hour at which each is deposited shall determine the priority of the titles on the said ship. When several applications relating to the same vessel are presented at the same time, a mention to this effect shall be made in the daily register and the titles recorded concurrently. Article 27 Whosoever claims a title to a registered vessel may require a prenotation to this effect, for the provisional safeguard of his title. The request for a prenotation must always be accompanied by an order from the president of the Court of first instance of the port registry of the vessel. The priority order of the subsequent recording of the titles shall be determined by the date of prenotation. The effect of the prenotation shall cease on the expiry of a time-limit of one month. It shall be cancelled as of right ifwithin this period no action has been brought and duly entered in the register. Article 28 The registration entries or prenotations entered in the register may be cancelled by virtue of any deed or judgement passed in fine, establishing for the purpose of all parties interested on acconnt of a right duly made public, the non-existence or extinction of such right to which entries or prenotations are related. Article 29 The provisions of articles 21 to 27 relating to registration entries shall apply to cancellation. The report or deed of cancellation, however, must contain the following statements: 1 - Indication of the respective sheet of vessel to be affected by the cancellation. 2 - The registration entry or prenotation. 3 - The cause of cancellation or the instnunent thereof. Article 30 The cancellation shall be noted on the sheet for the vessel; it shall be dated and signed, nnder pain of nullity, by the master. The latter's signature shall be supported by the official seal of the port of registry. Mention must be made of the motives justifying the cancellation, on the said sheet. Article 31 Any seizure put on a vessel as well as any judgment settling a dispute concerning the vessel shall be served by the Executive Office on the harbour-master of the vessel's port of registry for the purpose of being recorded on such vessel's sheet. Real actions which are brought against a vessel are compulsorily entered in the register book, after the harbour-master of the port of registration has been notified of the petition instituting the proceedings, such notification to be duly signed by the clerk of the Court where the petition has been filed. It shall be signed at the instance of the party concerned. Article 32 When the recording of a real title to a vessel, created between living persons, is applied for after the death of the rightful claimant, it may be carried out upon production of either a document granting the right to such recording or an application signed by the rightful claimant, provided, in both cases, that the latter's signature is legalised. When the signature is not legalised, in case of dispute by the heirs, the recording shall be ordered by the Court. Article 33 Recording of real rights to a vessel resulting from the opening of a succession, can, when such succession is intestate, be effected only if the applicants produce in support, in addition to the proof of the death of their intestate, a certificate issued by the competent authority attesting their identity and their hereditary rights. In case of a succession by will and testament, the applicant shall produce either the will and testament or the decision of a competent judicial authority to authorise the transfer of possession. Article 34 All entries in the register shall bear the signature of the harbour-master, failing which they shall be null and void. It shall also bear the seal of the port of registration. Article 35 Only the owner is entitled to have a full copy of the vessel's sheet. This copy shall bear his name and shall be authenticated by the harbour-master who will sign it and set therennto the seal of the port of registry. To other interested parties, such as mortgagees, there shall be given only a certificate of entry of their claims. Article 36 Whenever an entry is made on the sheet, it shall be made simultaneously on the copy If the entry relates to a claim the constitution of which requires the consent of the registered owner, such copy must be produced, failing which the harbour -rnaster shall refuse the entry. In all other cases, the harbour master shall record the entry and communicate it to the registered owner. No other entry shall be recorded with the said registered owner's consent, before the original sheet has been proved to tally with the deed of property. Whenever requested to do so, the harbour-master shall certify on the copy that it is true to the original sheet. Article 37 When the harbour-master establishes a new sheet, he cancels the preceding one by affixing a cancellation imprint and the harbour stamp on all its pages. He likewise cancels the copy and keeps it in his archives. Article 38 The harbour-master is required to issue to any interested party on request, a general or particular statement of the statements recorded in the register and copies or extracts of documents. Article 39 In case of loss or deterioration of a deed of property or of a registration certificate, there shall be proceeded with the replacement of the one or the other document by the harbour-master of the port of registry in the same manner as the head of the land-office does bv virtue of articles 92 to 94 of Decree N¡ã 188 of IS March 1926 pertaining to the replacement of a deed of property or a registration certificate lost. The rules prescribed by the said articles shall apply to both. Article 40 The harbour-master of the port of registry shall be personally responsible for any prejudice resulting from: 1 - Ontission, on the registers, of an entry, prenotation or regular cancellation required: 2 - Omission on the certificates or extracts of the register book issued and signed by him, of one or more entries, prenotations or cancellations in the register: 3 - Irregularities and nullities of entries, prenotations or cancellations made in the register: 4 - Omissions or irregularities in declarations and reports received by him ; It shall be so, without prejudice to the provisions of the law governing the responsibility of Public officers. In all above-mentioned cases, the State shall legally answer for insolvency of its officers. CHAPTER IV - Vessel's papers Article 41 Every vessel registered in a Lebanese port shall be properly documented as follows: A - Seagoing vessels: coasters 1 - Maritime title deed (certificate of registry) issued by the office of the port of registry in the place of donticile oftlie vessel's owner. 2 - Muster Roll giving an up-to-date list of vessel's crew according to categories and visaed in the last port of call by the harbour-master, or abroad by the Lebanese Consul or, in his absence, by the authority representing him. 3 - Navigation permit of the current year and, in case of a passenger vessel, a security certificate. 4 - For every member of the crew, master or captain included, seaman permit for the current year. 5 - Sailing permit issued by the harbour-master of the port. 6 - Manifest of the cargo visaed by the customs authorities of the last port of call. 7 - BiII of health, visaed by the Quarantine Office of the last port of call. 8 - Receipts for port and light dues issued by the competent authorities of the last port of call. B - Fishing vessels 1 - Maritime title deed (Certificate of Registry) 2 - Muster roll. 3 - Navigation permit of the current year. 4 - Fishing permit for the current year issued by the vessel's port of registry. 5 - For every member of the crew, fishing seaman permit for the current year. C - Pleasure cruising vessels 1 - Maritime title deeds (Certificate of Registry). 2 - Muster roll (only if seamen are taken on board). 3 - Navigatiou permit for the current year. Article 42 These papers shall be produced upon any request made by the authorities in charge of the supervision of navigation and fishing. Article 43 Any captain or master of a seagoing or coasting vessel registered in Lebanese port, is required within the twenty-four hours which follow his arrival in the port, to hand over his papers to the port office, failing which he shall be liable to a fine from twenty-five to five hundred pounds for every twenty-four hours delay. The vessel's papers shall be returned to the master or captain upon the departure of the vessel after the completion of the port customs formalities has been ascertained. The provisions of the present article shall also apply to pleasure cruising and fishing vessels of a net twenty-five tons and over. Article 44 Any vessel registered in a Lebanese port and not carrying the regular papers mentioned above, shall be taken to the nearest Lebanese port and seized by the harbour-master or officer who shall draw up a report. The report shall be transmitted to the competent Court. Article 45 If it is proved that the captain or master was intending to elude, with a felonious or criminal object, the present law's prescriptions, the master or captain shall be liable to imprisonment of between 3 months and 2 years and to a fine from 20 to 200 Lebanese pounds. The Court shall order the forfeiture and sale of the ship seized. The sale proceeds shall be collected bY the port officer who did the seizure. Article 46 If it is proved that there has been mere neglect or omission, the vessel's captain or master shall be liable to imprisonment of between 2 and 10 days and to fine from 5 to 100 pounds or to either penalty. Any vessel carrying false papers or papers belonging to another vessel shall be seized and sold in accordance with the provisions of article 45 above and the master or captain shall be liable to the penalties provided under the same article. Article 47 Passengers' identity papers showing police embarkation visa shall be assimilated to the vessel's papers for the purpose of the penalties provided for against the captain or master in article 45 above. TITLE II - VESSEL'S PRIORITIES, MORTGAGES AND SEIZURES CHAPTER I - Priority Article 48 Only the undermentioned claims shall have priority, and this in the following order: 1 - Legal costs and charges incurred in the common interest of the creditors for price registration ; tonnage, light and port dues and other similar dues and taxes; pilotage, custody and protection charges from the vessel's arrival into port. 2 - Claims arising from contracts of employment of the master, crew and other persons servicing the vessel. 3 - Charges for salvage and assistance and the vessel's contribution to general average. 4 - Claims resulting from collision and other accidents at sea as well as liability for damage caused to harbours, docks and waterways, claims for corporal injuries of passengers and crew, claims for loss and damages to cargoes and luggage. 5 - Claims arising from contracts signed or operations effected by the master outside the port of registry by virtue of his legal powers, for the actual maintenance requirements of the vessel or the continuance of the voyage irrespective of whether the master is contemporaneous owner of the vessel and if the debt is his or that of the chandlers, repairers, lenders or other contracting parties. 6 - Damages due to charterers. 7 - Insurance premiums for policies covering the hull, fittings and gear of a vessel due for the last voyage covered by the policy when insurance is taken out by voyage, or the last insured period, when insurance is subscribed for time, but, in both cases up to a maximum period of one year. Article 49 The classification of priority claims must be made by the voyage. Priority claims relating to the last voyage irrespective of their rank shall be satisfied in preference to those of the preceding voyages. However, claims resulting from one group contract of employment of crew shall always be considered as a claim pertaining to the last voyage, even if they referred to a previous voyage. Article 50 Claims relating to one and the same voyage shall be classified in the order established in article 48. Those which relate to the same voyage and to the same rank shall be concurrent. All charges for assistance, ship-chandling and repairs shall be classified in reverse order to the time of their occurrence. Article 51 Claims relating to one and the same incident at sea are deemed to have occurred at the same time. Article 52 Priorities established in the preceding articles shall apply as soon as the claim is created; they shall not be subject to any special condition of proof. Article 53 Mortgages recorded on a vessel shall be classified in the order of the dates of their recording coming immediately afier the priority creditors mentioned in Nos. 1 to 5 inclusive, of article 48. Article 54 Priority rights shall be exercised on the vessel, on freight earnings in the course of the voyage in respect of which the priority claim was created and on the vessel's accessories, as well as on the freight acquired from the very outset of the voyage. However, the priority provided for under article 48 (2nd) is applicable to the total freight earned on all voyages effected during the same employment contract. Article 55 In the exercise of poonty rights on the vessel's accessories and freight the following are accounted as stemming from tire vessel and freight: 1 - Indemnities due to owners for material damage suffered by the vessel and left uruepaired, or for loss of freight. 2 - Indemnities due to owners for general average in as far as what may concern either material damage suffered by the ship and repaired, or loss offreight. 3 - Remuneration due to owners for help given or salvage effected up to the end of the voyage, after deduction of the sums allocated to the master and other service personnel. Article 56 The passage money, and eventually the lump sum fixed in the limitation of ship-owner's liability, are assimilated to freight. In the exercise of priority rights, indemnities due to the owner under insurance policies, premiums, and subsidies, shall not be considered as ship's accessories or freight. Article 57 All priority rights mentioned in article 48 shall lapse after one year's prescription, with the exception of the priority right which guarantees debts for ship-chandling provided for under paragraph 5 which shall lapse after six months prescription. Prescription period shall run in the case of priority rights guaranteeing rewards for help and salvage, from the day when the operation ended; in the case of priority rights guaranteeing indemnities for collision and other accidents, and for corporal injuries, from the day when the damage was caused; in the case of priority rights for loss or damage to cargo or luggage, from the day when the cargo or luggage was delivered or from the date on which delivery was due; for repairs and ship-chandling or other cases provided for under NO.2 of article 48, from the day when the debt was created. In all other cases, the delay shall run from the day when the debt became due. The debts provided for under N¡ã 2 of article 48 due to persons employed on board, shall be considered due only at the end of the voyage despite the right of such persons to ask for advances during the voyage. The period fixed above shall not start to run as long as the encumbered ship has not been seized in Lebanese territorial waters, in the event the creditor is domiciled or has his head office in Lebanon; the limitation period, however, cannot exceed three years from the day when the debt was created. Article 58 Irrespective of the general rules governing the extinction of contracts, priority rights shall also be extinguished in the following cases: By the sale in Court made in the form prescribed by the present law. By any voluntary alienation of the vessel subject to the following conditions. The transfer must take place in conformity with the provisions of articles 21, 24 to 27, 33 to 35 and 37 of the present law. In addition, such change must be made public through insertion in the Official Gazette of the Lebanese Republic and in two daily newspapers published in the vessel's port of registry, as well as a poster placed at the door of the registration office, the insertion and poster showing compulsorily the name and domicile of the acquirer. No opposition must have been notified by the creditor to the acquirer during the month the publication was made. Even after this time-limit, creditor's priority right shall remain on the selling price as long as such price has not been paid provided that before payment the creditor revealed himself to the acquired by an act of opposition. The act of opposition provided for in the preceding paragraph must be served on the creditor through the notary public. Article 59 Creditors enjoying priority rights may have their rights recorded for the purpose of being advised of the sale of the vessel subject to conditions provided for under article 48 of the present law. Such recording has no bearing on the rank of priority. It shall be made on the vessel's sheet of the register book. Article 60 The preceding provisions shall apply to a ship operated by a carrier who docs not own the ship or by a principal charterer, except in the event the owner had to surrender it through an illegal act or when the creditor is not of good faith. CHAPTER II - Mortgages Article 61 Vessels of two or more gross tons registered may be mortgaged, but only as a result of the agreement of the parties. Article 62 The contract creating a maritime mortgage must be made in writing. It may be made by private deed. A mortgage title may be made to order. In this case, its negotiation through endorsement shall convey the right to transfer the mortgage right. Article 63 Mortgage on vessels may only be established by the owner or his representative duly empowered thereto. If the vessel has several joint owners, she may be mortgaged by the carrier for the requirements of carriage or navigation with the authorisation of the majority of owners, provided such majority does not reach the three-quarters of the interests involved. If the majority does not reach the three-quarters, the joint-owners may apply to Court for a decision in the best interests of the joint¬owners. Should one of the joint-owners wish to mortgage his undivided share in the vessel, he may do so only with the authorisation of the majority of the owners, provided such majority represents half the interests. Article 64 The mortgage must be recorded in the register book as stipulated in article 21 and following articles of the present law. The recording of the mortgage shall entitle, as does the capital, to two years' interests in addition to the interests of the year during which the contract was concluded. Article 65 Unless otherwise agreed, the mortgage on a vessel or on a share therein includes the whole vessel's hull, rigging, apparatus, machinery and other accessories as well as their wreck. It does not extend to freight, premiums and government subsidies. It extends to the indemnity due for damage unless the indemnity is used for the repairs and maintenance of the ship. It does not apply to insurance indemnity. However, the deed may, by express clause, attribute it to mortgages but such a clause is opposed to the insurers only if the latter had accepted it or it had been conununicated to them. Article 66 A vessel under building may be mortgaged. In this case, the mortgage must be preceded by a declaration to the harbour-master of the port in whose district the vessel is being built. This declaration shall show the length of the vessel's keel and, approximately, her other dimensions as well as her presumed tonnage. It shall mention the place where the vessel is docked. Article 67 If the mortgage deed is made to order, the transfer shall take place merely by endorsing the registration certificate. Article 68 Creditors holding registered mortgage on a vessel or on a portion of a vessel, shall follow it into whatever hands the vessel may pass to be disposed of or paid according to the order of their priority. If a portion only of the vessel is encumbered with the mortgage, the creditor shall only be entitled to seize and call for sale of the said portion. However, if more than half the vessel is mortgaged, the creditor may, after seizure, have her sold in her entirety provided he calls the joint-owners to be present at the sale. If at auction the vessel is hammered down to a joint¬owner or, after distribution, has fallen into his share, even if this owner is not the joint-owner who consented prior to the distribution to mortgage on his share in the vessel, this mortgage shall remain as such after the distribution or auction. If the auction took place remain in Court to the profit of an outsider in the forms set out in article 83 and the following articles of the present law, the right of the creditors who have only a mortgage on a portion of the vessel, shall be limited to the priority rights on the value of the mortgaged portion. The same provision shall apply to the charges encumbering each share of the vessel, which shall be duly laid on the portion of the amount representing the value. Article 69 The acquirer of a vessel or portion of a vessel, who wishes to hedge himself against the proceedings authorised by the preceding article shall be required either before the proceedings or within a period of fifteen days, once his acquisition has been recorded, to send copy of the vessel's aetna! sheet to all the creditors listed on the said sheet at the address given on the mortgage deed. The acquirer shall equally declare in the same communication that he is ready to pay inunediately the mortgage debts, whether or not already due, to the extent of the value of the vessel. Article 70 Any registered creditor may require the sale by auction of the vessel or the portion of the vessel encumbered by mortgage, by offering to increase the price by one-tenth and give a guarantee for the payment of the value and charges. The suit, signed by the creditor, must be served on the acquirer within ten days from the date of notification of vessel's acquisition. It shall contain summons to appear before the Court of first instance of the place where the vessel is located or, if it is abroad, of the port of registry, so that the sale by auction be ordered. Article 71 The sale by auction shall take place at the suit of either the creditor who requested it or the acquirer, as provided for in the following articles. Article 72 The sale abroad of a vessel mortgaged in Lebanon is prohibited. The sale effected in breach of this article shall not be recorded in the register book and is null and void. The owner who voluntarily sold abroad a mortgaged vessel shall be considered guilty of a breach of trust and liable to the penalties provided for under article 670 of the Penal Code. CHAPTER III - Seizure Article 73 No vessel can be seized except twenty-four hours after a writ to pay has been served. Article 74 The writ must be served on the owner in person or at his address. In case the owner is not present, the writ may be served on the vessel's master if the debt related to the vessel or the cargo. Article 75 If the creditor does not act within ten days after the "Tit has been served, he is required to renew it should he still wish to effect seizure. Article 76 The executing officer shall show in the report : The name, occupation and address of the creditor for whom he acts; The instrument empowering him to act; The sum claimed; The address chosen by the creditor both in the place of Court sitting where the sale must be pursued and in the place where the vessel is moored; The shipowner's name and the master's name; The names, type, tonnage and nationality of the craft. The launches, boats, riggings, utensils, weapons, ammunitions and supplies must be stated and described. He must appoint a warden. Article 77 The distraining party must, within a period of three days, send to the owner copy of the seizure report and summon him before the Court of the place where the seizure was made, to be iuformed that there will be proceeded to the sale of the things seized. If the owner is not domiciled in the Court's district, the writs and summons shall be served on him through the master of the seized vessel or, in his absence, through the person who represents the owner or the master, within a time-limit of fifteen days. If the owner is a foreigner and has in the Lebanese Republic neither a domicile nor a residence and is not represented here, the writs and summons shall be served as stipulated in article 362 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Article 78 The report shall be recorded in the register book of the vessel's port of registry or that of the port in whose district the vessel is being built, such recording to be made after the vessel under construction had been registered. Following recording, the seized debtor shall not be entitled to alienate or mortgage the vessel. Within three days of the recording (holidays not included), the authority in charge of the registry office shall issue a statement showing the recordings, and within the eight days following such issuance, the distraining party shall serve on the recorded creditors, at the address they selected, the writ mentioned in the preceding article. The creditors are allowed a time-limit of fifteen days to make opposition, if they so wish. Article 79 If the vessel is foreign, notices shall be given within eight days from the handling, by the consulate, of the statement of mortgage to the recorded creditors whose names appear on the said statement, in the manner indicated in the Code of Procedure. These creditors are allowed a time-limit of fifteen days, in addition to allowance for geographical distance, to make opposition. Article 80 The sale shall be ordered by the Court of the place of seizure, which shall fix the date and the starting price and, upon the indications of the distraining party, the terms. If on the day fixed for the sale, there is no offer, the Court shall fIx another starting price, lower than the former, as well as another day for auction. Article 81 Petitions for deduction or nullity shall be made prior to the auction. If the petitions for deduction are made after the auction, they shall be converted as of right into opposition to payment of the proceeds resulting from the sale. Petitions for deduction and nullity shall not be accepted unless they have been recorded in the register book. Article 82 The petitioner or the opponent shall have three days to state his grounds. The petitioner shall have three days to disprove; the case shall be tried upon simple summons; it shall not suspend the execution unless the Court deems it opportune to order such suspension for serious reasons. Article 83 The sale shall be made at auction sitting in the civil Court fifteen days after affixing the posters provided for in the following article and making an insertion in two newspapers one of which at least in Arabic language, both said papers being on the list of those designated to receive Court notices in the place of Court's sitting without prejudice to any other publications authorised by the Court. Article 84 The posters shall be placed on the most conspicuous part of the seized vessel, at the main entrance of the Court where the sale will take place, on the quay of the harbour where the vessel is moored as well as at the commercial stock exchange if there is one. Article 85 Notices and posters must show: The name, occupation and address of the suitor; The documents by virtne of which he is acting; The sum due to him ; The address selected by him in the area where the Court sits and in the place where the seized vessel is moored; The name, oecupation and address of the owner of the seized vessel ; The vessel's chiuacteristics as recorded in the register book; The name of the master; The place where the vessel lies; The fixed value and terms of sale; The days, place and hours of auction. Article 86 Higher bidding shall not be admitted in case of Court sale. Article 87 The purchaser shall pay the price without charges into a bank approved by the State within 24 hours of the auction, otherwise the sale shall be null and void. Article 88 For want of payment, the ship shall be resold three days after publication of new notices and posters similar to those provided for in article 84, for account of the first purchaser who shall have to pay any price difference, damages and costs. Article 89 The judgment of auction may not be opposed. Within five days from its delivery, and only on grounds of informality, the judgment may, by summons at three clear days, be referred to the Court of Appeal which shall take a final decision not subject to appeal. Article 90 The judgment of auction shall be recorded in the register book at the request of the executive bureau upon its becoming final. Article 91 The sale by auction shall free the ship from all privileges, mortgages or dissolvent actions belonging to individuals who received the notice provided for in article 78, and the striking out of the statements relating to the said privileges, mortgages and above mentioned actions shall be obtained upon production by the purchaser to the registration office of the bid judgement and a certificate issued by the office of the Court which rendered it attesting that this judgment is final. Article 92 The distribution of the proceeds accruing from the sale by auction shall be made in accordance with the provisions of articles 794 to 808 of the Code of Civil Procedure. TITLE III - SHIPOWNERS AND SHIP'S MANAGERS(1) Article 93 Every shipowner shall be personally responsible for obligations resulting from deeds executed and contracts concluded by the master in the exercise of his legal powers as well as for mistakes made by the master, crew, pilot and any other person servicing the vessel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1) In the present legislative text, "shipowner" is meant to connote the French phrase "proprietaire de navire", whereas "ship's manager" is meant to connote the French word "artnateur'' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Article 94 The shipowner shall be responsible only up to the value of the vessel, freight and vessel's accessories for: 1 - Indemnities due to third parties for damages caused on land or sea through the faults of the master, crew, pilot or any other person servicing the vessel; 2 - Indemnities due for damages caused either to the cargo consigned to the master for carriage or to any property or things found on board; 3 - Liabilities under Bills of Lading; 4 - Indemnities due on account of navigational errors committed in the execution of a contract 5 - The duty to remove the wreck of a sunken vessel or to repair the damage caused to the installations of docks, harbours, waterways as well as for obligations relating thereto; 6 - Remuneration for assistance and salvage; 7 - His contributing share in general averages; 8 - Duties arising from contracts signed and operations effected by the master by virtue of his legal powers outside the vessel's home port with regard to actual requirements necessary for the vessel's maintenance or the continuation of the voyage provided that such requirements do not stem from inadequacy or defect in the equipment or supply existing at the outset of the voyage. Nevertheless, so far as concerns debts provided for in Nos. I, 2, 3, 4, 5, liability under these provisions shall not exceed the product of the number of the vessel's registered tons by the value per ton. This value shall be fixed by decree to be issued within the week which shall follow the promulgation of the present law. It may be readjusted at any moment should the need arise. Article 95 In case of death or corporal injury caused by the fault of master, crew, pilot or servants of the vessel, the owner's responsibility towards the victims or their heirs shall extend beyond the scope fixed in the preceding article up to double such scope. Victims of the same accident or their rightful claimants shall share in the distribution of the sum due under the liability. Should victims or their rightful claimants not be entirely indemnified, they shall share with other creditors in the balance of the amounts referred to in the preceding articles, taking priorities into account. The liability of shipowners and ship's managers towards sailors is unlimited. Article 96 (as modified by the Law of21/12/1954) The provisions of the preceding article relating to additional indemnity, paragraph I, shall not apply to the shipowner of a cargo vessel of less than three hundred registered tons. The limitations of liability enacted hy article 94 and 95 shall not apply: 1- To obligations resulting from faults of the shipowner. However, if the shipowner or joint¬owner of the vessel is at the same time the master, he mav not claim the benefit of this limitation for his navigational errors or those of persons manning the vessel. 2 - To obligations provided under paragraph 8 of article 94 in case of ratification or specific authorisation hy the shipowner. 3 - To shipowner's obligations resulting from enlistment of the crew or engagement of the personnel manning the vessel. Article 97 The shipowner who pleads the limitation of liability to the value of the vessel, freight and accessories, shall have to prove this value. Valuation of the vessel shall be in terms of its condition at the following times: 1 - In case of collision or other accidents, for debts relating thereto which originated before arrival in the first port of call after the accident, even if such debts are contractual, and for debts resulting from a general average caused by the accident, valuation shall be made according to the condition of the vessel upon its arrival in the said port. If, before arrival in the first port, a fresh accident independent of the former reduced the value of the vessel, the decrease in value shall not be taken into account with regard to claimants whose right was created in the previous accident. As to accidents which happened during a vessel's lying in a port, valuation shall be made in tenus of the vessel's condition at such port after the accident. 2 - In case of debts relating to the cargo or arising from the application of the clauses of the Bill of lading, other than the cases provided for in paragraph I of the present article, the cargo's valuation shall be made according to the vessel's condition in the port of destination of the cargo or in the place where the ship broke off. If the cargo is destined to various ports and the damage is the result of one and the same cause, valuation shall be made in terms of the vessel's condition at the end of the voyage. 3- In all other cases, valuation shall be made according to the vessel's condition at the end of the voyage. Article 98 When various debts stern from one accident or with regard to which, in the absence of an accident, the value of the ship shall be determined in one and the same port, they share amongst themselves the sum representing, as far as they are concerned, the extent of the owner's responsibility, by order of priority ranks. Article 99 Freight for the purpose of article 94, paragraph 1, including passage cost, is understood to be, for vessels of all categories, a lump sum fixed in every case at ten per cent of the vessel's value at the beginning of the voyage, even if the vessel has earned no freight. Article 100 The vessel's accessories provided under article 94 shall include: 1 - Indemnities for material damage suffered by the vessel from the beginning of the voyage and not repaired. 2 - Indemnities for average in so far as this represents material damage suffered by the vessel from the beginning of the voyage and not repaired. Indemnities paid or due under insurance contracts, premiums, subsidies are not considered as accessories. Article 101 Registered tonnage shall be calculated as follows: For stearn and other powered vessels, it comprises the net tonnage plus the tounage of the spaces occupied by the machinery or engines. For sailing ships, the net tonnage. Article 102 The ship's manager who is not owner and the principal charterer shall claim the benefit of limited liability as well as of the provisions of the following articles. Article 103 In the case of actions or proceedings brought for one of the causes stated in the preceding articles, the Court may order, on the shipowner's request, the suspension of the proceedings against any property other thau the vessel; freight and accessories for such time as may be sufficieut for the sale of the vessel and the distribution amongst creditors. Article 104 The president of the Court shall decide in Ius capacity as judge for summary proceeding upon the amount of guarantee the shipowner must provide to avail himself of limited liability. The shipowner may always stop the proceedings brought against him by remitting the sum representing the full amount of his responsibility. This remittance effected at the day's rate of exchange, is intended to meet the rights of the creditors against whom limited liability may be raised. The distribution amongst creditors shall take place as per articles 794 and subsequent articles of the Code of Civil Procedure. Article 105 The ship's manager shall appoint the master, he may discharge him subject to compensation if any is due. Article 106 If tbe discharged master is a joint-owner of the vessel, he may give up the ownership and demand the refund of tbe capital representing such ownership, the amount of which shall be determined by private or Court experts. This right to renunciation may not be exercised after a period of 30 days from tbe date on which he was notified by his joint-owners. If the right to renunciation was exercised within the time-limit, the refund of his share in ownership must be effected by the joint-owner witbin 30 days from the date of tbe survey which assessed the amount. Article 107 For all matters relating to tbe common interest of the vessel's owners, the advice of the majority must be followed. Majority shall be determined by a share in the vessel exceeding half its value. However, decisions contrary to the clauses of the carriage contract or alien to the aim of the said carriage shall be valid only when they are taken unanimously. Article 108 Each co-owner is beund only in proportion to his share in tbe property as regards the obligations which arise from a personal responsibility. Additionally, he may at any time release himself from any obligations arising from any managerial act which he refuses to approve by abandoning his share in the joint property. Such share shall be distributed amongst the other associates in proportion to the individual rights of each in the property of the vessel. Article 109 The ship's manager appointed by the joint-owners of the vessel for everything relating to chandlering and shipment shall have no power to sell the vessel or mortgage her, unless conferred on him by specific power of attorney; nevertheless, one of his general prerogatives shall be to insure the vessel. He shall represent tbe joint-owners in courts in all matters connected with the voyage and chandlering. Article 110 If tbe powers of the ship's manager have been restricted by special instructions of tbe shipowners, such restrictions may not be opposed to third parties who have signed a contract with him in good faith. TITLE IV - THE MASTER Article 111 Every master or mate in charge of running a vessel or other craft shall be responsible for damage caused to others through fraud or error committed in tbe performance of his duties. Article 112 The master must answer for the cargo with which he was encharged. This operation shall be established by a Bill of Lading or any other receipt. Article 113 The master is required to have his vessel visited according to the conditions prescribed by the rules. Article 114 The master shall assemble the crew of tbe vessel, sign the vessel's articles and take such measures as may be useful for the purpose of tbe voyage. However, he may not proceed with these various operations without the assent of the ship's manager when tbe latter or his duly authorised agent is present on the spot. Article 115 On all vessels otber than pleasure cruising yachts, the master is required to keep a log-beok numbered and initialled by the Head of the Port Services. The log-beok must contain an exact recording of all events that have occurred and all decisions taken during tbe voyage, a statement of receipts and expenditure concerning the vessel, daily observations on the weather and sea conditions as well as infringements committed by vessel's personnel, disciplinary punishments inflicted and every birth and death which have taken place on beard. On steam and motor vessels there shall be kept in addition the machinery's logbeok recording the quantity of bunker taken at departure, its daily consumption as well as anything relating to tbe machinery's operation and service. Article 116 The master is beund to have on beard the vessel's certificate of registry, bills of lading and charter-parties, tbe manifest, tbe muster-roll, tbe bill of health, the customs receipts and copy of tbe real sheet of tbe ship. Article 117 The master is beund to exercise personally his command and to be on beard at the entry and exit of ports, havens and rivers. He must not abandon tbe vessel during the voyage whatever be the causes or dangers, without the advice of the officers on beard. In this case, he is beund to save, if possible, the money, vessel's papers and the more precious goods. Article 118 In case of breach of the duties imposed by the preceding three articles, the master shall be presumed responsible for all occurrences to third parties interested in the vessel or cargo. This presumption shall cease in case of force majeure, of which the onus of proof lies on him. Article 119 The master shall be responsible for any damage and losses suffered by goods loaded on the floor-board of the upper deck of the vessel unless the shipper has given his consent by a statement mentioned on the bill of lading and signed by him or that such loading practice is authorised by customs of the sea. Any covered shelter on the deck-house or poops intended to receive or which may shelter goods, is assimilated to the deck. This provision shall not apply to coasting trade. Article 120 In case of emergency during the voyage, the master with the authorisation of the president of the Court in Lebanon, or the Lebanese consul abroad and in his absence, with the assent of the local magistrate, may offer the vessel herself, the freight, and in case of insufficiency, even the cargo as security for loans. If he has not been able to take a loan, he may also sell, after taking the same authorisation, the cargo up to the amount deemed to be necessary. The ship's manager or the master who represents him shall answer to the owner of the goods sold, for either value according to the market price or estimate of goods of identical nature and quantity in the place of destination and at the time of the vessel's arrival. The shippers or rightful claimant may oppose the pledging or sale of their goods and demand their unloading provided they pay the whole freight. Article 121 Except in the case of unseaworthiness duly and legally proved, the master may not, under pain of nullity of the sale, sell the vessel without being especially empowered by the owner to do so. For lack of special powers and instructions from the owner, the sale on grounds of sea-unworthiness as stated above shall be made by public auction. Article 122 The master who has a common profit on the cargo, may not, except in case of an agreement to the contrary, do any business on his own. In case of infringement of this provision, he shall be deprived of his share in the common profit, without prejudice to damages if there should be ground therefor. Article 123 The master is bound, upon his arrival into the port of destination or in a refreshing harbour and at the latest within twenty four hours, to have his log-book visaed by the port authorities and, abroad, by the Lebanese Consul or, in his absence, by the competent maritime authorities. Article 124 In case of extraordinary events concerning the vessel, cargo or crew, the master must file with the same authorities a sea protest stating the time and place of vessel's departure, the route followed, the accidents suffered by the crew and vessel and all the outstanding events occurring during the voyage. In case of shipwreck this sea protest should be countersigned by the survivors of the crew. Article 125 The checking of the master's sea report shall take place either as a matter of right, if the competent authorities deem it advisable to order an inquiry, or at the request of the master or any other person concerned. The inquiry shall be made before the president of the Court, and abroad, before the Lebanese Consul, or, in his absence, before the competent judicial authorities. Members of the crew and passengers shall be given a hearing, and any other proofs shall be allowed. Unchecked sea reports shall not be admitted as evidence to clear the master nor shall they be given credit in Court. Article 126 When there is case for a sea protest, the master may not unload any cargo or open the hatches before his sea protest has been filed, except in an emergency or if the need should arise. Article 127 The authority and responsibility of the master shall remain unaltered notwithstanding the presence of a pilot on board, even when such presence is compulsory. TITLE V - REGULATIONS GOVERNING WORK AT SEA CHAPTER I - Seaman's contract (Ship's articles) Article 128 Any person who shall be employed or engaged to serve in any capacity on board, in anticipation of a venture on the sea, shall be considered a seaman. Article 129 Except for vessels of less than five tons, the engagement contract concluded between a shipowner or his representative and a seaman shall be governed by the following provisions: 1 - The clauses and provisions of a seaman's engagement contract shall be recorded in the muster-roll. The seaman shall show his adhesion by signing or putting his thumb-print. The authorities in charge of navigation police shall verify before the vessel's departure whether all the seamen taken on board have had an engagement agreement by checking the muster-roll. Clauses and terms shall be called over to the parties concerned who will be interrogated in order to ensure that they know and accept the contents of the engagement contract. There shall be mentioned in the margin of the muster-roll that this formality has been performed. 2 - In the absence of any record of the engagement contract in the muster-roll, proof thereof can be made by any means. Article 130 The engagement contract must show: Whether it is concluded for a limited or unlimited period or per voyage; The seaman's service or duties; The date on which the service or duties must begin; The mode of payment agreed upon between the parties; The amount of salaries fixed or the basis for determining the profits; The date and place of conclusion of the contract; The contract shall be valid only if the seamen is free of any other engagement. CHAPTER II - Seaman's obligations Article 131 The seaman must report to embark as soon as required by the master. He is bound to obey his superiors' orders with regard to vessel's service, equally on board and on land. He is bound to work for the salvage of the vessel and cargo. Article 132 The master and seaman cannot load on the vessel any cargo for their own account except after obtaining the shipowner's permission. In case of infringement, the offenders are bound to pay the freight at the highest rate fixed in the place and time of loading, without prejudice to an eventual claim for damages. The master may order the jettison of goods unduly loaded if they are of such a nature as to prejudice the vessel's safety, or entail fines and expenses. CHAPTER III - The ship's obligations Article 133 (as modified by the Law of21/12/1954) For coasting trade from a Lebanese port to another Lebanese port and for fishing on the Lebanese coast, the shipowner shall engage Lebanese seamen only. Concerning larger vessels designed for voyages on the high seas, vessels mentioned in paragraph 2 of article 2 modified as, well as for vessels intended for international coastwise navigation, the administration reserves itself the right to oblige shipowners to employ Lebanese seamen to the extent of one fifth of the crew, or to train for navigation a number of Lebanese persons equal to this proportion according to the conditions which shall be set out in a ministerial order from the Minister of Public Works. In so far as the technical personnel is concerned, the shipowner may in case of emergency engage masters, officers or engineers of foreign nationality who may be holders of commissions or certificates equivalent at least to those required from Lebanese masters, officers or engineers by the Ministry of Public Works. Article 134 The shipowner or the master may not engage as cabin boys children who are not fully 15 years. Without written consent of the parents or guardian, until they come of age. Article 135 The engagement contract according to which the seaman's pay consists wholly or partially of a share in the profit or freight, must specify the expenses and charges to be deducted from the gross profit to obtain the net profit. The indemnities paid to vessels for interrupting, shortening, or extending the voyage, for loss of profit or freight, shall be considered as part of the gross profit. This provision shall apply to insurance indemnities only if the seaman has contributed to the payment of the premiums from the beginning of the voyage. Premiums and other public subsidies shall not be accounted as profits to be shared unless otherwise agreed. Article 136 When seamen are paid by the month, they shall, in case the voyage has been extended or shortened, be retributed in proportion to the actual duration of their services. Article 137 When seamen are paid by the voyage, the voluntary shortening of the voyage shall involve no salary reduction, whatever the cause may be. The voluntary extension or postponement of the voyage shall involve a salary increase in proportion to the duration of such extension or postponement. Article 138 When seamen receive a percentage on profit or freight they shall be entitled to no compensation for postponement, extension or shortening of the voyage as a result afforce majeure. If third parties or shippers are the cause, seamen shall share in the indemnities awarded to the vessel. If the cause is due to the ship's manager or the master, seamen if they have suffered material prejudice shall be entitled, in addition to their profit sharing, to an indemnity which shall be assessed by taking circumstances into account. Article 139 Disputes regarding payment of wages and generally any dispute between the master or ship's manager and seamen, must be submitted in a bid to conciliation to the maritime authorities in charge of the police of vessel's home port or port of discharge. If these authorities cannot reconcile the parties they shall draw up a report stating the points in dispute and showing the payments made. This report shall be transmitted to the competent judge at the latter's request. No action may be brought in Court unless such conciliation procedure has been complied with. CHAPTER IV - Advances, retentions, assignments and seizures of seamen's salaries Article 140 Any payment on account of a seaman must be recorded in the muster-roll if it has been made before the voyage, and in the log-book if it has been made during the voyage. The seaman must sign or affix his thumb mark. Any payment which has not been made under these conditions shall be considered as non-existent. The total amount of payments on account may not exceed one-fifth of the salary due at the time when an advance is requested. Article 141 Advances may be assigned but only to the seaman's wife, children and ascendants. Article 142 Advances not assigned, partial payments and engagement premiums shall be restituted to the shipowner only in case of breach of engagement imputable to the seaman, without prejudice to disciplinary sanctions and damages. Assigned advances shall never be subject to restitution notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary. Article 143 Seamen's salaries and profits are not liable to distraint or transfer unless for the following causes and within the following set lintits : 1 - Up to one-quarter: in case of debt to the State or provident funds; in case of debt for foodstuff supplies, wearing apparel or accommodation; in case of debt to the shipowner for undue payment on a previous salary balance, advance or undue instalment, and damages. 2 - Up to a further quarter for a debt due in execution for a final judgment. CHAPTER V - Protection of the seaman's health Article 144 No seaman may be engaged without having been subntitted to a medical examination by a physician designated by the port authorities. The engagement of seamen affected by contagious diseases is prohibited and invalid. The accomplishment of this formality and the medical pemtit to go on board shall both be mentioned in the muster-roll under penalty of a fine of 25 to 200 Lebanese pounds, which may be doubled in case of a second offence. Article 145 Seamen wounded while on duty shall be attended to at the vessel's expense. The same provision shall apply to those who contracted a disease after the vessel has left its home port. However, if the wound or disease was caused by or originated from indiscipline, unjustifiable mistake, intoxication or if is a case of a congenital disease such as insanity, epilepsy, or a disease of venereal origin, the sickness expenses which would be advanced by the shipowner shall be debited to the account of the sick or wounded seaman. Article 146 Medical treatment expenses shall cease to be due after the wound or sickness has assumed an incurable character. Article 147 The seaman who has been taken ill or wounded while on duty on board shall be entitled to this salary as long as he remains on board. After he is signed off, he shall be entitled to an allowance equal to his salary for a maximum period of four months. If he is signed off in a foreign country an amount equal to the salary for a period of four months must be deposited with the Lebanese consul or his representative. Article 148 The right to the salary or allowance is personal. It shall cease at the death, cure or established incurability. Article 149 The seaman whose wound or illness is caused bv indiscipline or intoxication, or the origin of which is constitutional or venereal, shall be entitled to be treated and fed as long as he remains on board but shall have no right to a salary or allowance. Article 150 If a seaman dies as a result of an illness or wound while he is on duty on board, the burial expenses shall, in all cases, be paid by the vessel. Article 151 The provisions of the law on labour accidents shall apply should the seamen on duty be victims of a permanent disability. CHAPTER VI - Repatriation Article 152 The ship's manager must undertake the repatriation of seamen landed during the voyage for any reason whatsoever, except those who were signed off for a legitimate reason by order of foreign authorities or on account of illness unconnected with the seamen's duty which could not be treated on board. In case the engagement contract was cancelled by mutual agreement repatriation expenses shall be paid by the patty designated in the contract. The right to repatriation shall be limited for foreign seamen to their return to the port where they were signed on unless it was agreed that the seaman shall be returned to a Lebanese port. The right to repatriation shall include, in addition to transportation, boarding and lodging. CHAPTER VII - Termination of the engagement contract Article 153 An engagement contract shall be terminated by : 1 - Expiration of the service period, if it was concluded for a limit time; 2 - Termination of the voyage or when it has been voluntarily cancelled if the contract was concluded for the duration of the voyage; 3 - The seaman's death; 4 - A Court judgment cancelling the contract; 5 - A happening which justifies a discharge. Article 154 When the engagement was made for a certain period and that it has come to its end during a voyage without its extension being provided for in the contract, the engagement shall continue on the merchant or fishing vessel until it has sailed into a Lebanese port. Article 155 In case of death of a seaman in the course of the period covered by the contract, his salary shall be due, if on a monthly basis, up to the date of his death. When a seaman is engaged for the duration of a voyage and is paid either a lump sum or a share in the profits or freight and for the outward voyage only his total money or share shall be due if he dies after the voyage has begun. If he is engaged for a voyage out and return, half his salary and share shall be due if he dies during the return voyage. Anicle 156 The discharge decided by the ship's manager or master for a legitimate reason shall not entitle the seamau so discharged to any indemnity. In other than Lebanese pons the master shall not be permitted to land a seaman for a legitimate reason except with the authorisation of the Lebanese consul or in his absence, of the maritime authorities of the Port. In all cases of discharge for legitimate reasons, the date and reasons of the master's or ship's manager decision shall be recorded in the muster-roll. The discharge shall be presumed illegal when these provisions have not been complied with. Article 157 When the seaman's discharge has been decided for no legitimate reason, the seaman shall be entitled to an indemnity. This indemnity shall be assessed by taking into account the nature of the services, the duration of the contract and the extent of the prejudice caused. A lump sum may also have been fixed by way of an indemnity clause in the contract. However, such a clause shall be valid only if it does not constitute a disgnised renunciation of the seaman's rights. Article 158 The breach of the engagement contract for no legitimate reason by the seaman, shall entitle the ship's manager to an indenutity. Article 159 When the charterer has broken off the charter, the seaman's engagement contract is considered cancelled. But the seaman who shares in the freight shall share in the indemnities which are awarded to the vessel. These indemnities shall be allocated to him in the same proportion as he shares in the freight. Article 160 When as result of force majeure the voyage cannot take place, the breaking off of the engagement contract shall give the seaman no right to indenutity. However, he shall be paid for the days spent in the vessel's employ should he be engaged by the month or voyage. Article 161 When as a result of force majeure the voyage which was begun cannot be continued, the seamen paid by the month or voyage shall receive their salaries up to the day when their services were discontinued. Those who are entitled to a share in the profit realised or the freight, earned during the pan of voyage actually covered. In case of capture, wreck, declaration of unseaworthiness, the courts can either cancel or reduce seamen's salaries if it is proved that the loss of the vessel is due to their fault or neglect or to the fact that they failed to do their utmost to save the vessel, passengers and goods or to salvage the wreck. Article 162 The seaman shall share in any indemnities allowed by the administrative or judicial authorities as amends for the prejudice suffered, if under the preceding two articles, he did not receive all the sum (0 which he was entitled for the presumed duration of the voyage. CHAPTER VIII -Special provisions governing the master Article 163 The master's remuneration other than his fixed pay, is liable in its entirety to seizure in satisfaction of the sums due by him to the ship's manager, as being the latter's agent. His fixed pay shall be liable to seizure for the reasons and within the limits prescribed in article 143. Article 164 Whatever be the duration of the contract the master is not at liberty to terminate it or cancel it during the voyage. The ship's manager, on the contrary, may always discharge the master under indemnity if the discharge is not for a legitimate reason. Article 165 The provisions regarding payment for wages in case the voyage is delayed, extended or shortened shall not apply to the master if the changes in the voyage are due to his own fault. Article 166 Any right of action relating to the sea engagement contract shall be extinguished by prescription after expiration of a period of one year from the end of the engagement contract. TITLE VI - CHARTERING AND CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE CHAPTER I - Preliminary provisions Article 167 In all matters not provided for by law or by the agreement of the parties the judge shall apply the local or the general customs. Article 168 When the chartered ship is named in the agreement, the hirer-out may not have it substituted by another, unless the named ship has been lost or become unseaworthy as a result of force majeure after the commencement of the voyage. Article 169 The master who finds on board undeclared goods, may have them discharged at the port of loading, or assess double the normal freight, without prejudice to heavier damages. Should the goods be discovered during the voyage, they may be jettisoned by the master, if they are of such a nature as to jeopardise the ship or cargo, or their carriage may entail fines or expenses exceeding their value, or if the sale and export of these goods is prohibited. In all cases the discovery of goods unduly loaded on board aud the subsequent fate of such goods shall be recorded by the master in the logbook and a detailed report shall be drafted. CHAPTER II - Time charter Article 170 A time charter is an agreement whereby a vessel is leased for a given period of time. The hirer-out may give the charterer the liberty to appoint or discharge the master; he may surrender to him both the nautical and commercial management of the ship or the commercial management only. The charterer who has both the nautical and commercial management of the vessel must provide for all supplies, maintenance repairs as well as all the venture's expenses and bear the general average share of the vessel and freight. The loss of the vessel as well as all averages shall be a charge to the charterer unless he proves that these are caused by the error of the hirer-out. Article 171 Payment of hire shall be due by the charterer throughout the time the vessel has remained at his service. In case of capture, condemnation or loss of the vessel, payment of hire shall be due up to the date of such events. Article 172 In case of time-eharter, any period commenced shall be due in full. Article 173 Payment of hire shall be due from the day the vessel has been placed at the disposal of the charterer up to the day of its re-delivery to the hirer-out in the same good order as when delivered to charterer. Payment of hire shall be suspended all the time during which the charterer has been deprived of the use of the vessel by a power, but it shall continue to run during the stoppage of the vessel resulting from occurrences at sea. lf the stoppage is caused by an act of the hirer-out or is the result of vessel's condition, no freight shall be due, and besides damages may be claimed. CHAPTER III - Voyage charter and contract of carriage Section I : General provisions Article 174 A voyage charter is a contract whereby the vessel is wholly or partially leased for one or several specific voyages. A contract of carriage by sea is a contract whereby the carrier undertakes in consideration for payment of freight, to carry to a determined place effects or cargo which during all or part of the voyage shall be sea-borne. Article 175 The vessel must at the time agreed be fit to receive cargo in the agreed or usual place of loading. The master must receive the cargo at carrier's expense, under tackle and, in the port of destination, deliver it to the consignee, under the tackle. Article 176 Chartering of the total vessel shall not include the cabins and quarters reserved for the master and crew; however the master and crew may not carry therein any cargo without charterer's consent. In case of chartering the whole or a specific part of the vessel, the master may not without the authorisation of the charterer load other goods on board or that part which is chartered. In case of infringement the freight so loaded shall belong to the charterer who may in addition press for damages. Article 177 The hirer-out is responsible for all loss or damage occurring to the cargo so long as the cargo is in custody, unless he proves the occurrence afforce majeure. Article 178 Goods used or sold by the master during the voyage to meet vessel's needs, must be refunded by the hirer at their value on arrival at the port of destination after deduction of the expenses saved for the charterer; otherwise at their actual sale price. The hirer shall be entitled to hold the freight on all goods he is bound to pay for. If the shippers whose goods were used to meet the vessel's needs are not reimbursed the value thereof, the ensuing loss shall be distributed proportionately on the value of these goods and that of any goods which arrived at destination or were saved from wreck after the sea events which necessitated the sale or pledging. Article 179 If nobody has come forward to take delivery of the goods or if the consignee has refused to take delivery, the master may cause them through the Court authority, to be wholly or partly sold, up to the amount of the freight and cause the unsold goods to be kept in deposit. If the sale proceeds are inadequate to cover the amount of the freight the master shall reserve his right to claim against the shippers for the difference. Section 2 : Duties of the charterer or shipper Article 180 The shipper who has not brought under tackle the quantity of goods agreed upon shall owe the freight for the entire voyage and for the whole stipulated cargo. He shall owe, in addition, the expenses which the vessel will incur as a consequence thereof. But there shall be taken into account the expenses saved as well as three-fourth of the freight on the goods taken in replacement. Article 181 No freight shall be due on goods which were not delivered to consignee or placed at his disposal in the port of destination. Freight shall however be due : When the misdelivery has been caused by neglect or default of the charterers, shippers or their rightful claimants. When during the voyage the goods had to be sold owing to their damaged condition whatever be the cause. When the loss of the goods was admitted in general average. When the goods perished due to inherent vice. Freight shall also be due on animals which died at sea for any cause not attributable to carrier's fault. Article 182 In all cases where freight is not due, advances made to the master on this freight before departure must be returned by him. He shall, however, retain them entirely if he paid to the charterer or shipper the insurance premium on such advances. Article 183 The charterer or shipper who wished to take delivery of the goods before their arrival at destination, pays the entire freight even if, due to a break of the sea, the vessel had to be repaired during the voyage. Article 184 When the vessel has been stopped during the voyage by order of a power or as result of an event not imputable to the master or the hirer, the agreements shall remain in effect and there shall be no ground for damages or increase in the agreed freight. The shipper may during the vessel's stop have the cargo discharged at his expense provided he shall have it reloaded or shall indemnify the master. Article 185 When a case of force majeure occurring after vessel's departure prevents her from proceeding to destination, the shipper shall owe only the freight for the voyage out, even if the freight has been agreed upon for the voyage out and homeward. Article 186 When the vessel cannot enter the port of destination on account of blockade or any other case of force majeure, the master, in the absence of instructions, shall be at liberty to act in the best interest of the shipper. Article 187 The shipper may not exonerate himself from payment of the freight by abandoning the goods even if during the voyage their value has diminished or they were deteriorated. If, however, barrels containing liquids leaked and their contents have been reduced to one-third at least. such barrels may be relinquished in payment of the freight. Section 3 : Lay days and extra lay days Article 188 Lay days shall begin to run for loading, one clear day after charterer has received notice that the vessel is ready to receive cargo ; for discharge, one clear day after the consignee has been put in a position to begin discharge under the conditions provided for in the contract. When they are not fixed by contract the starting point and the duration of the lay days shall vary according to the customs of the port. Working-days alone shall be accounted for the assessment of lay days. Article 189 Demurrage shall rightfully run at expiration of the time provided for in the contract for loading or unloading. When the contract has not fixed the number of lay days, demurrage shall begin to run only 24 hours after the master has given written advice to that effect to the charterer or consignee or their representatives. All working days or holidays shall be counted in the assessment of demurrage. When the days of demurrage fixed by the contract or the customs of the port have expired, the master may for every extra day of demurrage demand indemnities eqnal to one and one half time the amount demurrage. Article 190 Lay days shall be interrupted in case of material impossibility of loading or unloading. On the contrary, force majeure shall not interrupt the running of demurrage days. Article 191 Demurrage and indemnities due for extra days of demurrage shall be treated as additional freight. Section 4 Rescission of charter-party of a contract of carriage Article 192 Charter-party or contract of carriage shall be rightfully rescinded without indemnity when, before commencement of performance, a case of force majeure has occurred making such perforrnance entirely impossible. If the case of force majeure has occurred before vessel's departure but after commencement of performance of the contract, rescission shall be decided on condition of payment of an indemnity if need be. If force majeure has prevented only for a time the vessel's departure, the contract shall remain in effect without increase of freight or indemnity. However, the rescission shall take place as of right when the delay has had for effect the breaking off of the commercial transaction for the purpose of which the parties or one of them had contracted. Section 5 : Lien of the hirer-out and of the carrier Article 193 As guarantee for the payment of the freight and accessories the hirer-out shall have a lien on the goods composing the load for a period of 15 days after the delivery if the goods have not passed into the hands of a third party. Article 194 The hirer-out may retain the goods in the event of non-payment of the freight unless he has received a security : he may also require the goods to be deposit with a third party until the freight is paid and even demand their sale if they are perishable. Section 6: Forms of charter-parties and contracts of carriage by sea Article 195 The charter-party and contract of carriage shall both be proved in writing. This written document shall bear, according to the nature of maritime transports, the title of charter-party or bill of lading whatever be the case. When it is a matter of an interport coasting trade, the parties shall be dispensed with drawing up a written document. Article 196 The charter-party is a title showing the chartering of the vessel. It is drawn up in the form of a private deed made out in two originals. It must show the following mentions: 1 - The parties' name. 2 - Name and tonnage of the vessel, unless there is the clause that the vessel is to be named later. 3 - The master's name. 4 - The nature and quantity of the cargo. 5 - Carriage cost (freight). 6 - The place and time agreed for loading and discharging. Article 197 The Bill of Lading is an acknowledgement of the goods loaded, issued by the master. It is made out in three copies: one for the shipper, one for the consignee and one for the master. It must contain the following particulars: 1 - Name of the parties, carrier and shipper; 2 - Indication of the nature, weight, volume and marks of the gnods loaded; 3 - Name of the vessel and her nationality ; 4 - The condition s of carriage such as freight, the port of departure and destination; 5 - The date of issue; 6 - The number of copies issued by the master ; 7 - Signatures of master and of the shipper. Article 198 Any copy of the Bill of Lading not bearing the particulars indicated above shall constitute merely a beginning of proof. Article 199 The mentioning of marks, number of packages, quantity, quality and weight of the goods shall be made in accordance with the statements furnished in writing by the shipper before loading. The marks must be sufficient in order to identify the goods and be so affixed as to remain legible up to the end of the voyage. The carrier may refuse to insert the shipper's declarations into the Bill of Lading in the event he has serious reasons to question their accuracy or has not has the usual of checking them. In this case he must state these reasons and the liability involved. The onus of providing shortages falls hence on the shipper or consignee. The receipt issued to the shipper before loading the goods shall, at his request, be exchanged after loading, for a regular Bill of Lading. The Bill of Lading issued on the above lines, shall be prima facie evidence of the receipt by carrier of the goods such as therein described, until proof to the contrary is submitted. Article 200 Any inaccuracy in shipper's declarations relating to marks, number, quantity, quality or weight of the goods, shall be binding on him towards tile carrier for all damage resulting therefrom, but tile latter shall not be able to avail himself of such inaccuracy towards any person other than the shipper. Article 201 The Bill of Lading shall be made to a named person, to order or to bearer. The Bill of Lading to a named person shall not be negotiable and the goods can only be delivered by the master to the person named. The Bill of Lading to order shall be negotiable by endorsement under date. The master can deliver the goods only to the bearer of the bill of lading duly endorsed, even in blank. The Bill of Lading to bearer shall be negotiable merely on surrender. The master must deliver the goods to any person who comes forward with the Bill of Lading in hand. Article 202 Copies of the Bill of Lading to order or to bearer contain the mention "negotiable", with an indication as to the number of copies issued and the condition that on any one being accomplished the others shall stand void. The carrier may not oppose to the bearer of a negotiable endorsed copy the exceptions opposable to the shopper, unless he can prove that such bearer is acting as the shipper's Agent. The endorser is deemed to have only guaranteed, without joint responsibility, the existence of the goods shipped and the validity of the carriage contract. In case of dispute between bearers of various negotiable copies of tile same Bill of Lading, before any delivery of the goods by the master, preference shall be given to tile copy with the prior endorsement. After delivery of the goods to the bearer of one of the negotiable copies, the bearer of another copy, even prior in date, cannot be preferred to him. Article 203 In case of variation between the Bill of Lading signed by the shipper and those signed by the master, each original shall be evidence against the party who signed it. Article 204 In case of variation between the charter-party and the Bill of Lading, preference must be given to the provisions of the charter-party in relations between shipowner and charterer. But between the charterer and the shipper, the Bill of Lading alone shall be admitted as evidence unless reference therein is specifically made to the charter-party. Article 205 He who has created a through Bill of Lading, that is to say issued by the first carrier undertaking to dispatch the goods to destination by successive transports, shall be bound up to the end of the journey by all the obligations resulting from the Bill of Lading. He shall be notably answerable for the action of successive carriers to whom the goods are delivered. Each of the successive carriers shall be responsible only for the loss, damage and delay occurring on his own line. Article 206 When the nature and conditions of carriage of the goods justify special agreements, any clauses regarding the rights and liabilities of the carriers shall be valid in so far as they shall not be contrary to public order, provided no negotiable Bill of Lading is issued and the agreement is inserted in a document made not negotiable. Article 207 In general, hand-written clauses shall prevail over printed clauses. If at the same time a charter-party and Bill of Lading are drawn up, in case of conflict between hand-written and printed clauses, the Bill of Lading shall prevail over the charter-party. Section 7 : Carrier's liabilities and exoneration clauses Article 208 The provisions of the present section shall regulate only sea transports leading to issuance of a Bill of Lading and shall apply from the loading on board to the vessel's discharging at destination. They shall not apply to charter-parties but in case of charter the bills of lading issued shall be subject thereto. These provisions shall not apply to goods loaded on deck under the carriage contract, or to live stock. Article 209 The carrier shall be bound prior to the beginning of the voyage to : Make the vessel seaworthy, Properly man, equip and supply the vessel, Make the holds, refrigerating and cool chambers, and all other parts of the vessel in which goods are to be carried, clean, fit and safe. Article 210 The carrier is responsible for all loss, average or damage sustained by the cargo unless he proves that such loss, average or damage results from: 1 - Navigational errors of the master, seaman, pilots or servants, 2 - Latent defects of the vessel, 3 - Strikes or lockouts or stoppage or restraint of labour from whatever cause, whether partial or general. 4 - Facts of mere chance or cases afforce majeure, 5 - Inherent vice in the goods, mispacking or inadequate marking, wastage in bulk or weight within the allowances permitted in the port of destination; 6 - Assistance or rescue operation or attempts made for this purpose or also a deviation in the vessel's course made with this intent However, in all the cases mentioned above the shipper has the right to prove that the loss or damage is the outcome of the actual error of the carrier or his officers when these are not covered by the first paragraph of this article, Article 211 Carrier's responsibility for any loss or damage sustained by the cargo shall in no event exceed an amount to be fixed by decree within one week from the date of promulgation of the present law and that per package or unit unless the nature and value of such goods have been declared by the shipper before shipment This declaration shall be inserted in the Bill of Lading and shall be prima facie evidence against the carrier unless the latter can prove the contrary, Should the carrier question the accuracy of the declaration at the time of the shipment, he is authorised to insert in the Bill of Lading motivated exceptions which will place upon the shipper or the consignee the onus of proving the contrary. Any clause by which the carrier should limit his responsibility to an amount lower than that provided for in the present article, shall be void. The amount taking into currencies. fixed by law shall be revised by decree account fluctuations of international Article 212 Any clause in any contract of carriage entered into in Lebanon or abroad'!', aiming directly or indirectly at relieving the carrier from liability under common law or under the present law, or at derogating from rules of jurisdiction, shall be null and void and of no effect A benefit of insurance or similar clause shall be deemed to be a clause relieving the carrier from liability. Article 213 When the shipper has made an intentional false declaration of the goods' value, the carrier shall not be responsible for any loss or damage to the goods. Article 214 Goods of an inflammable, explosive or dangerous nature, to the shipment whereof the carrier or his representative would not have consented had he known their nature, may, at any time or place, after drawing a report thereon, be landed, destroyed or rendered innocuous by the Carrier, without compensation. In addition, the shipper shall be responsible for such damage and expenses as may result from their shipment If the carrier, knowing the nature of the goods, consented to their shipment, he may not unload, destroy them or render them innocuous except if they become a danger to the vessel or cargo. No compensation shall be due, except for general average if any. Article 215 In case of loss or damage to the goods, the consignee must give in writing a notice thereof to the carrier or his agent at the port of discharge at the latest at the time of delivery, failing which the goods shall be presumed to have been received by him as described in the Bill of Lading. If the loss or damage is not apparent, such notice may be validly given within three days delivery, holidays not included. The carrier shall always have the right to require a cross survey to be held on the goods at the time of their receipt Section 8 : Prescription Article 216 In any case the right of action against the carrier for loss or damage shall be extinguished if not conunenced within one year after delivery of the goods; and if no delivery has taken place, within a year from the day they should have been delivered. Article 217 No action resulting from a charter contract, and, under provisions of the preceding article, from a transport contract shall be sustained which is not commenced within a year after the day when the voyage has ended. Article 218 The following rights of action shall be extinguished by prescriptions: Action for payment of vessel's freight, if not commenced within a year after the end of the voyage, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 - That term "or abroad" though omitted from the Arabic text appears in the French text, and this addition has been given force of law. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Action for payment for food supplied to seamen on the master's order and for essential equipment and supplies, if not commenced within a year after delivery, Action for payment of labourers' wages and for work done if not commenced within a year after the work has been performed. Action for delivery of the goods, if not commenced within a year after vessel's arrival. Section 9 - Carriage of sea passengers Article 219 Cost of passengers food shail be included in the cost of the passage ticket unless otherwise agreed. In the latter case, the master shall be bound to supply the necessary food against payment of a fair price. Article 220 If the contract or passage ticket is issued in the name of the passenger, the latter may not transfer his right to another passenger without the master's approval. Article 221 The carriage of passenger luggage shall be governed by the same provisions as the carriage of goods unless the passengers has kept them in his custody. In this case, the master shall be responsible for loss or damage only if caused by the crew. Article 222 The price of passage shall be due even if the passenger did not travel or travelled a part of the journey, unless the performance of carriage was prevented by a case of jorce majeure. Article 223 The passenger shall be entitled to damages and the rescission of the contract may be awarded if due to master's act the departure failed to take place on the fixed day. Article 224 The passage contract shail be rescinded without compensation for any party if the departure was prevented by interruption of trade with the port of destination, blockade or any other case ofjorce majeure. Article 225 When, due to a case ofjorce majeure, the vessel does not reach destination, the master shall be entitled only to payment for maintenance. He shail be entitled to receive the passage money only if he provides the passenger with transport up to destination. Article 226 When a voyage has been interrupted due to a mistake by the master, the latter shall bear ail the maintenance charges and shall be required to see to the passenger's transport to destination. Article 227 If the master is having the vessel repaired while under way, tile passenger shail be bound to wait until repairs are over or to pay passage money in full. He shall be entitled when the work is in progress to free lodging and upkeep, unless master has offered to complete his voyage on another ship of good standing. Article 228 In a case of accident to the passenger during the voyage, the carrier shail be liable unless he proves that the accident was due to a case of force majeure or to passenger's fault. Article 229 In case a passenger is deceased during the voyage, the master shall be bound to take the necessary precautions for the safeguard of his effects on board and their handing over to their heirs. Article 230 On board, tile passenger shall be required to comply with the regulations prescribed by the master and observe discipline. Article 231 All actions arising from a contract of passage, if commenced after the expiration of a period of one year, shall be time-barred. Actions arising from a contract of baggage transport shail be governed by the provisions of article 215 of the present law. Section 10 : Towing Article 232 The master of a towed vessel, when such vessel disposes of its propelling gear, shall be liable toward third parties for the mistakes of tile towboat's skipper unless he may prove that the latter was not under his guidance. But in the case where his responsibility is engaged he shall keep his right to have recourse against the tow-boat's skipper if it is established that this skipper has committed a personal misdemeanour. TITLE VII - SEA RISKS CHAPTER I - Collision Article 233 In case of collision between ocean-going vessels or between ocean-going vessels and coasting vessels, compensation due shall be in proportion to damage caused to vessels, things or persons on board without taking into account the waters where the collision occurred. Article 234 If the collision is accidentai, or the result of force majeure, or if the causes of the collision are chailenged, damage shall be borne by those who suffered them. This provision applies in case the vessels or one of them were moored at the time of the accident. Article 235 If the collision is due to one of the vessels' fault, the repair of the damage shall be incumbent on the responsible one. Article 236 If there is a common fault, liability of each of the vessels shall be proportional to the gravity of the respective faults. If, however under the circumstances, the proportion cannot be determined or if the faults appear to be equal, liability shall be borne in equal shares. Damage caused either to vessels or to their cargo or to effects or other property of the crew, passengers or any other person on board, shall be borne by the vessels at fault in the foregoing proportions without joint responsibility to third parties. The vessels at faults shall be jointly responsible toward third parties for damage caused by death or wound, reserving the recourse of the one which paid a larger share than payable under paragraph 1 of the present article. Article 237 The liability set forth by the preceding articles shall remain in case the collision was caused by pilot's fault, even when the pilot's presence is compulsory. Article 238 Even if no collision has occurred, the preceding provisions shall still apply to repair of the damage which a vessel caused either to another vessel or to things or persons on board through the carrying out or omission of manoeuvres or non-compliance with regulations. Article 239 After a collision, the master of each of the colliding vessel shall be bound, in so far as there is no serious danger to his vessel, crew and passengers, to render assistance to the other vessel, her crew and passengers. Article 240 The master shall also be bound, as far as possible, to inform the other vessel of the name and home port of his craft, the port where he comes from and where he proceeds to. The shipowner shall not be responsible for a simple infringement of these provisions. Article 241 The provisions of the present Title shall not apply to warships or to State vessels exclusively affected to a public service. Article 242 Action for repair of damage suffered as a result of collision shall not be subject to protest or to any other formality; there shall be no special presumption of fault respecting the responsibility for the collision. Article 243 In case of collision, the plaintiff may at his choice, bring action in defendant's Court or in that of the home port of the overtaking vessel. The Court of the first Lebanese port where one of the two vessels entered after the collision, shall be competent to proceed with any enquiries and surveys. In Lebanese territorial waters, competence to adjudicate lies with the Court of the place where collision has occurred. Article 244 Any action for repair damage caused by the collision shall be time-barred at the expiration of a period of two years after the event. The recourse provided for, however, in paragraph 3 of article 236 shall be prescribed a year from the day when the payment was effected. CHAPTER II - Assistance and salvage Article 245 Any assistance or salvage operation rendered by a vessel to another vessel in danger, even deserted by her crew, to things on board the vessel in danger, to freight and voyage cost, shall be subject to the following provisions. Article 246 Any assistance or salvage which was fruitful, shall be fairly rewarded. No reward shall be due if the service rendered has yielded no useful results. In no case shall the sum payable exceed the value of the things salvaged. Article 247 The persons who took part in assistance operations despite the express and reasonable prohibition of the vessel so assisted, shall be entitled to no reward. Article 248 The tow-boat shall be entitled to no reward for assistance or salvage service rendered to the vessel taken in tow or to her cargo except in case of exceptional service which cannot be considered as the fulfilment of the towing contract. Article 249 A reward shall be due even if the assistance or salvage is taking place amongst vessels belonging to the same owner. Article 250 The amount of the reward shall be fixed by agreement of the parties, failing which, by the Court. The same applies to the proportion in which this reward must be distributed either between the salvors or between the owners, the master and crew of each of the salvaging vessels. If the salvaging vessel is foreign, the distribution between the owner, the master and persons in the vessel's service, shall be settled in accordance with the national law of the vessel. Article 251 Any assistance or salvage contract signed during and under the influence of danger may, on the request of one of the parties, be cancelled or revised by Court, if the Court considers the terms agreed upon are inequitable. In any case, when it is proved that the consent of one of the parties was obtained by fraud or coercion or when the reward in one way or the other is out of proportion with the service rendered, the contract may be cancelled or revised by the Court on the request of the party concerned. Article 252 The reward shall be fixed by the Court according to circumstances by taking as basis: a - First, the result obtained, the efforts and merit of those who rendered assistance, the danger run by the vessel assisted, by her passengers and crew, by her cargo, by the salvors and by the salvaging vessels, the time taken, the expenses and damage suffered and responsibility risks and other risks run by the salvors, the value of the equipment exposed by them, taking into account, if necessary, the special appropriation of the salvaging vessel assisted; b - Secondly, the value of the things salvaged. The same provisions shall apply to distribution as provided for in article 250 paragraph 2. The Court mav reduce or cancel the reward if it is disclosed that the salvors, through their own fault, made necessary the salvage or assistance or that they committed theft, or concealed stolen property or were guilty of other fraudulent acts. Article 253 No reward shall be due for persons rescued. The life-savers who intervened on the occasion of the same dangers shall be entitled to an equitable share in the reward granted to the salvors of the vessel, cargo and their accessories. Article 254 (as modified be the Law of2111211954) Action for payment of the assistance or salvage reward shall be time-barred if commenced after two years from the day when assistance or salvage operations were completed. This period of time applies only if the vessel assisted or salvage is seized in a Lebanese Port. Any master who, having seen at sea a person exposed to the danger of being drowned, refrains from extending assistance although there is no danger to his vessel, seamen and passengers, is liable to between one month and two years imprisonment and to a fine of between 100 and 3000 Lebanese pounds or to either of these penalties. CHAPTER III - Average Article 255 All damage and losses which may occur during a maritime venture and which are suffered by the vessel or cargo as well as any extraordinary or abnormal expenditure which may be incurred for the safeguard of the expedition, shall constitute average. Article 256 For want of a special agreement between all the parties, average shall be settled according to the following rules. Article 257 There are two sorts of averages : particular average and general average. Article 258 Any average which does not fulfil all the conditions required by the following articles, is regarded as particular. It shall be borne by the owner of the thing which suffered the damage. Article 259 Damage, losses and expenses resulting from a sacrifice voluntarily made by the master, in the common interest and to safeguard the expedition against danger, shall constitute general average. It shall be the same thing with: I - Damage average, that is to say the one which is suffered: 1 - by tile cargo as result of jettison, use of goods as fuel to enable the completion of the voyage, unloading of goods on lighters to relieve or set the vessel afloat again, working intended to extinguish a fire. 2 - by the vessel as a result of giving up rigging and accessories, voluntary stranding the vessel to save the cargo, damage suffered by the vessel with a view to saving the cargo, press of sailor steam when the vessel has run aground. II - Average charges, that is to say extraordinary expenses which were incurred by the master to save the expedition : such as for setting the vessel afloat again, assisting or towing a damaged vessel, sheltering in harbour when this is made necessary by sea danger, feeding and paying the crew endangered as a result of an exceptional event, incurring expenses which were to be made good as general average, but only up to the amount of expenses thus avoided and lastly, expenses for adjusting general average. Article 260 Only damage, loss and expenses which are a direct consequence of an act of general average, shall be included in general average. Article 261 He who claims that a loss or an expense must be included in general average, must give proofs therefor. Article 262 No particular agreements shall be taken into account unless all parties concerned in the expedition have been parties thereto. In contrary case, the average shall be settled according to the procedure of average contribution mentioned below without prejudice to the application of particular agreements between parties concerned. Article 263 To give rise to contribution, the vessel and cargo must have been wholly or partly salvaged unless one of them has been wholly sacrificed for the safety of the other. Article 264 When the common danger is the consequence of either and inherent vice of the vessel or the goods, or a mistake committed by the master or shippers, damage and expenses having the character of a general average shall nevertheless give rise to an average contribution in favour of the other concerned parties. The latter shall reserve their right to claim the amount from who are responsible for the defect itself or fault. These latter may in no case claim that their own damage and expenses be admitted the general average. However, the shipowner who is exonerated by a clause of the charter party or Bill of Lading of liability for nautical error of the master, shall be able to apply for average contribution but only in case the nautical error of the master was the root cause of the common danger. Article 265 Goods for which no Bill of lading or receipt from the master was established, shall not be admitted as general average if they were sacrificed. They shall nevertheless contribute in the average if they were salvaged. The same rule applies to goods which were the subject of inaccurate declaration unless the party concerned can prove his good fai tho Loss and damage suffered by a merchandise whose value was declared lower than its real one, shall be admitted on the basis of its declared value, but this merchandise shall contribute to the average on the basis of its real value. Article 266 Goods loaded on deck in violation of sea customs and ways, shall contribute in the average if they have been salvaged. If they were sacrificed, their owner shall be permitted to apply for average contribution only if he can prove that he has not consented to this mode of shipment. This provision shall not apply to coasting trade. Article 267 Parcel-post of any nature, baggage and personal effects of crew and passengers, crew wages and ship's stores and generally all things regularly carried without Bill of Lading, shall be exonerated from average contribution. If they have been sacrificed, their value shall be refunded through average contribution. Article 268 Any party concerned may relieve himself from the obligation of contributing in the average by abandoning his property admitted in average contribution before he takes delivery of it. Article 269 The adjustment of average shall be made at the last port of destination of the cargo on board at the time of the sacrifice or in the place where the voyage was interrupted and according to the law of that port. It shall be based on the current prices at the date and place of discharge and according to the condition of the things salvaged. This adjustment shall comprise three parts: 1 - Determination of the debtors. 2 - Determination of the creditors. 3 - Calculation of the proportion in which the amount collected from the first must be distributed to the benefit of the second. Article 270 Should the parties fail to come to an understanding, the adjustment shall be made by experts appointed by the referee judge. Article 271 If it is not accepted amicably by all parties concerned, it shall be subject to confirmation by the Court on the request of the party most anxious to have an early adjustment. Article 272 The master's expenses, the amount of the damage suffered by the vessel an the cost of tile sacrificed goods, freight loss and the expenses for the settlement of the average, shall be included in the credit mass. Article 273 The amount which may be allowed in general average for losses or damage suffered by the vessel, shall be the repair or replacement cost subject to the usual deductions in respect of "new for old". Temporary repairs, however, shall not be subject to any deduction. In the absence of repair or replacement, the amount which may be allowed shall be fixed by valuation. Article 274 The goods sacrificed or damage suffered by the goods shall be estimated according to the current price at the unloading port on condition that the owner pays the freight, after deduction of the landing charges as well as customs duties if necessary. Article 275 When a loss of freight is admissible in general average it shall be necessary to deduct from the gross freight the expenses which would have been incurred to earn it as well as any replacement freight. Article 276 The debit mass shall include: The goods at their total value or. they have been salvaged or at the value they should have if they had been sacrificed at the port of destination after deduction of expenses including customs duties and freight unless the latter has been stated to be payable in any event. TI,e vessel at its net actual value at the stopping port after deducting the expenses. The freight and passage cost at two-thirds or their gross amount save, in so far as the freight is concerned, if it was stated to be payable in any event. Article 277 The master may refuse to deliver the goods unless he is provided with a sufficient guarantee for payment of the average contribution. Article 278 The shipowner shall have a lien on the goods or their proceeds for fifteen days after their delivery if they have not been handed over to third parties, in order to satisfy the contribution of such goods in the average. The owners of sacrificed goods shall have a lien on the vessel to satisfy the amount of the average contribution incumbent on the vessel and freight for account of the shipowner. Article 279 The distribution shall be made at a fixed rate per cent. When one of the rate-payers is insolvent, his contribution must be distributed among the others in proportion to their interest. Article 280 Any action pertaining to general average contribution in losses or damage shall be non-receivable, in case no letter of reservations is subntitted within three days from the date of delivery, holidays not included. Article 281 All actions for average contribution shall be time-barred if commenced two years after the arrival of the vessel at the last port of destination of the cargo that was on board at the time of the sacrifice or in the place where the voyage was interrupted. TITLE VIII - BOTTOMRY-BOND Article 282 A bottomry-bond is a contract whereby an advance is made against pledging as security the vessel or cargo on condition that the amount of the advance is not repayable should the security pledged be totally lost due to the hazards of the sea; but should they arrive safely it will be returned to him with the sea profit, that is to say with the interests agreed upon at a rate higher than that fixed by the law. Article 283 Lending upon bottomry can only be made to the master during voyage to meet repair expenses or other requirements of the vessel and cargo. Article 284 The necessity of going into expenses useful to the vessel or cargo must be ascertained in Lebanon by the justice of the peace and, abroad, by consular authorities or, in their absence, by the magistrate of the peace on the spot. The competent magistrate shall proceed to the loan bids, the money being borrowed from the lender who offered the lowest rate of sea profit. Because of circumstances however, an anticable loan may be authorised. Article 285 Advance upon bottomry may be made by pledging the vessel, cargo and/or freight jointly or separately. If the expenses are made in the interest of the cargo, the master may put the goods in pledge. If the expenses are made in the interest of the vessel the master may borrow on the cargo only after having exhausted the credit which he may be given by pledging the vessel. Article 286 The master shall not be personally responsible for the advance if he complied with the rules provided for in the preceding articles. Responsibility for the vessel assigned to the loan lies with her owner except where under the provisions of article 94 there has been renunciation or limitation. The owner of the ship pledged as security for the advance shall be responsible therefor subject to his prerogative of abandoning the goods to the lender. Article 287 The document evidencing the advance must indicate the date, the amount advanced, the profit stipulated, the property affected, names of parties, vessel and master and the duration of the loan. The contract shall be either nominal to order or to bearer. When it is made to order, the endorser's guarantee shall be extended to the interest unless otherwise agreed. Article 288 The lender must be refunded the loan if the things affected by the loan are lost owing to inherent vice or due to the fact of the borrower or his servants. Article 289 The lender shall not contribute to particular average of the property affected by the loan. However, in case of shipwreck, he shall contribute to the expenses incurred for the salvage of the property affected by the loan, proportionaJly to the amount of the loan. Article 290 In case of general average the amount of the loan shall not be added to the average contribution. The adjustment between vessel, freight and cargo shall be established as if there were no lending upon bottomry, but the lender shall contribute in discharging the owners of the property affected by the loan, in proportion to the amount of the loan. Article 291 If several loans have been made on the same things, the last in calendar date shall have preference on the previous ones. Article 292 Any action resulting from a bottomry-bond shall be time-barred if commenced two years after the debt has fallen due. TITLE IX - INSURANCE CHAPTER I - Conditions of formation and validity of contract and duties of the assured ' Article 293 Marine insurance is a contract whereby the insurer undertakes to indenmify the assured for the prejudice incident to marine adventure consisting in an actual loss in value, in consideration of payment of a premium, and up to an indemnity which should not exceed the value of the thing lost. Article 294 Any provisions of the present title which are not expressly declared "applicable notwithstanding any contrary agreements" or "applicable under nullity", shall only be useful as interpreting the "ill of the parties and may be derogated therefrom by formal clauses. Article 295 An insurance contract shall be set down in writing and in two originals. It must contain a recital of: - The date on which the insurance was written and whether before or after noon. - The name and domicile of the person who takes out an insurance for his own account or somebody else's ; - The risks which the underwriter assumes and their time-limit ; - The amount insured; - The amount of the premium and the insurance cost; It shall be signed by the underwriter and the assured, or an insurance broker on the assured's behalf. It may be nominal, to order or to bearer. Each of the parties shaJl be entitled to a certified copy of the insurance policy. Article 296 The underwriters cannot be surnmoned except before the Court of the place where the contract was signed. If the contract, however, was signed by a proxy the assured may apply to the Court of the underwriter's domicile. If, however, more than half the insurance value was signed in one and the same place, the assured may sununon the other underwriters before the Court of that place before which suit was already started in order that the same judgment applies to all. Article 297 Even in the absence of fraudulent intent, any reticence or false declaration on the part of the assured at the time when the contract is concluded, any discrepancy between the insurance contract and carriage contract, which would diminish the opinion of risk, shall cancel the insurance. The insurance shall be null even in case the reticence, false declaration or discrepancy did not have any effect on the damage or loss of the thing insured. The premium shall remain totally acquired by the underwriter in case of fraudulent intent of the assured, and half acquired in the contrary case. Article 298 Under the same sanction, the assured must inform the underwriters of the events which happened after the contract, which may modify underwriter's opinion of the risk. Article 299 The assured may oppose to the bearer of the policy, even to order or to bearer, the exceptions relating to this policy which may have been opposed to the irtitial assured if the transfer of the policy had not taken place. Article 300 The insurance contract may always be cancelled at the assured's wiJl as long as the risks have not begun to run. The assured who cannot make good case of jorce majeure shall pay to the underwriter as a lump indenmity half the premiwn fixed in the contract. Article 301 If the insurance relates to goods for the voyage out and home, and if the vessel, having reached its outward destination, does not take freight for the voyage back, or if the freight back is not complete, the underwriter shall receive only the proportional two-thirds of the premium agreed upon, in the absence of a clause to the contrary. Article 302 In case of bankruptcy or a manifest suspension of payments of the assured, or in case of non-payment of a due premium, the underwriters, after an unavailing summons served at the domicile to payor provide a valid guarantee within 24 hours, may cancel, by simple notice, even by a registered letter, from the latest intelligence, any current insurance desigoated in the notice. The underwriters shall give up the premium in proportion to the duration of the risks which have to be run and shall remain creditors ofthe balance. This summons and this notice may, however, be made by one and the same act. In case of bankruptcy or manifest suspension of payments of the underwriters, the assured shall have the same rights. The provisions of the first paragraph shall not be applicable to third parties holders in good faith of a Bill of Lading and policy or addendum. Article 303 The public sale of the vessel shall cause the insurance to cease as of right on the day of sale. The insurance shall continue as of right in case of a private sale affecting less than half the interest insured. In case of a private sale affecting half at least of the interest insured, the insurance shall continue only with the agreement of the underwriters. Article 304 Unless otherwise stipulated, the hiring of a vessel shall not lead to the rescission of the insurance. Article 305 The assured must inform the underwriters of the damage or average within three days from the receipt of the news. He must minimise as much as possihle the effects of the risk, take all protective measures, attend to or proceed with the salvage of the things insured and reserve all recourses against a responsible third party. Article 306 The assured who contributes to the salvage, shall reserve his rights to claim for compensation and for relinquishment. He shall be entitled, upon his mere statement, unless fraud is proved by the underwriter, to the refund of his expenses. On his part, the underwriter himself may take any measures of protection or salvage without being challenged as having acted as owner. Article 307 The consigoees shall be bound under sanction of inadmissibility of the claim, to apply for survey on the loss and damage to the agents or representatives of the underwriters named in the policy; in their absence, they shall apply to the local competent authority. They shall be bound under the same sanction, to have the survey carried out within eight days after the day on which the goods were put by the carrier at their disposal or at the disposal of their representatives or proxies, this period not to exceed thirty days from the arrival of the goods at destination. However this 30-day time-limit is no counter against consignees who prove that they were ignorant of the arrival ofthe goods at destination. Article 308 In insurance on goods written by policies said to be floating or by subscription, the assured shall be bound to declare during the duration of the policy and as long as insurance is in force any shipments made for his account or for the account of such third parties as may have detailed him to insure their goods. Should the assured not fulfil this obligation, the policy may be rescinded by the underwriter, who shall in all cases keep the premiums paid and shall be entitled to payment of those relative to the undeclared shipments. When the declaration relates to goods insured for account of third parties, it shall be inoperative if made after the damage has occurred. Article 309 Insurance may be written for account of the person to whom it may belong. This declaration shall be operative both as an insurance for the benefit of the subscriber and as a stipulation for others for the benefit of the known or eventual beneficiary. The subscriber of an insurance written for account of the person to whom it may belong, shall alone be bound to pay the premium to the underwriter, but the exceptions with which the underwriter could have countered him shall be legally opposed to the beneficiary of the policy. CHAPTER II - The subject matter of insurance Article 310 Any person concerned may have the vessel and its accessories insured, as well as the vessel under building and the parts intended for this vessel lying insured in the shipyard, the chartering expenses, the supplies, the seamen's wages, the freight, the bottomry amounts, the goods, the money, and securities loaded on board, the expected profit and generally any property having a money value and subject to sea risks. Article 311 The admitted value of the vessel shall comprise undividedly all its accessories, especially foods supplies, advances to the crew equipment and all operating costs, unless it is proved that some of these expenses relate to an interest distinct from that of vessel's ownership. Article 312 When the subject matter of insurance is the net freight, the amount of such freight, in the absence of express provision, shall be estimated at 60% of the gross freight. Article 313 The profit expected shall be fixed at one-tenth of the value at departure, unless the underwriters had expressly agreed upon a higher valuation, in which case the portion of this over-valuation must be determined in the policy. Article 314 If the value of the goods is not fixed in the contract, it may be proved by invoices and registers, failing which, the valuation shall be assessed on the basis of the current price at the time and place of loading including all the duties paid, and charges up to "on board", the freight payable in any event, as well as insurance cost, and if need be, the expected profit. The same shall apply to the valuation of the bollards, keels and appurtenances of the vessel, which shall be established on their value on the date when the risks have commenced. The equipment, supplies and all property which has monetary value shall be assessed according to their value at the time and place when the risks have commenced. Article 315 Even though the underwriter has accepted in the policy the assessment made by the assured, he may always establish that the value agreed upon exceeds the actual value of the insured property. Article 316 The underwriter may reinsure with another the risks he has himself insured. This reinsurance shall be governed by the text of the present title. The reinsurer shall alone be responsible to the assured. Article 317 The assured may have the insurance cost assured. Article 318 Any insurance contract concluded after the loss or arrival of the insured property shall be null if it is proved that the news of the loss or arrival has reached the place where the assured stood before he gave the order to insure, or where the contract was signed before the underwriter signed it. When the insurance is concluded following good or bad information, a clause only allowed in underwriting a vessel duly chandlered, the contract shall be cancelled only if the proof is made that the assured knew of the loss, or the underwriter knew of the arrival of the vessel, before the signature of the contract. If the proof is made against the assured, the latter shall pay to the underwriter a double premium; if it is made against the underwriter the latter shall pay to the assured a sum double the premium agreed. Article 319 The insurance written by a conunission-agent shall be null when the conunission-agent might have known the news. It shall be null when the Principal knew of it. In case he knew of it after having given the order, he must immediately give a counter-order by telegram if need be ; the insurance shall be valid if it is signed before the arrival of the counter-order. Article 320 When the master is authorised to load goods for his own account on the vessel under his command, he shall be bound if he had them insured, to prove to the underwriters, by all means, the purchase of the goods and to produce a Bill of Lading signed by two seuior members of the crew. Article 321 In the absence of a Bill of Lading, or when the Bill of Lading contains clauses restricting the convincing value of the master's acknowledgement, the assured must produce other evidence in support of the loading : purchase invoices, manifests, customs documents, transport tickets, correspondence. Proof by witness shall be permitted in the absence of other proofs. Article 322 Marine insurance can only be, notwithstanding .any contrary agreement, an indemnity contract; it must not place the assured, in the event of damage, in a pecuniary situation better than if no damage had occurred. Article 323 A person may, for the same thing, sign as many insurance contracts he wishes, but on the condition that he does not derive in the accumulation of such contracts an advantage superior to the amount of loss suffered by him. Article 324 When an insurance contract was written for an amount exceeding the value of the property insured, as a result of deceit or fraud on the part of the assured, the contract may be cancelled on the request of the underwriter who shall be entitled to the entire premium as compensation. If there has been neither deceit nor fraud, the contract shall be valid up to the value of the insured property according to the valuation made or agreed. The underwriter shall not be entitled to the premium for the surplus, but he may obtain damages if need be. Article 325 When the total of the sums insured by several contracts exceeds the value of the property insured, and there was deceit or fraud on the part of the assured, the contracts may be cancelled in accordance with the preceding article. If there has been neither deceit nor fraud, contracts are all valid and each of them is operative proportionately to the sum to which it applies, up to the entire value of the thing insured. This provision may be set aside by a clause of the policy adopting chronological order, or stipulating joint liability amongst the underwriters. Article 326 If the insurance covers only a part of the value of the property insured, the assured shall be considered as remaining his own underwriter for the surplus and shall bear in consequence a share proportional to the damage, unless it was expressly stipulated that, within the limits of the sum insured, the assured shall obtain total indemnity when the damage shall not exceed said sum. CHAPTER III - Risks insured and risks excluded Article 327 Insurance shall have a maritime character by the only fact that it applies to a craft qualified as vessel, even if such craft is not set for maritime navigation. The vessel shall be covered during her repair, her lying in docks, in dry docks and generally in any place whatsoever within the navigation limits set by the policy. Article 328 The insurance of goods shall retain a maritime character even though such goods are carried by land or river, if this conveyance is only accessory to a special carriage by sea. Article 329 Any loss and damage of the insured property resulting from storm, wreck, standing, collision, forced shelter, forced change of route, of voyage and of vessel, fire, jettison, explosion, plunder, barratry, theft and generally all accidents and sea fortunes, are underwriters' risks. Civil or foreign war risks shall not be a charge on the underwriter. In case of an agreement to the contrary, the underwriter shall be liable for all damages and losses :0 insured property resulting from hostilities, reprisals, arrests, captures, and molestations by any governments, either friends or enemy, recognised or not recognised, and generally from all accidents and war fortunes. The underwriters of ordinary risks have to prove the war risk. Article 330 The underwriter shall be responsible for the expenses of setting the vessel afloat again, of assisting the vessel in distress, of salvaging and towing, when the vessel is earned to a port for repair. The provisions of the present article shall not apply to stranding resulting from normal tidal movements nor to strandings occurring in maritime canals or on rivers and streams above points reached by tides. Article 331 If the expenses of shelter have particular average, the victuals and crew wages shall not be a charge to the underwriters. If the vessel, however, is carried to a port better suited than the shelter harbour for repairs at the expense of the underwriters, the victuals and crew wages and towing charges shall be at underwriters expense. The same applies if the vessel remains at the port of call awaiting replacement parts which are necessary to proceed on her voyage and when repairs are chargeable on the underwriters. Article 332 In case the vessel has collided with another vessel belonging to the assured or has received assistance from her, the settlement shall be made as if the vessels belonged to different shipowners. Questions of liability for collision and indemnity for services rendered shall be fixed for the parties concerned by a single arbitror who shall be agreed upon by the assured parties or, for want of agreement, by ordinance from the president of the referee Court. The same applies in case the vessel has collided with a fixed or floating body belonging to the assured. Article 333 General average contribution shall be incumbent on the underwriters in proportion to the value insured by them, after deduction, if need be, of the particular average at their expense. Article 334 The underwriters shall be exempt from all claims regarding delay in the despatch or arrival of the goods, differences of rates, obstacles brought to the commercial operation of the assured, whatever be the reason. Article 335 The underwriter shall not be liable for losses and damage resulting from intentional or inexcusable faults of the assured or his representatives. Any agreement to the contrary shall be null. The underwriter shall not be liable for the consequences of the master's deceit or fraud when such master has been chosen by the carrier. Article 336 The underwriters shall be exempt, by exception and derogation from what was stated about the guarantee of the barratry : 1 - For the master's deceit and fraud, for whatever events resulting from violation, blockade, contraband or prohibited or clandestine traffic, unless the master has been removed without the assent of the carrier or his representative and replaced by another than the first mate . 2 - For all consequences entailed by the vessel from whatever acts done by the master or the crew on shore. Article 337 Unless there are provisions to the contrary, damage and losses resulting from inherent vice of the thing insured shall not be a charge to the underwriter except in case of hull insurance, if such vice is a latent defect of the vessel which a diligent shipowner could not foresee or prevent. Article 338 However, such damage and losses shall be a charge to the underwriter if the voyage has suffered an extraordinary delay as a result of an accident guaranteed by the underwriter and on condition that the damage be caused by the delay itself. Article 339 But for provisions to the contrary, the underwriters shall not be responsible for damage caused by the property insured either to other property or to persons. Article 340 The risks of third parties recourse exercised against the vessel for acts of collision of the latter with another vessel, or craft, dikes, quays, stockades or other fixed objects, shall be a charge to the underwriters for nine¬tenth of the damages allowed, and up to nine-tenth of the amount insured. The assured shall bear one-tenth of the damages. He shall be barred from having this tenth insured. In case of infringement of this provision, he shall bear a reduction of another tenth. Underwriters shall be exempt from any recourse exercised by whomsoever and for whatever cause due to damage or prejudices relating to the cargo and commitments of the vessel insured and also from any recourse exercised for facts of death and injury and any accidents and corporal damage. Article 341 In case the vessel is lost, if the master is her owner or joint-owner, the settlement of his share in the insurance shall be delayed until production of the certificate showing the result of the administrative inquiry into his behaviour. If it is established by this inquiry that the loss is imputable to the master's errors, although without his being guilty of deceit or fraud, the underwriters shall be validly relieved from the insured share of the master by paying him through compromise 50% of the indenutity. Article 342 In insurance covering the hull, if the time of the risks is not determined in the contract, the risks of insurance by the voyage shall run from the moment the vessel has shipped her moorings or weighed anchor and shall cease at the time when she has anchored or moored at the place of destination. However, if she received goods on board, the risks shall run from the moment when she has begun to load the goods and shall cease as soon as the discharge is completed, without exceeding a period of fifteen days after the arrival at the place of destination, unless she has loaded in this place goods for another voyage before this period has expired, in which case the risks shall immediately cease. Article 343 Quarantine is considered as a part of the voyage which gives rise thereto ; nevertheless if the vessel insured by the voyage is going to perform quarantine in some place other than the place of destination, the underwriters shall be entitled to an increase of the premium by three¬quarters per cent and per month from the day of return. The same increases of premium shall apply in case a vessel having found its port of destination blocked, has lain at anchor outside this port or sailed for others. In this case, the underwriters shall continue to run the risks during all stays and sailings without, however, such extension being permitted to exceed six months from the date of arrival outside the blocked port, but they shall not be responsible for any expenses or increase of expenses resulting from these sailings and stays. The assured may always cause the risks to cease at this will before the period of six months. In case of insurance with tied premium, that is to say guaranteeing the risks run out and homeward, there shall be granted, without increase of premium, four months of stay from the moment when the vessel has called at the first port where she must being her operations. If the stay has lasted more than four months, there shall be due to the underwriters and increase of two-thirds per cent for every extra month. Article 344 In insurance on vessel and cargo, if the time of the risks is not determined in the contract, the risks shall run from the moment when the goods have left the land to be embarked and shall be over at the moment they have been landed at the place of destination, all risks of cross¬harbour lighterage for immediate transportation from land to board and from board to land being a charge to underwriters. Article 345 In case of voluntary deviation after vessel's departure, the underwriter is entitled to compensation and does not answer for the risks. If the deviation is decided prior to departure, insurance is cancelled and the underwriter receives by way of lump compensation half the amount of the premium stated in the contract. Article 346 In spite of deviation, the risks which occurred on the regular route of the vessel shall be insured risks, except the right for the underwriter to prove that such risks were the result of deviation. Article 347 In hull insurance the change of vessel entails the nullity of the contract. Also, except of otherwise provided, the hull insurance on cargo shall be null in case of voluntary change of vessel. Article 348 If the insured goods are loaded on deck, the underwriters, except if other wise provided, shall not be liable for the risks, uuless such loading is authorised by constant customs and practices of navigation. CHAPTER IV - Calculation and settlement of insurance indemnity Article 349 The assured must in principal exercise the action for damage against the underwriter. In case of major damage, he may relinquish for the underwriter the thing insured and claims compensation for total loss. Section I : Action for damage Article 350 Any damage or loss which does not give rise to abandonment, shall be considered as damage and shall be settled between the underwriter and the assured in accordance with the following regulations. Article 351 For the vessel's particular average, if there is total loss of the vessel, prejudice shall be settled according to the vessel's value; if there are average expenses, the amount of the prejudice shall be settled according to the amount spent by the assured after deduction, if need be, of the average contribution which the assured may have to receive because of the event which gives rise to expenses. Article 352 There shall only be admitted in average settlements the cost, justified by paid bills of replacements and repairs recognised necessary by experts to put again the ship in a good condition of sea-worthiness, the assured party being entitled to no other indemnity for depreciation or for unemployment or for any other cause whatsoever, as particular or general average. The underwriters shall have the right to demand that such replacements and repairs be executed through a bid or tender. In case the assured party does not comply with such demand, there should be deducted 25% from the total amount of replacements and repairs. Article 353 During the period which will elapse between the date of preparation of the tender specifications and that of the tender, and on the condition, however, that such period exceeds three days, the underwriters shall be charged with the victuals and crew wages, and the premium, in term insurances, shall cease to run. Article 354 The master must not have the vessel sheathed or docked in the shelter harbour if it is admitted by experts that the expenditure may be postponed until a more appropriate moment. The master must consult the underwriting agent or, in his absence, the Lebanese consul before carrying out the repair in the shelter harbour. If it cannot be carried or would be too expensive, he must have indispensable repairs only made there. The vessel may be sent by the underwriters to the best equipped harbour where repairs could be made economically and, if need be, she shall be towed to such harbour. Article 355 The value of the wreckage must be deducted from the amount of the indemnity. The indemnity must suffer a deduction from new to old. Such deduction shall be fixed in the policies. Article 356 The adjustment of average on goods shall be effected by shares and in proportion to the sum paid, i.e. : 1 - by comparing their value in damaged condition with that they would have had if in a good condition at the port of destination and by applying to their insured value the depreciation rate thus obtained; 2 - without deducting the charges incumbent on the goods; 3 - without deducting customs duties. Article 357 Exemption from average restricting the effects of the insurance may be stated in the policies and their rates can be freely fixed. They shall have as effect to exclude any indemnity if the prejudice suffered by the assured party does not exceed such rate and to reduce the indemnity if such prejudice is higher than such rate. Article 358 Exemption from average shall be independent of ordinary leakage and waste on the way, such as fixed by custom. Article 359 Indemnities due by the underwriters shall be payable in cash, thirty days after the handing of vouchers has been completed. Article 360 The sentence authorising the underwriter to prove facts contrary to those stated in the vouchers, shall not stand in the way of condemning him to the provisional payment of ti,e indemnities incumbent on him on the condition that the assured party gives a guarantee. The conunitment of a guarantee shall be extinguished after two full years if there have been no legal proceedings. The same shall apply in case of settlement by abandonment. Article 361 The undenvriter who is bound to pay loss or damage the liability for which is incumbent on a third party, may exercise the rights and actions of the assured whom he has indemnified. Section 2 : Abandonment Article 362 In the following cases, the assured shall have the right to claim the total payment of the indemnity by transfer to the insurance company of the rights he possesses on the thing insured. Article 363 The abandonment of the insured vessel may only be made in the following cases, on condition that it be a risk covered by insurance, want of inforrnation, total clisappearance or destruction, unworthiness by sea fortune, and if the insurance covers war risks: capture or detainment by government order. Article 364 The abandonment for want of information may be made after four months for any steamer, after six months for any sailing vessels other than those which double Cape Hom and the Cape of Good Hope; after eight months for the latter. The time-limits shall run from the date of receipt of the last information. Article 365 In case of a time insurance the risks of which were running on the date of sending the last information, it shall be admitted that the vessel's loss has occurred during the insurance period. Article 366 The vessel shall be considered as sea-unworthy when total amount of repairs to be effected for average resulting from sea fortune, exceeds three fourth of the value agreed upon. Article 367 A vessel condemned for want of material means of repair, shall be considered also as unseaworthy and may be abandoned to the undenvriters only if it is established that the vessel could not safely float again, if need be after lightening by means of a tugboat, for another port where she could find the necessary resources, and, in addition, that the carriers were not able to send to the shelter harbour the indispensable spare parts. A vessel which has been condemned only because of lack of money reqnired to pay for the expenses, for repairs and others, shall not, on the contrary, be considered as unseaworthy or be abandoned to the undenvriters. Article 368 The abandonment of goods insured may be only in the following cases, on conclition that it be a risk covered by insurance: 1 - When there is lack of information after the expiration of the time-limits fixed in article 354. 2 - In case of unseaworthiness of the vessel to sea fortune, when after the time-limits fixed below, the goods could not be carried to destination or, at least, when their loading on board another vessel has not begun within the same time-limits ; four months if the event has occurred on Europe's coasts or islands or on the Mediterranean and Black Sea coast of Asia or Africa bordering on the Atlantic Ocean outside Europe; six months if the event occurred on the other coasts or islands. These time-limits shall run from the day of the notification of unseaworthiness by the assured to the underwriter; if the event has occurred on a point with which navigation has been interrupted by ice or other cause afforce majeure, the time-limit shall be increased by the duration of such interruption. 3 - When, as result of material damage for account of the undenvriter, the goods were sold during the voyage. 4 - When, independently of any charges, the loss or material deterioration of the goods has amounted to at least the three-quarters of the value insured. And if the insurance covered war risks. 5 - In case of capture. 6 - In case of arrest by goverrunent order, or capture by pirates. Article 369 If the vessel has been recognised as unseaworthy, the goods' undenvriter shall continue to assume the risks until their arrival at destination and bear in addition the charges of unloading, storage and reloacling of these goods as well as the extra freight caused by their reshipment and all salvage charges relating thereto. Article 370 The abandonment of the freight insured can only take place: 1 - When the freight is totally lost by sea fortune. 2 - When there is lack of news after the expiration of the time-limits fixed in article 364. 3 - In case of capture, if the insurance covers war risks. Article 371 Any action for abandonment shall be time-barred if not commenced within a period of 6 months to begin: In case of abandonment for total loss, capture, arrest by govenunent order, detainment order, from the day of tile receipt of the news. In case of abandonment for lack of information, from the day of expiration of the time-limits fixed in article 364. In case of abandonment of the goods for unseaworthiness of the vessel, from the day of the expiration of the time-limits fixed in article 368. In all other cases, from the day when the assured was in position to benefit from his right to abandon. Article 372 In case of reinsurance, the reassured must announce the abandonment to the reinsurers, within a month from the day of the notice of abandonment served by the original assured. Article 373 In making tile abandonment, the assured shall be bound to declare all the insurances and bottomry-loans. As long as the declaration has not been made, the payment delay shall be suspended without resulting thereby any extension of the time-limit provided for under article 371 for the purpose of commencing an action for abandonment. The assured who, with bad faith, made an inaccurate declaration, shall forfeit his insurance benefit. The same shall apply in case of average adjustment. Article 374 The vessel's underwriters shall not be entitled to the saved freight or to debts which resulted from the sea adventure. But all the debts which represent a part of tile value of the things insured must be abandoned. Article 375 The abandonment cannot be partial or conditional. It shall extend only to the things insured and put under risks. Article 376 The property transfer made by abandonment shall be final and irrevocable. No subsequent event as for example the return of the vessel to port, can impair it. Article 377 Abandonment is possible when the ship was salvaged after wreck or stranding. Article 378 When the abandonment is notified and accepted or deemed valid, the things insured shall belong to the underwriter from the time of the incident. Article 379 If the time of payment is not fixed in the contract, the underwriter shall be bound to pay the insurance three months after the abandonment has been notified. Article 380 Any actions resulling from the insurance contract other than those for the exercise of which the law fixes a shorter time-limit shall be prescribed if commenced two years after the date of maturity of the debt, unless the plaintiff proved that it was impossible for him to act. Article 381 The procedure of application of the present law shall be fixed by decree. Beirut, 18 February 1947 Signed: Bechara Khalil El-Khoury By the President of the Republic The president of tile Council of Ministers Signed: Riad EI-Solh The Minister of Justice Signed: Abdallah EI-Yafi |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright 2002 NovexCn.com
|