The
General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,
Having
been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour
Office, and having met in its Ninth Session on 7 June 1926, and
Having
decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the repatriation
of seamen, which is included in the first item of the agenda of the Session,
and
Having
determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international
Convention,
adopts
this twenty-third day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and
twenty-six the following Convention, which may be cited as the Repatriation of
Seamen Convention, 1926, for ratification by the Members of the International
Labour Organisation in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of
the International Labour Organisation:
1. This
Convention shall apply to all sea-going vessels registered in the country of
any Member ratifying this Convention, and to the owners, masters and seamen of
such vessels.
2. It
shall not apply to –
a) ships
of war,
b)
Government vessels not engaged in trade,
c) vessels
engaged in the coasting trade,
d) pleasure
yachts,
e) Indian
country craft,
f) fishing
vessels,
g) vessels
of less than 100 tons gross registered tonnage or 300 cubic metres, nor to
vessels engaged in the home trade below the tonnage limit prescribed by
national law for the special regulation of this trade at the date of the
passing of this Convention.
For the
purpose of this Convention the following expressions have the meanings hereby
assigned to them, viz.:
a) the
term “vessel” includes any ship or boat of any nature whatsoever, whether
publicly or privately owned, ordinarily engaged in maritime navigation;
b) the
term “seaman” includes every person employed or engaged in any capacity on
board any vessel and entered on the ship’s articles. It excludes masters,
pilots, cadets and pupils on training ships and duly indentured apprentices,
naval ratings, and other persons in the permanent service of a Government;
c) the
term “master” includes every person having command and charge of a vessel
except pilots;
d) the
term “home trade vessel” means a vessel engaged in trade between a country and
the ports of a neighbouring country within geographical limits determined by
the national law.
1. Any
seaman who is landed during the term of his engagement or on its expiration
shall be entitled to be taken back to his own country, or to the port at which
he was engaged, or to the port at which the voyage commenced, as shall be
determined by national law, which shall contain the provisions necessary for
dealing with the matter, including provisions to determine who shall bear the
charge of repatriation.
2. A
seaman shall be deemed to have been duly repatriated if he has been provided
with suitable employment on board a vessel proceeding to one of the
destinations prescribed in accordance with the foregoing paragraph.
3. A
seaman shall be deemed to have been repatriated if he is landed in the country
to which he belongs, or at the port at which he was engaged, or at a
neighbouring port, or at the port at which the voyage commenced.
4. The
conditions under which a foreign seaman engaged in a country other than his own
has the right to be repatriated shall be as provided by national law or, in the
absence of such legal provisions, in the articles of agreement. The provisions
of the preceding paragraphs shall, however, apply to a seaman engaged in a port
of his own country.
The expenses of repatriation shall not be a
charge on the seaman if he has been left behind by reason of—
a) injury sustained in the service of the
vessel, or
b) shipwreck, or
c) illness not due to his own wilful act or
default, or
d) discharge for any cause for which he
cannot be held responsible.
1. The
expenses of repatriation shall include the transportation charges, the
accommodation and the food of the seaman during the journey. They shall also
include the maintenance of the seaman up to the time fixed for his departure.
2. When a
seaman is repatriated as member of a crew, he shall be entitled to remuneration
for work done during the voyage.
The public
authority of the country in which the vessel is registered shall be responsible
for supervising the repatriation of any member of the crew in cases where this
Convention applies, whatever may be his nationality, and where necessary for
giving him his expenses in advance.
The formal
ratifications of this Convention, under the conditions set forth in the
Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, shall be communicated to
the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
1. This
Convention shall come into force at the date on which the ratifications of two
Members of the International Labour Organisation have been registered by the
Director-General.
2. It
shall be binding only upon those Members whose ratifications have been
registered with the International Labour Office.
3.
Thereafter, the Convention shall come into force for any Member at the date on
which its ratification has been registered with the International Labour
Office.
As soon as
the ratifications of two Members of the International Labour Organisation have
been registered with the International Labour Office, the Director-General of
the International Labour Office shall so notify all the Members of the
International Labour Organisation. He shall likewise notify them of the
registration of ratifications which may be communicated subsequently by other
Members of the Organisation.
Subject to
the provisions of Article 8, each Member which ratifies this Convention agrees
to bring the provisions of Articles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 into operation not
later than 1 January 1928, and to take such action as may be necessary to make
these provisions effective.
Each
Member of the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention
engages to apply it to its colonies, possessions and protectorates, in
accordance with the provisions of Article 35 of the Constitution of the
International Labour Organisation.
A Member
which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten
years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act
communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for
registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the
date on which it is registered with the International Labour Office.
At least
once in ten years the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall
present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention
and shall consider the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference
the question of its revision or modification.
The French and English texts of this
Convention shall both be authentic.