ITALY LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Giorgio Berlingieri, Alberto Massimo Rossi, Alfredo Lizio, Alberto Torrazza, Simone Gaggero and Filippo Cassola, ADVANT Nctm
2.2 International Conventions: Collision and Salvage Italy is a State party to the following international conventions: • the Convention for the Unification of Cer - tain Rules of Law with respect to Collisions between Vessels, 1910 (the “Brussels Colli - sion Convention”); • the International Convention for the Uni - fication of Certain Rules relating to Penal Jurisdiction in matters of Collision or other Incidents of Navigation, 1952 (the “Collision/ Penal Convention”); • the International Convention on Certain Rules concerning Civil Jurisdiction in matters of Collision, 1952 (the “Collision/Civil Conven - tion”); and • the Convention on the International Regula - tions for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs). As far as domestic law is concerned, whenever the criteria provided for by the Collision/Civil Convention are not applicable, the provisions of the Italian Navigation Code will apply. Italy ratified the 1989 London Convention on Salvage in 1996 and applies it as a general rule. Therefore, the provisions of the London Conven - tion prevail over the rules laid down in the Italian Navigation Code concerning salvage. 2.3 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Ratification of the 1976 Convention on Limita - tion of Liability for Maritime Claims by Italy was authorised in Law No 201 of 2009 of 23 Decem - ber 2009. However ratification has not yet taken place. In the meantime, Directive 2009/20/EC of 23 April 2009 on the insurance of ship-owners for maritime claims was implemented in Italy by
Legislative Decree No 111 of 2012 of 28 June 2012. The Legislative Decree requires insurance in line with the Directive and refers to the limits set out in the 1996 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims. The Legislative Decree also amends Article 275 of the Italian Navigation Code, which governs limitation in Italian law and restricts its applica - tion to ships under 300 gross tons flying the Italian flag. As the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims has not been trans - posed into Italian law, the Legislative Decree cannot be taken into account as the instrument implementing the Convention. Therefore for the time being liability of ships over 300 gross tons seems to be unlimited under Italian law. 2.4 Procedure and Requirements for Establishing a Limitation Fund The procedure for establishing a limitation fund is provided for by Articles 620 to 642 of the Ital - ian Navigation Code. The amount is the aggre - gate of the value of the ship and of the freight at the end of the voyage during which the obliga - tions have arisen under Article 275 of the Italian Navigation Code. The value of the ship is taken as the limit of liability, provided it is not below one-fifth of the value at the beginning of the voy - age and not above two-fifths subsequently. If it is lower, the limit will be equal to one-fifth of the value at the beginning of the voyage and if it is higher, it will be equal to two-fifths of the value. The right to limit liability is lost if the loss has occurred because of the wrongful misconduct or the gross negligence of the operator of the ship. 2.5 Seafarers’ Safety and Owners’ Liability The ILO’s International Maritime Labour Con - vention (MLC-2006) has been ratified by Italy through Law No 113 of 23 September 2013. It
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