United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, 1958, Volume I

United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea

Geneva, Switzerland 24 February to 27 April 1958

Document: A/CONF.13/36

Memorandum by the World Health Organization on Draft Article 66 Concerning the Law of the Sea Adopted by the International Law Commission at Its Eighth Session

Extract from the Official Records of the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, Volume I (Preparatory Documents)

MEMORANDUM BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ON DRAFT ARTICLE 66 CONCERNING THE LAW OF THE SEA ADOPTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION AT ITS EIGHTH SESSION

[Original text: English] [28 February 1958]

1. Under article 66 of the draft concerning the law and regulations in force in the territory may be applied without of the sea adopted by the International Law Commission exceeding, however, the provisions of these Regulations." at its eighth session, a coastal state would be entitled to "Article 44-1. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this exercise, within a zone of the high seas contiguous to its Article, any ship or aircraft, which is unwilling to submit to the territorial sea, certain rights regarding the enforcement measures required by the health authority for the port or air- of its sanitary regulations. port in accordance with these Reuglations, shall be allowed to depart forthwith, but it shall not during its voyage call at any 2. In this connexion, the World Health Organization other port or airport in the same territory. Such a ship or an would wish to draw the attention of the Conference to aircraft shall nevertheless be permitted to take on fuel, water, the International Sanitary Regulations,1 adopted by the and stores in quarantine. If, on medical examination, such a World Health Assembly under article 21 (a) of the ship is found to be healthy, it shall not lose the benefit of Constitution of the World Health Organization. These Article 33. Regulations, which have as their object to ensure the " 2. A ship or an aircraft arriving at a port or an airport maximum security against the international spread of situated in a yellow-fever receptive area shall not, in the disease with the minimum interference with world traf- following circumstances, be allowed to depart and shall be fic, replace in whole or in part thirteen earlier con- subject to the measures required by the health authority in ventions, agreements and protocols, including in par- accordance with these Regulations — ticular the International Sanitary Convention signed in " (a) If the aircraft is infected with yellow fever ; Paris on 21 June 1926. " (b) If the ship is infected with yellow fever, and A'e'des aegypti have been found on board, and the medical examination 3. With regard to the sanitary measures which are shows that any infected person has not been isolated in good permissible under these Regulations as applicable to time." international traffic, attention is drawn in particular to the following articles; 4. In the light of the limitation of the sanitary measures which may be applied by States to shipping, "Article 23 - The sanitary measures permitted by these Regu- the World Health Organization would understand lations are the maximum measures applicable to international article 66 of the articles concerning the law of the sea traffic, which a State may require for the protection of its as not implying the right of States to extend existing territory against the quarantinable diseases." permissible sanitary measures, in particular in respect to 'Article 32 - 1. No sanitary measure shall be applied by a transit traffic. Moreover, since medical inspection of State to any ship which passes through its territorial waters ships and any consequent sanitary measures such as without calling at a port or on the coast. disinfecting or deratting can only be carried out effec- 2. If for any reason such a call is made, the sanitary laws tively in ports equipped for the purpose, the World Health Organization believes that careful consideration should be given to the actual need for the special pro- Official Records of the World Health Organization, 37, Pp- 316> 335. The Eighth and Ninth World Health Assemblies visions envisaged in article 66 insofar as sanitary vV and 195^' amendeti the Regulations as regards the measures are concerned. a rltfc ffver provisions, the sanitary control of pilgrim traffic na the international certificate of vaccination or revaccination 5. The States and territories bound by the Inter- against smallpox. national Sanitary Regulations are listed in the Annex.

339 340 Preparatory documents

ANNEX List of States and territories to which article 32 of the International Sanitary Regulations applies

Aden Colony Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony Poland Aden Protectorate Greece Portugal Afghanistan Grenada (Windward Islands) Portuguese Guinea Albania Guam Portuguese India American Samoa Guatemala Portuguese Timor Angola Haiti Puerto Rico Argentina Honduras Quatar Austria Hong Kong Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Bahamas Iceland Federation of Bahrein India Romania Barbados Indonesia Sao Tome and Principe Basutoland Iran Sarawak Bechuanaland Iraq Saudi Arabia Belgian Congo and Ruanda Urundi Ireland Seychelles Islands Belgium Israel Sierra Leone Bermuda Italy Somalia Bolivia Jamaica Somaliland Protectorate Brazil Japan South West Africa British Guiana Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Spain British Honduras Kenya Spanish Guinea British Solomon Islands Protectorate Korea, Republic of Spanish West Africa British Virgin Islands Kuwait St Helena Brunei Laos St Lucia (Windward Islands) Bulgaria Lebanon St Pierre and Miquelon Cambodia Leeward Islands St Vincent (Windward Islands) Cameroons Liberia Sudan Canada Libya Surinam Cape Verde Islands Luxembourg Swaziland Ceylon Macao Sweden China Madagascar and dependencies Switzerland Colombia Malaya Syria Comoro Islands Maldeve Islands Tanganyika Cook Islands Mauritius Thailand Costa Rica Mexico Togo Cuba Monaco Tonga Islands Cyprus Morocco Trinidad and Tobago Czechoslovakia Mozambique Trucial States Denmark Nepal Tunisia Dominica (Windward Islands) Netherlands Turkey Dominican Republic Netherlands Antilles Uganda Ecuador New Caledonia and dependencies Union of South Africa Egypt New Hebrides Union of Soviet Socialist Republics El Salvador New Zealand United Kingdom of Great Britain Ethiopia Nicaragua and Northern Ireland Falkland Islands Nigeria, Federation of United States of America Fiji and Dependency North Borneo Uruguay Finland Norway Vatican City France Pacific Islands (United States Trust Venezuela French Equatorial Africa Territories) Viet Nam French Settlements in Oceania Pakistan Virgin Islands French Somaliland Panama West New Guinea French West Africa Panama Canal Zone Western Samoa Gambia Paraguay Yemen Germany, Federal Republic of Peru Yugoslavia Ghana Philippines Zanzibar Gibraltar Pitcairn Islands