Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) Act, 1988
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Determination by court of amount of liability. |
12.—(1) Where the owner of a ship has, or is alleged to have, incurred liability for pollution damage pursuant to this Act, he may apply to the Court for an order limiting his liability for such damage to an amount calculated in accordance with the provisions of section 10 . | |
(2) If, on the hearing of an application under subsection (1), the Court finds that the applicant— | ||
(a) has incurred liability for pollution damage, | ||
and | ||
(b) is entitled to limit his liability in accordance with this Act, | ||
the Court, after determining the limit of the liability of such owner and after ordering the payment into court of any amount so determined, shall— | ||
(i) determine the amounts (if any) that would, apart from the limitation of liability, be due in respect of such owner's liability to any person making a claim against such owner in respect of pollution damage, and | ||
(ii) direct, subject to the subsequent provisions of this section, that the amount paid into court be distributed in proportion to their claim amongst such persons as the Court determines as having a claim against such owner in respect of pollution damage. | ||
(3) Whenever the Court, on an application under subsection (1), orders the payment into court of any amount, the applicant shall comply with the order. | ||
(4) A payment into Court of the amount of a limit of liability determined under this section shall be made in the currency of the State, and— | ||
(a) for the purpose of converting such an amount from special drawing rights into the currency of the State one special drawing right shall be treated as equal to such a sum in the currency of the State as the International Monetary Fund have fixed as being the equivalent of one special drawing right for— | ||
(i) the day on which the determination is made, or | ||
(ii) if no sum has been so fixed for that day, the last day before that day for which a sum has been so fixed; | ||
(b) a certificate given by or on behalf of the Central Bank of Ireland stating that— | ||
(i) a particular sum in the currency of the State has been so fixed for the day on which the determination was made, or | ||
(ii) no sum has been so fixed for that day and that a particular sum in the currency of the State has been so fixed for a day which is the last day for which a sum had been so fixed before the day on which the determination was made, | ||
shall be evidence until the contrary is proved of those matters for the purposes of this Act; | ||
(c) a document purporting to be such a certificate shall, in any proceedings, be received in evidence and, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be such a certificate. | ||
(5) A claim shall not be admitted in any application under this section unless such claim is made within three years after the date on which the pollution damage occurred and not later than six years after the date of the incident which occasioned the damage: | ||
Provided that, where the incident occasioning the damage consists of a series of occurrences, a claim shall not be admitted in any application under this section unless such claim is made within six years from the date of the first of those occurrences. | ||
(6) Where any sum has been paid in, or towards, satisfaction of a claim in respect of pollution damage, or costs, to which the liability of the owner of a ship extends and such sum has been paid by— | ||
(a) the owner of the ship or any guarantor, | ||
(b) any person who has, or is alleged to have, incurred a liability, otherwise than by virtue of the provisions of this Act, for such damage or costs, and who is entitled by virtue of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1983, to limit his liability, | ||
the person who paid that sum shall, to the extent of that sum, stand in the same position in any distribution made by the Court under subsection (2) as the person to whom such sum has been paid would stand if he were a party to the proceedings. | ||
(7) Any person who has— | ||
(a) incurred any liability in relation to pollution damage, and | ||
(b) taken any reasonable steps, or expended money, to minimise or prevent the pollution damage in respect of which he is liable, | ||
shall stand in the same position in any distribution made by the Court under subsection (2) as if he had a claim in the proceedings equal to the extent of any expenditure he has incurred in seeking to minimise or prevent the damage. | ||
(8) The Court may, if it thinks fit, postpone the distribution of such part of the money to be distributed by it under subsection (2) as it deems appropriate to meet any claim— | ||
(a) which might subsequently be established before a court in a Convention Country, or | ||
(b) by the owner of the ship, or by any other person, that he might, at some later date, be compelled to pay compensation in respect of pollution damage which, if he had paid such compensation before the Court made a distribution under subsection (2), would have entitled such owner or other person to claim relief under subsection (6). |