The Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables is a multilateral treaty that was signed in 1884 in order to protect submarine communications cables that had begun to be laid in the 19th century.
Provisions The convention made it a punishable offence to damage submarine communications cables. In addition, all ships were to be regulated to staying a distance of away from cable laying ships when in operation. Any ship that accidentally hooked a cable and sacrificed its fishing nets to avoid breaking it would be compensated for the lost equipment.
State parties The convention has been signed, ratified, and acceded to by the following parties. A number of dependent territories ratified the convention or had the convention extended to them.
For states that were not original signatories, the date they accepted the convention is indicated. State Signature Ratification Notes–197618841885–1901Upon federation, Australia accepted the ratifications of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia to be applicable to the Commonwealth of Australia.18841885Austria and Hungary both submitted separate notifications of succession. Austria–1921Notification of succession of ratification by Austria-Hungary.18841885 Brazil18841885 Canada–1888Extension by the United Kingdom to cover Canada. Cape Colony–1888This ratification no longer has any force for any state; South Africa has not declared its succession to the ratification.1884–18841885–1925This ratification no longer has any force for any state; neither the Czech Republic nor Slovakia have declared their succession to the ratification.–1926This ratification no longer has any force for any state.188418851884188518841885–1971 France18841885 Germany18841885 Greece1884188818841885 Hungary–1922Notification of succession of the ratification by Austria-Hungary. Iran (Persia)1884– Italy18841885 Japan–188418841885–1968 Natal–1888This ratification no longer has any force for any state; South Africa has not declared its succession to the ratification.18841885Also applied to the colonies of the Dutch East Indies, Territory of Curaçao and Suriname (1892). Presently still applies to the territories making up the Territory of Curaçao: Aruba (1986), Curaçao (2010), Sint Maarten (2010), Caribbean Netherlands (2010) Newfoundland–1888Extension by the United Kingdom to cover Newfoundland; this ratification is now subsumed within Canada's. New South Wales–1888This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. New Zealand–1888Extension by the United Kingdom to cover New Zealand.–1905Convention previously applied to Norway via the ratification of Sweden-Norway.18841885This ratification now applied to Turkey. Poland –1934 Portugal18841885 Queensland–1886This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. Romania18841886 Russia18841885 Serbia18841885This ratification was previously accepted as applicable to it by Yugoslavia and by Serbia and Montenegro. South Australia–1885This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. Spain18841885 Sweden-Norway18841885This ratification now applies to Sweden. Tasmania–1888This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia.–1889188418851884188518841885 Victoria–1885This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. Western Australia–1888This ratification is now subsumed within the Convention's application to Australia.
Notes