Shipowners' Liability (Sick and Injured Seamen) Convention, 1936 is an International Labour Organization Convention.
It was established in 1936, with the preamble stating:
The convention was ratified by the United States Senate and made effective by proclamation of the President on 29 October 1939, 54 Stat. 1963, 1704. In Warren v. United States, 340 U.S. 523 (1951), the Supreme Court considered the application and interpretation of Article 2 of the Convention in a seaman's case against his employer, the United States, in its capacity as owner of the merchant ship S. S. Anna Howard Shaw.
While on shore leave, the seaman visited a dance hall. An adjoining room overlooking the ocean had French doors that opened to an unprotected ledge. The seaman stepped out onto the ledge, lost his balance, and fell. He sued to recover maintenance and cure.
The district court awarded maintenance and cure and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals disallowed it. Reversing, the Supreme Court noted:
"The Convention was a product of the International Labor Organization. Its purpose was to provide an international system of regulation of the shipowner's liability. That international system was aimed at providing a reasonable average which could be applied in any country. . . . The aim indeed was not to change materially American standards but to equalize operating costs by raising the standards of member nations to the American level."
Ratifications As of 2023, 18 states have ratified the convention. It has subsequently been denounced by 13 of those ratifying states. CountryDateStatusBelgium11 Apr 1938 Not in forceBelize15 Jul 2005 Not in forceBulgaria29 Dec 1949 Not in forceDjibouti03 Aug 1978 Not in forceEgypt04 Aug 1982 In ForceFrance19 Jun 1947 Not in forceGreece19 Jun 1968 Not in forceItaly22 Oct 1952 Not in forceLiberia9 May 1960 Not in forceLuxembourg15 Feb 1991 Not in forceMexico15 Sep 1939 In ForceMorocco14 Mar 1958 Not in forcePanama04 Jun 1971 Not in forcePeru04 Apr 1962 In ForceSpain30 Nov 1971 Not in forceTunisia14 Apr 1970 Not in forceTurkey17 Mar 2005 In ForceUnited States of America29 Oct 1938 In Force
External links Text. Ratifications.