颁布日期：19580429 　实施日期：19620930 　颁布单位：日内瓦

THE STATES PARTIES TO THIS CONVENTION

DESIRING to codify the rules of international law relating to the highseas，

RECOGNISING that the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea，held at Geneva from February 24 to April 27， 1958， adopted the followingprovisions as generally declaratory of established principles ofinternational law，

HAVE AGREED as follows：

Article 1

The term “high seas” means all parts of the sea that are not includedin the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State.

Article 2

The high seas being open to all nations， no State may validly purportto subject any part of them to its sovereignty. Freedom of the high seasis exercised under the conditions laid down by these Articles and by theother rules of international law. It comprises， inter alia， both forcoastal and non-coastal States：

（1） Freedom of navigation；

（2） Freedom of fishing；

（3） Freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines；

（4） Freedom to fly over the high seas.

These freedoms， and others which are recognised by the generalprinciples of international law， shall be exercised by all States withreasonable regard to the interests of other States in their exercise ofthe freedom of the high seas.

Article 3

1. In order to enjoy the freedom of the seas on equal terms withcoastal States， States having no sea-coast should have free access to thesea. To this end a State situated between the sea and a State having nosea-coast shall by common agreement with the latter and in conformity withexisting international conventions accord：

（a） to the State having no sea-coast， on a basis of reciprocity，free transit through their territory， and

（b） to ships flying the flag of that State treatment equal to thataccorded to their own ships， or to the ships of any other States， asregards access to sea ports and the use of such ports.

2. States situated between the sea and a State having no sea-coastshall settle， by mutual agreement with the latter， and taking into accountthe rights of the coastal State or State of transit and the specialconditions of the State having no sea-coast， all matters relating tofreedom of transit and equal treatment in ports， in case such States arenot already parties to existing international conventions.Article 4

Every State， whether coastal or not， has the right to sail ships underits flag on the high seas.

Article 5

1. Each State shall fix the conditions for the grant of itsnationality to ships， for the registration of ships in its territory， andfor the right to fly its flag. Ships have the nationality of the Statewhose flag they are entitled to fly. There must exist a genuine linkbetween the State and the ship， in particular， the State must effectivelyexercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative， technical andsocial matters over ships flying its flag.

2. Each State shall issue to ships to which it has granted the rightto fly its flag documents to that effect.

Article 6

1. Ships shall sail under the flag of one State only and， save inexceptional cases expressly provided for in international treaties or inthese Articles， shall be subject to its exclusive jurisdiction on the highseas. A ship may not change its flag during a voyage or while in a port ofcall， save in the case of a real transfer of ownership or change ofregistry.

2. A ship which sails under the flags of two or more States， usingthem according to convenience， may not claim any of the nationalities inquestion with respect to any other State， and may be assimilated to aship without nationality.

Article 7

The provisions of the preceding Articles do not prejudice the questionof ships employed on the official service of an intergovernmentalorganisation flying the flag of the organisation.

Article 8

1. Warships on the high seas have complete immunity from thejurisdiction of any State other than the flag State.

2. For the purposes of these Articles， the term “warship” means a shipbelonging to the naval forces of a State and bearing the external marksdistinguishing warships of its nationality， under the command of anofficer duly commissioned by the government and whose name appears in theNavy List， and manned by a crew who are under regular naval discipline.

Article 9

Ships owned or operated by a State and used only on governmentnon-commercial service shall， on the high seas， have complete immunityfrom the jurisdiction of any State other than the flag State.

Article 10

1. Every State shall take such measures for ships under its flag asare necessary to ensure safety at sea with regard inter alia to：

（a） the use of signals， the maintenance of communications and theprevention of collisions；

（b） the manning of ships and labour conditions for crews takinginto account the applicable international labour instruments；

（c） the construction， equipment and seaworthiness of ships.

2. In taking such measures each State is required to conform togenerally accepted international standards and to take any steps which maybe necessary to ensure their observance.

Article 11

1. In the event of a collision or of any other incident of navigationconcerning a ship on the high seas， involving the penal or disciplinaryresponsibility of the master or of any other person in the service of theship， no penal or disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against suchpersons except before the judicial or administrative authorities either ofthe flag State or of the State of which such person is a national.

2. In disciplinary matters the State which has issued a master'scertificate or a certificate of competence or licence shall alone becompetent， after due legal process， to pronounce the withdrawal of suchcertificates， even if the holder is not a national of the State whichissued them.

3. No arrest or detention of a ship， even as a measure ofinvestigation， shall be ordered by any authorities other than those of theflag State.

Article 12

1. Every State shall require the master of a ship sailing under itsflag， in so far as he can do so without serious danger to the ship， thecrew or the passengers，

（a） to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger ofbeing lost；

（b） to proceed with all possible speed to the rescue of persons indistress if informed of their need of assistance， in so far as such actionmay reasonably be expected of him；

（c） after a collision， to render assistance to the other ship， hercrew and her passengers and， where possible， to inform the other ship ofthe name of his own ship， her port of registry and the nearest port atwhich she will call.

2. Every coastal State shall promote the establishment and maintenanceof an adequate and effective search and rescue service regarding safety onand over the sea and-where circumstances so require-by way of mutualregional arrangements co-operate with neighbouring States for thispurpose.

Article 13

Every State shall adopt effective measures to prevent and punish thetransport of slaves in ships authorised to fly its flag， and to preventthe unlawful use of its flag for that purpose. Any slave taking refuge onboard any ship， whatever its flag， shall ipso facto be free.

Article 14

All States shall co-operate to the fullest possible extent in therepression of piracy on the high seas or in any other place outside thejurisdiction of any State.

Article 15

Piracy consists of any of the following acts：

（1） Any illegal acts of violence， detention or any act ofdepredation， committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of aprivate ship or a private aircraft， and directed：

（a） On the high seas， against another ship or aircraft， oragainst persons or property on board such ship or aircraft；

（b） Against a ship， aircraft， persons or property in a placeoutside the jurisdiction of any State；

（2） Any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a shipor of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship oraircraft；

（3） Any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an actdescribed in subparagraph （1） or subparagraph （2） of this Article.

Article 16

The acts of piracy， as defined in Article 15， committed by a warship，government ship or government aircraft whose crew has mutinied and takencontrol of the ship or aircraft are assimilated to acts committed by aprivate ship.

Article 17

A ship or aircraft is considered a pirate ship or aircraft if it isintended by the persons in dominant control to be used for the purpose ofcommitting one of the acts referred to in Article 15. The same applies ifthe ship or aircraft has been used to commit any such act， so long as itremains under the control of the persons guilty of that act.

Article 18

A ship or aircraft may retain its nationality although it has become apirate ship or aircraft. The retention or loss of nationality isdetermined by the law of the State from which such nationality wasoriginally derived.

Article 19

On the high seas， or in any other place outside the jurisdiction ofany State， every State may seize a pirate ship or aircraft， or a shiptaken by piracy and under the control of pirates， and arrest the personsand seize the property on board. The courts of the State which carried outthe seizure may decide upon the penalties to be imposed， and may alsodetermine the action to be taken with regard to the ships， aircraft orproperty， subject to the rights of third parties acting in good faith.

Article 20

Where the seizure of a ship or aircraft on suspicion of piracy hasbeen effected without adequate grounds， the State making the seizure shallbe liable to the State the nationality of which is possessed by the shipor aircraft， for any loss or damage caused by the seizure.

Article 21

A seizure on account of piracy may only be carried out by warships ormilitary aircraft， or other ships or aircraft on government serviceauthorised to that effect.

Article 22

1. Except where acts of interference derive from powers conferred bytreaty， a warship which encounters a foreign merchant ship on the highseas is not justified in boarding her unless there is reasonable groundfor suspecting：

（a） That the ship is engaged in piracy； or

（b） That the ship is engaged in the slave trade； or

（c） That， though flying a foreign flag or refusing to show itsflag， the ship is， in reality， of the same nationality as the warship.

2. In the cases provided for in subparagraphs （a）， （b） and （c） above，the warship may proceed to verify the ship's right to fly its flag. Tothis end， it may send a boat under the command of an officer to thesuspected ship. If suspicion remains after the documents have beenchecked， it may proceed to a further examination on board the ship， whichmust be carried out with all possible consideration.

3. If the suspicions prove to be unfounded， and provided that the shipboarded has not committed any act justifying them， it shall be compensatedfor any loss or damage that may have been sustained.

Article 23

1. The hot pursuit of a foreign ship may be undertaken when thecompetent authorities of the coastal State have good reason to believethat the ship has violated the laws and regulations of that State. Suchpursuit must be commenced when the foreign ship or one of its boats iswithin the internal waters or the territorial sea or the contiguous zoneof the pursuing State， and may only be continued outside the territorialsea or the contiguous zone if the pursuit has not been interrupted. It isnot necessary that， at the time when the foreign ship within theterritorial sea or the contiguous zone receives the order to stop， theship giving the order should likewise be within the territorial sea or thecontiguous zone. If the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone， asdefined in Article 24 of the Convention on the Territorial Sea and theContiguous Zone， the pursuit may only be undertaken if there has been aviolation of the rights for the protection of which the zone wasestablished.

2. The right of hot pursuit ceases as soon as the ship pursued entersthe territorial sea of its own country or of a third State.

3. Hot pursuit is not deemed to have begun unless the pursuing shiphas satisfied itself by such practicable means as may be available thatthe ship pursued or one of its boats or other craft working as a team andusing the ship pursued as a mother ship are within the limits of theterritorial sea， or as the case may be within the contiguous zone. Thepursuit may only be commenced after a visual or auditory signal to stophas been given at a distance which enables it to be seen or heard by theforeign ship.

4. The right of hot pursuit may be exercised only by warships ormilitary aircraft， or other ships or aircraft on government servicespecially authorised to that effect.

5. Where hot pursuit is effected by an aircraft：

（a） The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 3 of the present Articleshall apply mutaits mutandis；

（b） The aircraft giving the order to stop must itself activelypursue the ship until a ship or aircraft of the coastal State， summoned bythe aircraft， arrives to take over the pursuit， unless the aircraft isitself able to arrest the ship. It does not suffice to justify an arreston the high seas that the ship was merely sighted by the aircraft as anoffender or suspected offender， if it was not both ordered to stop andpursued by the aircraft itself or other aircraft or ships which continuethe pursuit without interruption.

6. The release of a ship arrested within the jurisdiction of a Stateand escorted to a port of that State for the purposes of an enquiry beforethe competent authorities， may not be claimed solely on the ground thatthe ship， in the course of its voyage， was escorted across a portion ofthe high seas， if the circumstances rendered this necessary.

7. Where a ship has been stopped or arrested on the high seas incircumstances which do not justify the exercise of the right of hotpursuit， it shall be compensated for any loss or damage that may have beenthereby sustained.Article 24

Every State shall draw up regulations to prevent pollution of the seasby the discharge of oil from ships or pipelines or resulting from theexploitation and exploration of the seabed and its subsoil， taking accountof existing treaty provisions on the subject.

Article 25

1. Every State shall take measures to prevent pollution of the seasfrom the dumping of radioactive waste， taking into account any standardsand regulations which may be formulated by the competent internationalorganisations.

2. All States shall co-operate with the competent internationalorganisations in taking measures for the prevention of pollution of theseas or air space above， resulting from any activities with radioactivematerials or other harmful agents.

Article 26

1. All States shall be entitled to lay submarine cables and pipelineson the bed of the high seas.

2. Subject to its right to take reasonable measures for theexploration of the continental shelf and the exploitation of its naturalresources， the coastal State may not impede the laying or maintenance ofsuch cables or pipelines.

3. When laying such cables or pipelines the State in question shallpay due regard to cables or pipelines already in position on the seabed.In particular， possibilities of repairing existing cables or pipelinesshall not be prejudiced.

Article 27

Every State shall take the necessary legislative measures to providethat the breaking or injury by a ship flying its flag or by a personsubject to its jurisdiction of a submarine cable beneath the high seasdone wilfully or through culpable negligence， in such a manner as to beliable to interrupt or obstruct telegraphic or telephonic communications，and similarly the breaking or injury of a submarine pipeline orhigh-voltage power cable shall be a punishable offence. This provisionshall not apply to any break or injury caused by persons who acted merelywith the legitimate object of saving their lives or their ships， afterhaving taken all necessary precautions to avoid such break or injury.

Article 28

Every State shall take the necessary legislative measures to providethat， if persons subject to its jurisdiction who are the owners of a cableor pipeline beneath the high seas， in laying or repairing that cable orpipeline， cause a break in or injury to another cable or pipeline， theyshall bear the cost of the repairs.

Article 29

Every State shall take the necessary legislative measures to ensurethat the owners of ships who can prove that they have sacrificed ananchor， a net or any other fishing gear， in order to avoid injuring asubmarine cable or pipeline， shall be indemnified by the owner of thecable or pipeline， provided that the owner of the ship has taken allreasonable precautionary measures beforehand.

Article 30

The provisions of this Convention shall not affect Conventions orother international agreements already in force， as between States Partiesto them.

Article 31

This Convention shall， until October 31， 1958， be open for signatureby all States Members of the United Nations or of any of the SpecialisedAgencies and by any other State invited by the General Assembly to becomea Party to the Convention.

Article 32

This Convention is subject to ratification. The instruments ofratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations.

Article 33

This Convention shall be open for accession by any States belonging toany of the categories mentioned in Article 31. The instruments ofaccession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations.

Article 34

1. This Convention shall come into force on the thirtieth dayfollowing the date of deposit of the twenty-second instrument ofratification or accession with the Secretary-General of the UnitedNations.

2. For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after thedeposit of the twenty-second instrument of ratification or accession， theConvention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after deposit bysuch State of its instruments of ratification or accession.

Article 35

1. After the expiration of a period of five years from the date onwhich this Convention shall enter into force a request for the revision ofthis Convention may be made at any time by any Contracting Party by meansof a notification in writing addressed to the Secretary-General.

2. The General Assembly of the United Nations shall decide upon thesteps， if any， to be taken in respect of such request.

Article 36

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all StatesMembers of the United Nations and the other States referred to in Article31：

（a） Of signatures to this Convention and of the deposit ofinstruments of ratification or accession， in accordance with Articles 31，32 and 33；

（b） Of the date on which this Convention will come into force， inaccordance with Article 34；

（c） Of requests for revision in accordance with Article 35.

Article 37

The original of this Convention of which the Chinese， English， French，Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic， shall be deposited withthe Secretary-General of the United Nations who shall send certifiedcopies thereof to all States referred to in Article 31.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries， being dulyauthorised thereto by their respective Governments， have signed thisConvention.

DONE AT GENEVA， this twenty-ninth day of April one thousand ninehundred and fifty eight