The Conditions for the Limitation of Liability of Owner of Sea-going Ships (The Survey of International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976)

One of the characteristics of the maritime law is the system of limitation of liability for owners of sea-going ships. The main purpose of this system is the development of shipping industry and increasing investment in maritime law. In this regard, efforts have been made for harmonization of international rules by International Maritime Committee that has led to the formation of International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to the Limitation of Liability of Owners of Sea-going Vessels 1924; International Convention Relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Sea-going Ships, 1957; Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC) 1976; and Amendment Protocol 1996 in this field. Furthermore, Iran acceded to the Convention on Limitation for Maritime Claims on 30 June 2014. The accession of Iran is an effective step in the development of shipping industry of Iran at the international scale and harmonizes the rules on limitation of liability of the owner of sea-going ships. In this article, we present the general view of the system of limitation of liability. This will be based on the Convention 1976 that Iran is a member thereof. This study will merely shed light on the concept and necessity of acceptance of limitation of liability, beneficiaries, and the conditions of its application in Convention 1976.