Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict

 

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 29

LANGUAGES

1. The present Convention is drawn up in English, French, Russian
and Spanish, the four texts being equally authoritative.

2. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization shall arrange for translations of the Convention
into the other official languages of its General Conference.

Article 30

SIGNATURE

The present Convention shall bear the date of 14 May, 1954 and,
until the date of 31 December, 1954, shall remain open for
signature by all States invited to the Conference which met at
The Hague from 21 April, 1954 to 14 May, 1954.

Article 31

RATIFICATION

1. The present Convention shall be subject to ratification by
signatory States in accordance with their respective
constitutional procedures.

2. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the
Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization.

Article 32

ACCESSION

From the date of its entry into force, the present Convention
shall be open for accession by all States mentioned in Article 30
which have not signed it, as well as any other State invited to
accede by the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization. Accession shall be effected
by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the
Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization.

Article 33

ENTRY INTO FORCE

1. The present Convention shall enter into force three months
after five instruments of ratification have been deposited.

2. Thereafter, it shall enter into force, for each High
Contracting Party, three months after the deposit of its
instrument of ratification or accession.

3. The situations referred to in Articles 18 and 19 shall give
immediate effect to ratifications or accessions deposited by the
Parties to the conflict either before or after the beginning of
hostilities or occupation. In such cases the Director-General of
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization shall transmit the communications referred to in
Article 38 by the speediest method.

Article 34

EFFECTIVE APPLICATION

1. Each State Party to the Convention on the date of its entry
into force shall take all necessary measures to ensure its
effective application within a period of six months after such
entry into force.

2. This period shall be six months from the date of deposit of
the instruments of ratification or accession for any State which
deposits its instrument of ratification or accession after the
date of the entry into force of the Convention.

Article 35

TERRITORIAL EXTENSION OF THE CONVENTION

Any High Contracting Party may, at the time of ratification or
accession, or at any time thereafter, declare by notification
addressed to the Director-General of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, that the
present Convention shall extend to all or any of the territories
for whose international relations it is responsible. The said
notification shall take effect three months after the date of its
receipt.

Article 36

RELATION TO PREVIOUS CONVENTIONS

1. In the relations between Powers which are bound by the
Conventions of The Hague concerning the Laws and Customs of War
on Land (IV) and concerning Naval Bombardment in Time of War
(IX), whether those of 29 July, 1899 or those of 18 October,
1907, and which are Parties to the present Convention, this last
Convention shall be supplementary to the aforementioned
Convention (IX) and to the Regulations annexed to the
aforementioned Convention (IV) and shall substitute for the
emblem described in Article 5 of the aforementioned Convention
(IX) the emblem described in Article 16 of the present
Convention, in cases in which the present Convention and the
Regulations for its execution provide for the use of this
distinctive emblem.

2. In the relations between Powers which are bound by the
Washington Pact of 15 April, 1935 for the Protection of Artistic
and Scientific Institutions and of Historic Monuments (Roerich
Pact) and which are Parties to the present Convention, the latter
Convention shall be supplementary to the Roerich Pact and shall
substitute for the distinguishing flag described in Article III
of the Pact the emblem defined in Article 16 of the present
Convention, in cases in which the present Convention and the
Regulations for its execution provide for the use of this
distinctive emblem.

Article 37

DENUNCIATION

1. Each High Contracting Party may denounce the present
Convention, on its own behalf, or on behalf of any territory for
whose international relations it is responsible.

2. The denunciation shall be notified by an instrument in
writing, deposited with the Director-General of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

3. The denunciation shall take effect one year after the receipt
of the instrument of denunciation. However, if, on the expiry of
this period, the denouncing Party is involved in an armed
conflict, the denunciation shall not take effect until the end of
hostilities, or until the operations of repatriating cultural
property are completed, whichever is the later.

Article 38

NOTIFICATIONS

The Director-General of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization shall inform the States
referred to in Articles 30 and 32, as well as the United Nations,
of the deposit of all the instruments of ratification, accession
or acceptance provided for in Articles 31, 32 and 39 and of the
notifications and denunciations provided for respectively in
Articles 35, 37 and 39.

Article 39

REVISION OF THE CONVENTION AND OF THE REGULATIONS
FOR ITS EXECUTION

1. Any High Contracting Party may propose amendments to the
present Convention or the Regulations for its execution. The text
of any proposed amendment shall be communicated to the
Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization who shall transmit it to each High
Contracting Party with the request that such Party reply within
four months stating whether it:
(a) desires that a Conference be convened to consider the
proposed amendment;
(b) favours the acceptance of the proposed amendment without
a Conference; or
(c) favours the rejection of the proposed amendment without
a Conference.

2. The Director-General shall transmit the replies, received
under paragraph 1 of the present Article, to all High Contracting
Parties.

3. If all the High Contracting Parties which have, within the
prescribed time-limit, stated their views to the Director-General
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, pursuant to paragraph 1 (b) of this Article, inform
him that they favour acceptance of the amendment without a
Conference, notification of their decision shall be made by the
Director-General in accordance with Article 38. The amendment
shall become effective for all the High Contracting Parties on
the expiry of ninety days from the date of such notification.

4. The Director-General shall convene a Conference of the High
Contracting Parties to consider the proposed amendment if
requested to do so by more than one-third of the High Contracting
Parties.

5. Amendments to the Convention or to the Regulations for its
execution, dealt with under the provisions of the preceding
paragraph, shall enter into force only after they have been
unanimously adopted by the High Contracting Parties represented
at the Conference and accepted by each of the High Contracting
Parties.

6. Acceptance by the High Contracting Parties of amendments to
the Convention or to the Regulations for its execution, which
have been adopted by the Conference mentioned in paragraphs 4 and
5, shall be effected by the deposit of a formal instrument with
the Director-General of the United Nations Edu-
cational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

7. After the entry into force of amendments to the present
Convention or to the Regulations for its execution, only the text
of the Convention or of the Regulations for its execution thus
amended shall remain open for ratification or accession.

Article 40

REGISTRATION

In accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United
Nations, the present Convention shall be registered with the
Secretariat of the United Nations at the request of the
Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization.

IN FAITH WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed
the present Convention.

DONE at The Hague, this fourteenth day of May, 1954, in a single
copy which shall be deposited in the archives of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and
certified true copies of which shall be delivered to all the
States referred to in Articles 30 and 32 as well as to the United
Nations.

Author: international

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