Singapore legislation
Section 28
of Merchant Shipping (Civil Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) Act 1998
Section 28
Limitation of Fund’s liability under section 27
(1)
The Fund’s liability under section 27 is subject to the following:
subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), the aggregate amount of compensation payable by the Fund shall, in respect of any one incident, be limited, such that the total sum of that amount and the amount of compensation actually paid under section 3 for pollution damage shall not exceed 203 million special drawing rights;
subject to paragraph (c), the aggregate amount of compensation payable by the Fund for pollution damage resulting from an exceptional, inevitable and irresistible natural phenomenon shall not exceed 135 million special drawing rights;
the maximum amount of compensation mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be 300.74 million special drawing rights with respect to any incident occurring during any period when there are 3 Fund Convention countries in respect of which the combined quantity of oil imported or received by persons in the territories of such countries, during the preceding calendar year, is at least 600 million tons;
interest accrued on any payment made to the Court or to the Authority under section 7 (if any) shall not be taken into account for the computation of the maximum compensation payable by the Fund under this section.
(2)
Where the amount of established claims against the Fund exceeds the aggregate amount of compensation payable under subsection (1), the amount available must be distributed in such a manner that the proportion between any established claim and the amount of compensation actually recovered by the claimant concerned under this Part is the same for all claimants.
(3)
A certificate given by the Director of the Fund stating that subsection (1)(c) is applicable to any claim under section 27 is conclusive evidence for the purposes of this Part that it is so applicable.
(4)
For the purpose of giving effect to subsections (1) and (2), the Court giving judgment against the Fund in proceedings under section 27 is to notify the Fund, and —
no step may be taken to enforce the judgment unless and until the Court gives leave to enforce it;
that leave is not to be given unless and until the Fund notifies the Court either that the amount of the claim is not to be reduced under subsection (1), or that it is to be reduced to a specified amount; and
in the latter case the judgment is enforceable only for the reduced amount.
(5)
Any steps taken to obtain payment of an amount or a reduced amount pursuant to a judgment mentioned in subsection (4) are steps to obtain payment in Singapore dollars, and —
for the purpose of converting such an amount from special drawing rights into Singapore dollars, one special drawing right is treated as equal to such a sum in Singapore dollars as the International Monetary Fund has fixed as being the equivalent of one special drawing right for —
the relevant day, namely the day on which the Assembly of the Fund decides the date for the first payment of compensation in respect of the incident; or
if no sum has been so fixed for the relevant day, the last day before that day for which a sum has been so fixed; and
a certificate given by or on behalf of the Minister for Finance stating —
that a particular sum in Singapore dollars had been so fixed for the relevant day; or
that no sum had been so fixed for the relevant day and that a particular sum in Singapore dollars had been so fixed for a day which was the last day for which a sum had been so fixed before the relevant day,is conclusive evidence of those matters for the purposes of this Part.
(6)
The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, by order make such amendments to this section as appear to the Minister to be appropriate for the purpose of giving effect to the entry into force of any amendment of the provisions set out in paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 4 of the Fund Convention.
(7)
Any document purporting to be a certificate mentioned in subsection (5)(b) shall, in any legal proceedings, be received in evidence and, unless the contrary is proved, is deemed to be such a certificate.