Decision ID: 001869
In March 2006 the 1971 Fund Administrative Council noted that claims for compensation before the Venezuelan Courts had been brought against the master and the shipowner in June 1997, that the 1971 Fund had not been named as a defendant in these actions, that the Fund had not been notified of the action against the shipowner until October 2005, ie nearly eight and a half years after the damage occurred, and that no legal action had been taken against the Fund within six years from the date of the incident. It was noted that the Venezuelan delegation maintained that the claims were not time-barred, since legal actions had been taken against the shipowner within the time set out in Articles 6 and 7.6 of the 1971 Fund Convention. The Council noted the Director’s view that since the 1971 Fund had not been notified of the action against the shipowner in accordance with the formalities of the court seized within three years of the date of the damage, the claims were time-barred under the first sentence of Article 6.1 of the 1971 Fund Convention, and that the claims were also time-barred under the second sentence of that Article since no action had been brought against the Fund within six years from the date when the incident occurred. The Council instructed the Director to take the necessary action in the Venezuelan courts to defend the Fund’s position on time bar.