Marine and Aviation Insurance (War Risks) Act 1952
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1952 c. 57 |
Marine and Aviation Insurance (War Risks) Act , 1952
(15 & 16 Geo. 6 & 1 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 57
An Act to make provision for authorising the Minister of Transport to undertake the insurance of ships, aircraft and certain other goods against war risks and, in certain circumstances, other risks; for the payment by him of compensation in respect of certain goods lost or damaged in transit in consequence of war risks; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
[30th October 1952]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Agreements for re-insurance by Minister of Transport of war risks in respect of ships, aircraft and cargoes.
(1) The Minister of Transport (hereafter in this Act referred to as ‘the Minister’) may, with the approval of the Treasury, enter into agreements with any authorities or persons—
(a ) whereby he undertakes the liability of re-insuring any war risks against which a ship or aircraft is for the time being insured; and
(b ) whereby he undertakes the liability of re-insuring any war risks against which the cargo carried in a ship or aircraft is for the time being insured:
Provided that the Minister shall not enter into an agreement whereby he undertakes the liability of re-insuring any war risks against which a ship or aircraft not being a British ship or British aircraft is for the time being insured, except in so far as they arise during the continuance of any war or other hostilities in which Her Majesty is engaged or arise after any such war or hostilities in consequence of things done or omitted during the continuance thereof.
(2) A copy of every agreement made in pursuance of this section shall, as soon as may be after the agreement is made, be laid before each House of Parliament; and if either House, within the period of fourteen days beginning with the day on which a copy of such an agreement is laid before it, resolves that the agreement be annulled, the agreement shall thereupon become void except in so far as it confers rights or imposes obligations in respect of things previously done or omitted to be done, without prejudice, however, to the making of a new agreement.
In reckoning for the purposes of this subsection any such period of fourteen days as aforesaid, no account shall be taken of any time during which Parliament is dissolved or prorogued or during which both Houses are adjourned for more than four days.
(3) The reference in paragraph (a ) of subsection (1) of this section to a ship or aircraft shall be construed as including a reference to any machinery, tackle, furniture or equipment of a ship or aircraft, and to any goods on board of a ship or aircraft, not being cargo carried therein, and the first reference in the proviso to that subsection to a ship or aircraft shall accordingly be similarly construed.
2 Insurance by Minister of Transport of ships, aircraft and cargoes.
(1) The Minister may, with the approval of the Treasury, carry on business under and in accordance with all or any of the following provisions of this subsection, that is to say:—
(a ) at any time when it appears to him that reasonable and adequate facilities for the insurance of British ships or British aircraft against war risks, or any description of such risks, are not available, for the insurance by him of such ships, or as the case may be, such aircraft, against such risks or, as the case may be, that description thereof;
(b ) during the continuance of any war or other hostilities in which Her Majesty is engaged, for the insurance by him of ships and aircraft (whether British or not);
(c ) at any time when it appears to him that reasonable and adequate facilities for the insurance of cargoes carried in ships or aircraft against war risks, or any description of such risks, are not available, for the insurance by him of such cargoes against such risks or, as the case may be, that description thereof;
(d ) during the continuance of any war or other hostilities in which Her Majesty is engaged, for the insurance by him of cargoes carried in ships or aircraft;
(e ) during the continuance of any such war or hostilities, for the insurance by him of goods consigned for carriage by sea or by air, while the goods are in transit between the premises from which they are consigned and the ship or aircraft or between the ship or aircraft and their destination:
Provided that the Minister shall not, by virtue of paragraph (b ), (d ) or (e ) of this subsection, undertake the insurance of a ship, aircraft or cargo against risks other than war risks unless he is satisfied that, in the interests of the defence of the realm or the efficient prosecution of any such war or hostilities as aforesaid, it is necessary or expedient so to do.
(2) References in paragraphs (a ) and (b ) of the foregoing subsection to ships of any description and to aircraft of any description shall be construed as including references to any machinery, tackle, furniture or equipment of ships of that description and aircraft of that description respectively and to any goods on board of ships of that description and aircraft of that description respectively, not being cargo carried therein, and the reference in the proviso to that subsection to a ship or aircraft shall accordingly be similarly construed.
(3) In paragraph (e ) of subsection (1) of this section the expression ‘the ship or aircraft’, in relation to goods consigned for carriage by sea or by air, does not include a vessel from which the goods are discharged for the purpose of being carried by sea or by air or into which they are discharged for the purpose of being landed.
3 Transitional provisions for compensation in respect of goods lost or damaged in transit after discharge or before shipment.
(1) Where a person satisfies the Minister with respect to any goods—
(a ) that the goods, having been consigned for carriage by sea or by air from a place outside any one of the countries to which this paragraph applies to a place in that country,—
(iii) were lost or damaged while in transit between the ship or aircraft and their destination;
or, having been consigned for carriage by sea or by air from a place in any one of the countries to which this paragraph applies to a place outside that country before the expiration of the said period of seven days, were, after the beginning of the said day, lost or damaged in consequence of such a war risk as aforesaid while in transit between the premises from which they were consigned and the ship or aircraft; and
(b ) that the goods were not insured against the risk in consequence of which they were lost or damaged; and
(c ) that he and his agents exercised all due diligence for securing that no delay occurred while the goods were in such transit as aforesaid; and
(d ) that at the time when the loss or damage occurred the property in the goods was vested in him;
the Minister shall pay to him, by way of compensation for that loss or damage, an amount ascertained in accordance with the next following subsection.
(2) The amount of compensation payable under the foregoing subsection shall be—
(a ) in the case of lost goods, an amount equal...
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