276 



(9) An authorised oiRcer, may, in case of damage to a vessel or 

 fishing gear, offer to conciliate at sea, and if the parties concerned 

 agree to this, assist them in reaching a settlement. At the request of 

 the parties concerned the authorised officer shall draw up a protocol 

 recording the settlement reached. 



(10) Kesistance by a vessel to the directions of an authorised officer 

 shall be deemed as resistance to the authority of the flag State of that 

 vessel. 



(11) The Contracting Parties shall consider and act on reports of 

 foreign authorised officers under these arrangements on the same basis 

 as reports of national officers. The provisions of this paragraph shall 

 not impose any obligation on a Contracting Party to give the report 

 of a foreign authorised officer a higher evidential value than it would 

 possess in the authorised officer's own country. Contracting Parties 

 shall collaborate in order to facilitate judicial or other proceedings 

 arising from a report of an authorised officer under this Convention. 



(12) An authorised officer shall not exercise his powers to board 

 a vessel of another Contracting Party if an authorised officer of that 

 Contracting Party is available and in a position to do so himself. 



Article 10 



(1) Any Contracting Party may propose amendments to the Arti- 

 cles of this Convention. The text of any proposed amendment shall 

 be sent to the depositar}^ Government, which shall transmit copies 

 thereof to all Contracting Parties and signatory Governments. Any 

 amendment shall take effect on the thirtieth day after its acceptance 

 by all Contracting Parties. 



(2) When requested by one-fourth of the Contracting Parties, the 

 depositary Government shall convene a meeting of Contracting Par- 

 ties to consider the need for amending the Articles of this Conven- 

 tion. Amendments shall be adopted unanimously at such a meeting 

 and shall be notified by the depositary Government to all Contracting 

 Parties and shall take effect on the thirtieth day after they have been 

 accepted by all Contracting Parties. 



(3) Notifications of acceptance of amendments shall be sent to the 

 depositary Government. 



Article 11 



(1) Any Contracting Party may propose amendments to the An- 

 nexes to this Convention. The text of any proposed amendment shall 

 be sent to the depositary Government, which shall transmit copies 

 thereof to all Contracting Parties and signatory Governments. The 

 depositary Government shall inform all Contracting Parties of the 

 date on which notices of acceptance of an amendment by two-thirds 

 of the Contracting Parties have been received. The amendment shall 

 take effect with respect to all Contracting Parties on the one hun- 

 dred and fiftieth day after that date, unless within a period of one 

 hundred and twenty days from the same date any Contracting Party 

 notifies the depositary Government of its objection to the amendment, 

 in which case the amendment will have no effect. 



(2) When requested by three Contracting Parties the depositary 

 Government shall convene a meeting of Contracting Parties to con- 



