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PART I - THE HISTORY OF THE HAGUE AND HAGUE-VISBY RULES 73IV. The 1979 ProtocolThe conversion of gold limitation units into SDRs.Professor J. C. Schultsz (Netherlands) has prepared draft Protocols to the 1924and the 1924/1968 Brussels Conventions on Bills of Lading and to the 1924 and the1957 Conventions on the limitation of shipowners’ liability and contact has been madewith the depositary of these Conventions - the Belgian Government - for convening adiplomatic conference. The Belgian Government has suggested that a similar draftProtocol be prepared for the 1962 Convention on Nuclear Ships (Convention on theliability of operators of nuclear ships and additional Protocol, Brussels May 25th,1962).A particular problem existed with respect to the 1924 Conventions, since onemight take the view that the 1968 Protocol and the 1957 Limitation Convention withthe new limits contained therein superseded the old 1924 Conventions and that, consequently,Protocols should only be added to the 1968 Protocol and the 1957 LimitationConvention. Further, when converting the old pound sterling to SDRs, an arbitrarydecision would have to be made which was different from the simple conversionof 15 francs Poincaré to 1 SDR.The Assembly decided to set up an International Sub-Committee and appointedProfessor Schultsz as Chairman.The International Sub-Committee appointed by the Assembly reported to the May1979 Assembly and the following statement was included in the minutes (CMI NewsLetter of May 1979):3. Protocols to the International Conventions on bills of lading and on limitationof shipowners liability.The Assembly decided not to submit Protocols to the Belgian Government relatingto the 1924 Conventions on bills of lading and limitation of shipowners’ liabilityand the 1962 Convention on the liability of operators of nuclear ships. Thus, only Protocolsto the 1957 Convention on the limitation of shipowners’ liability and the 1968Protocol to amend the 1924 bill of lading Convention should be submitted. The Assemblydecided (the Association for Maritime Law of the German Democratic Republicabstaining) to submit to the Belgian Government the texts elaborated by the InternationalSub-Committee under the chairmanship of Professor Jan Schultsz requestinghim after some smaller corrections had been made to send the texts in theirfinal form to the members of the Executive Council for approval.The draft protocols were finalized by the International Sub-Committee and were submittedby the President of the CMI to the Belgian Government at the end of May 1979together with the accompanying report reproduced below (CMI News Letter, July 1979):Report accompanying two draft protocols for the amending of Maritime Conventions.1. The Comité Maritime International, recognizing that a number of internationalconventions -other than those which constitute the subject matter of this report -had been amended so as to replace definitions of the maximum liability of a person(having such connection with international transportation as was indicated in each ofthe conventions in question) in terms of gold value by some other unit of account, feltthat a few conventions dealing with maritime transportation were, similarly, in need ofamendment. In view of the role played by the CMI in preparing those conventions, the