International
Labour Organization
Note: Date of coming into force: :27:09:1921.
The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,
Having been convened at Genoa by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, on the 15 June 1920, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the application to seamen of the Convention adopted at Washington last November prohibiting the employment of children under fourteen years of age, which is the third item in the agenda for the Genoa meeting of the Conference, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention,
adopts the following Convention, which may be cited as the Minimum Age (Sea) Convention, 1920, for ratification by the Members of the International Labour Organisation in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation:
Article 1
For the purpose of this Convention, the term vessel includes all ships and boats, of any nature whatsoever, engaged in maritime navigation, whether publicly or privately owned; it excludes ships of war.
Article 2
Children under the age of fourteen years shall not be employed or work on vessels, other than vessels upon which only members of the same family are employed.
Article 3
The provisions of Article 2 shall not apply to work done by children on school-ships or training-ships, provided that such work is approved and supervised by public authority.
Article 4
In order to facilitate the enforcement of the provisions of this Convention, every shipmaster shall be required to keep a register of all persons under the age of sixteen years employed on board his vessel, or a list of them in the articles of agreement, and of the dates of their births.
Article 5:
1. Each Member of the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention engages to apply it to its colonies, protectorates and possessions which are not fully self-governing --
a) except where owing to the local conditions its provisions are inapplicable or
b) subject to such modifications as may be necessary to adapt its provisions to local conditions.
2. Each Member shall notify to the International Labour Office the action taken in respect of each of its colonies, protectorates and possessions which are not fully self-governing.
Article 6
The formal ratifications of this Convention, under the conditions set forth in the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
Article 7
As soon as the ratifications of two Members of the International Labour Organisation have been registered with the International Labour Office, the Director-General of the International Labour Office shall so notify all the Members of the International Labour Organisation.
Article 8
This Convention shall come into force at the date on which such notification is issued by the Director-General of the International Labour Office, and it shall then be binding only upon those Members which have registered their ratifications with the International Labour Office. Thereafter this Convention will come into force for any other Member at the date on which its ratification is registered with the International Labour Office.
Article 9
Subject to the provisions of Article 8, each Member which ratifies this Convention agrees to bring its provisions into operation not later than 1 July 1922, and to take such action as may be necessary to make these provisions effective.
Article 10
A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered with the International Labour Office.
Article 11
At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention, and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.
Article 12
The French and English texts of this Convention shall both be authentic.