La ratification de la Convention du Cap et de son Protocole ferroviaire : la délicate alchimie du choix des déclarations (ou du bon usage du sur-mesure d’un point de vue français)

Abstract

In order not to lag behind a movement already widely engaged at the international level and to benefit from the advantages of an instrument whose success is well established, France is considering ratifying very soon the Cape Town Convention and its Luxemburg Rail Protocol. While such a decision can be enthusiastically approved, this ratification, which does not rise any major legal difficulties, will nevertheless lead the French authorities to examine the often neglected but very important in practice, issue of declarations. We know that the Convention is not a full “one-size-fits-all” instrument, and that adaptation to national legal contexts and traditions is, in some sensitive areas, necessary. This study proposes to consider the declarations that France might or might not have to make under the CTC and the Rail Protocol and the challenges that are attached to these choices.