A claim for compensation for damage shall be presented to a launching State
through diplomatic channels. If a State does not maintain diplomatic relations
with the launching State concerned, it may request another State to present its
claim to that launching State or otherwise represent its interests under this
Convention. It may also present its claim through the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, provided the claimant State and the launching State are both
Members of the United Nations.
Article X
1. A claim for compensation for damage may be presented to a launching State
not later than one year following the date of the occurrence of the damage or
the identification of the launching State which is liable.
2. If, however, a State does not know of the occurrence of the damage or has
not been able to identify the launching State which is liable, it may present a
claim within one year following the date on which it learned of the
aforementioned facts; however, this period shall in no event exceed one year
following the date on which the State could reasonably be expected to have
learned of the facts through the exercise of due diligence.
3. The time-limits specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall apply even
if the full extent of the damage may not be known. In this event, however, the
claimant State shall be entitled to revise the claim and submit additional
documentation after the expiration of such time-limits until one year after the full
extent of the damage is known.
Article XI
1. Presentation of a claim to a launching State for compensation for damage
under this Convention shall not require the prior exhaustion of any local
remedies which may be available to a claimant State or to natural or juridical
persons it represents.
2. Nothing in this Convention shall prevent a State, or natural or juridical persons
it might represent, from pursuing a claim in the courts or administrative tribunals
or agencies of a launching State. A State shall not, however, be entitled to
present a claim under this Convention in respect of the same damage for which a
claim is being pursued in the courts or administrative tribunals or agencies of a
launching State or under another international agreement which is binding on
the States concerned.
Article XII
The compensation which the launching State shall be liable to pay for damage
under this Convention shall be determined in accordance with international law
and the principles of justice and equity, in order to provide such reparation in