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The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report, including reference to technical amendments to the Regulation of 25 August 1992 regarding the issuance of seafarers’ identity documents, and refers to its comments in the 1998 direct request on the following points:

Scope of the Convention: entitlement to the identity document

Articles 1(2) and 2(1) of the Convention.  The Committee notes that article 11(1)(3) of Act No. 258 of 23 May 1991 regarding employment on seagoing merchant vessels (the Act) provides specifically for the issuance of seafarers’ identity documents to persons who are neither seafarers nor fishermen when the request is made by a shipowner.

The Committee renews its request to the Government to clarify the circumstances under which persons who are not regarded as seafarers, and thus beyond the scope of the Convention, receive seafarers’ identity documents, and why this is the case only when the documents are requested by shipowners.

Nature of the identity document and conditions of issuance

The Committee recalls the terms of article 13(1)(2)(c) and (d) of the Act according to which the issuance of a seafarers’ identity document can be refused "to persons who have been legally banned from working on vessels" and to "persons for whom there exist reasons to be refused the issuance of a passport".

With regard to the first point, the Committee requests the Government to clarify the notion of being legally banned from working on vessels: under what circumstances this occurs; how, in law and practice, such determinations are made; the nature and length of this sanction; and examples of its application, resulting in the refusal to issue/withdrawal of the identity document. Moreover, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that the document can be refused/revoked if "under the procedure provided for in international agreements, [the] person in question had committed an offence or a petty offence for profit, while staying abroad". The Committee requests clarification as to the procedures provided for and the international agreements referred to which cause these actions to be taken.

With regard to the second point (persons to whom a passport cannot be issued), the Committee recalls that the seafarers’ identity document is not a passport, and that unlike a passport, which is issued pursuant to national legislation, the seafarers’ identity document is issued by a national authority pursuant to an international Convention which governs its issuance (or refusal), use, possession and restitution. [Application of the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, 1999, International Labour Conference, Report III (Part 1A), pp. 21-23.] The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to advise it of measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the primacy of international agreements as set forth in article 1(3) of the aforementioned Act is respected with regard to this Convention and that the identity document is not subjected to the regulations for obtaining passports.

Seafarer’s possession of the identity document

The Committee notes the Government’s statement concerning article 12 of the Act, which deals with issuance of the identity document. As regards the seafarer’s right to continuous possession of the document, as provided under Article 3 of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how this is ensured in practice.

Seafarer’s right of return to the issuing State

The Committee notes that at the present time the identity document is only issued to Polish citizens. However, it recalls that the right of return as set forth in this Article of the Convention refers to return to the territory of the State issuing the document, and not to the State of the seafarer’s nationality, if this is not the same State. Article 9(1) of the Act states that "the holder of the Seaman’s Certificate can return to his country even when its validity has expired". While the Committee recognizes that according to the current practice in Poland this is one and the same thing, in the event that identity documents were to be issued to foreigners in the future, this right of return would have to be respected. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to provide in future information on measures taken to provide in law for the readmission to Poland of all seafarers to whom an identity document has been issued.

In addition, the Committee requests the Government to forward the text of the amendment referred to and to provide a new specimen of the revised identity document.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2002.]