The majority of the articles of the Athens Protocol concern amendments to the Athens Convention regarding liability of a carrier, compulsory insurance, limit for liability for death and personal injury or for loss of or damage to luggage and vehicles and accounting and conversion issues.

19. Notes Commission Recommendation 2008/473/EC of 5 June 2008 concerning the limitation of the civil liability of statutory auditors and audit firms , which calls on Member States to limit the liability of accountants, with due regard for their own national legislation and circumstances; further notes the recommendation's objective of bolstering the level playing-field for undertakings and accountancy firms through greater convergence between Member States in this area; underlines that the objective of limiting the liability of auditors and audit firms proposed by the Commission recommendation must not violate the legal principles gov ...[+++]erning civil liability in certain Member States, such as the principle of the right to compensation for victims; underlines that, within the context of the current economic and financial crisis, the recommendation should not call into question the quality of the statutory audit or the confidence placed in the function of statutory audits; calls on the Commission to inform Parliament no later than in 2010 about the impact of, and the follow-up to, the recommendation, the important issue in this connection being, in particular, whether and to what extent, in accordance with the Directive's objective, the recommendation is leading to greater convergence between Member States; emphasises that, in the event that further measures prove necessary, the Commission must undertake an impact study assessing the possible effects of limitation of civil liability of auditors and audit firms on the quality of audits, financial security and the concentration on the audit market;

19. Notes Commission Recommendation 2008/473/EC of 5 June 2008 concerning the limitation of the civil liability of statutory auditors and audit firms, which calls on Member States to limit the liability of accountants, with due regard for their own national legislation and circumstances; further notes the recommendation's objective of bolstering the level-playing field for undertakings and accountancy firms through greater convergence between Member States in this area; underlines that the objective of limiting the liability of auditors and audit firms proposed by the Commission recommendation must not violate the legal principles gove ...[+++]rning civil liability in certain Member States, such as the principle of the right to compensation for victims; underlines that, within the context of the current economic and financial crisis, the recommendation should not call into question the quality of the statutory audit or the confidence placed in the function of statutory audits; calls on the Commission to inform Parliament no later than in 2010 about the impact of, and the follow-up to, the recommendation, the important issue in this connection being, in particular, whether and to what extent, in accordance with the Directive’s objective, the recommendation is leading to greater convergence between Member States; emphasises that, in the event that further measures prove necessary, the Commission must undertake an impact study assessing the possible effects of limitation of civil liability of auditors and audit firms on the quality of audits, financial security and the concentration on the audit market;

references to the requirements of national law, national limit of liability and national currency shall be construed respectively as references to the requirements of the law, the limit of liability and the currency of the relevant territorial unit; and

references to the requirements of national law, national limit of liability and national currency shall be construed respectively as references to the requirements of the law, the limit of liability and the currency of the relevant territorial unit; and

In summary, honourable senators, the key features of the proposed legislation include the following: a substantial increase of shipowners' limits of liability for maritime claims in general; special provisions for liability claims for small ships; special provisions for the liability of shipowners to their passengers; increased limits of liability for owners of docks, canals and ports; and increased compensation for pollution damage, with special provision for damage to the environment.