Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables
The Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables is a multilateral treaty that was signed in 1884 in order to protect submarine communications cables that had begun to be laid in the 19th century.
Content
The convention made it a punishable offence to damage submarine communications cables. In addition, all ships were to be regulated to staying a distance of away from cable laying ships when in operation. Any ship that accidentally hooked a cable and sacrificed its fishing nets to avoid breaking it would be compensated for the lost equipment.State parties
The convention has been signed, ratified, and acceded to by the following parties. A number of dependent territories ratified the convention or had the convention extended to them. Initial signatory parties are listed in bold.For states that were not original signatories, the date they accepted the convention is indicated.
| State | Signature | Ratification | Notes |
| – | 1976 | ||
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
| – | 1901 | Upon federation, Australia accepted the ratifications of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia to be applicable to the Commonwealth of Australia. | |
| 1884 | 1885 | Austria and Hungary both submitted separate notifications of succession. | |
 Austria | – | 1921 | Notification of succession of ratification by Austria-Hungary. |
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Brazil | 1884 | 1885 | |
 Canada | – | 1888 | Extension by the United Kingdom to cover Canada. |
 Cape Colony | – | 1888 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state; South Africa has not declared its succession to the ratification. |
| 1884 | – | ||
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
| – | 1925 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state; neither the Czech Republic nor Slovakia have declared their succession to the ratification. | |
| – | 1926 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state. | |
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
| – | 1971 | ||
 France | 1884 | 1885 | |
 Germany | 1884 | 1885 | |
 Greece | 1884 | 1888 | |
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Hungary | – | 1922 | Notification of succession of the ratification by Austria-Hungary. |
 Iran | 1884 | – | |
 Italy | 1884 | 1885 | |
 Japan | – | 1884 | |
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
| – | 1968 | ||
| Natal | – | 1888 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state; South Africa has not declared its succession to the ratification. |
| 1884 | 1885 | Also applied to the colonies of the Dutch East Indies, Territory of Curaçao and Suriname. Presently still applies to the territories making up the Territory of Curaçao: Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Caribbean Netherlands | |
 Newfoundland | – | 1888 | Extension by the United Kingdom to cover Newfoundland; this ratification is now subsumed within Canada's. |
 New South Wales | – | 1888 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
 New Zealand | – | 1888 | Extension by the United Kingdom to cover New Zealand. |
| – | 1905 | Convention previously applied to Norway via the ratification of Sweden-Norway. | |
| 1884 | 1885 | This ratification now applied to Turkey. | |
 Poland | – | 1934 | |
 Portugal | 1884 | 1885 | |
 Queensland | – | 1886 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
 Romania | 1884 | 1886 | |
 Russia | 1884 | 1885 | |
 Serbia | 1884 | 1885 | This ratification was previously accepted as applicable to it by Yugoslavia and by Serbia and Montenegro. |
 South Australia | – | 1885 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
 Spain | 1884 | 1885 | |
 Sweden and Norway.png" /> Sweden-Norway | 1884 | 1885 | This ratification now applies to Sweden. |
 Tasmania | – | 1888 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
| – | 1889 | ||
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
| 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Victoria | – | 1885 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. |
 Western Australia | – | 1888 | This ratification is now subsumed within the Convention's application to Australia. |