| Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables | |
| Location Signed: | Paris, France |
| Date Effective: | 1 May 1888[1] |
| Condition Effective: | Exchange of ratifications |
| Signatories: | 27 |
| Parties: | 36 (as of 2013)[2] |
| Ratifiers: | 47 |
| Depositor: | Government of the French Republic |
| Wikisource: | 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.
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 1nmi 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.[3]
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.
For states that were not original signatories, the date they accepted the convention is indicated.
| State | Signature | Ratification | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria | – | 1976 | ||
 Argentina | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Australia | – | 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. | |
 Belgium | 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. | |
 Colombia | 1884 | – | ||
 Costa Rica | 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. | ||
 Denmark | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Dominican Republic | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 El Salvador | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Fiji | – | 1971 | ||
 France | 1884 | 1885 | ||
| Germany | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Greece | 1884 | 1888 | ||
 Guatemala | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Hungary | – | 1922 | Notification of succession of the ratification by Austria-Hungary. | |
| Iran (Persia) | 1884 | – | ||
| Italy | 1884 | 1885 | ||
| Japan | – | 1884 | ||
 Luxembourg | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Malta | – | 1968 | ||
| Natal | – | 1888 | This ratification no longer has any force for any state; South Africa has not declared its succession to the ratification. | |
 Netherlands | 1884 | 1885 | Also applied to the colonies of the Dutch East Indies, Territory of Curaçao and Suriname (1892). Presently still applies to the territories making up the Territory of Curaçao: Aruba (1986), Curaçao (2010), Sint Maarten (2010), Caribbean Netherlands (2010) | |
| 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. | |
 Norway | – | 1905 | Convention previously applied to Norway via the ratification of Sweden-Norway. | |
| 1884 | 1885 | This ratification now applied to Turkey. | ||
| – | 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-Norway | 1884 | 1885 | This ratification now applies to Sweden. | |
| Tasmania | – | 1888 | This ratification is now subsumed within the convention's application to Australia. | |
 Tunisia | – | 1889 | ||
 United Kingdom | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 United States | 1884 | 1885 | ||
 Uruguay | 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. |