22 U.S.C. § 454 — Unlawful use of the American flag by vessel of foreign state

submitted 87 years ago by ch. 2 to r/title-22-FOREIGN-RELATIONS-AND-INTERCOURSE · 86 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

A foreign country's ship cannot fly the American flag or use markings that make it look American. Doing so is against the law. If a ship breaks this rule, it can't enter U.S. ports or waters for three months.

(a) It is unlawful for any vessel belonging to, or operating under the authority of, a foreign country to fly the U.S. flag, or to use any distinctive signs or markings suggesting it is an American vessel. (b) A vessel that violates (a) is denied entry to U.S. ports or territorial waters for three months — except in cases of force majeure (an unavoidable emergency, like extreme weather).

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

It shall be unlawful for any vessel belonging to or operating under the jurisdiction of any foreign state to use the flag of the United States thereon, or to make use of any distinctive signs or markings, indicating that the same is an American vessel.

(b)

Any vessel violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be denied for a period of three months the right to enter the ports or territorial waters of the United States except in cases of force majeure.

Source credit: (Nov. 4, 1939, ch. 2, § 14, 54 Stat. 11.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1939Enacted · Act of Nov. 4, 1939, ch. 2 · 54 Stat. 11

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 2 on 1939-11-04.

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