VII. APPLICATION OF SAFEGUARDS TO CHILDREN BORN ON A SHIP OR IN AN AIRCRAFT 62. Article 3 of the 1961 Convention serves to clarify the scope of application of provisions of the 1961 Convention, in particular with respect to Article 1, 2 and 4. It provides that children born on a ship or in an aircraft, respectively flagged or registered in a Contracting State, are deemed to have been born in the territory of that State. The extension of the territory of a Contracting State to children born on a “ship” as prescribed in Article 3 of the 1961 Convention is to be interpreted as referring to all vessels registered in that Contracting State irrespective of whether the ship involved is destined for transport on the high seas. Consequently, smaller ships which are in practice used for transport of persons from one State to another could also qualify as “ships” under this provision. “Ships” used on international lakes and rivers also qualify. However, an essential condition in all cases is that 42 the “ship” is registered in a Contracting State. 63. It follows from the ordinary meaning of the terms used in Article 3 that the extension of the territory of a Contracting State to ships flying the flag of that State and to aircraft registered in that State also applies when ships are within the territorial waters or a harbour of another State or to aircraft at an airport of another State. VIII. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS 64. Article 12 of the 1961 Convention provides that if a State opts to grant its nationality automatically to children born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless, this obligation only applies to children born in the territory of that State after the entry into force of the 1961 Convention for that State. 65. On the other hand, if a Contracting State opts to grant its nationality to individuals who would otherwise be stateless upon application in accordance with the provisions of Article 1(1) and 1(2), the rules also apply to children born before the entry into force for the State involved. This is also the case for the application procedures foreseen in Article 1(4) and (5), and in Article 4. This transitory rule is intended to avoid a situation in which States opt to impose conditions for acquisition of nationality by application under Articles 1 and 4, and thereby avoid any grant of nationality to individuals covered by those provisions until many 43 years after they become bound by the treaty. In those States, persons born before the entry into force therefore also enjoy the benefits of the Convention. Consequently, if a State acceded to the 1961 Convention on 1 January 2012 and opted for acquisition of nationality by operation of law under Articles 1 and 4, this rule would only apply to children born on or after the date the Convention entered into force with regard to that State. However, if the State opted for an application procedure, Article 12 would require allowing the receipt of applications by stateless persons born before the entry into force of the Convention with respect to that State. 66. States that opt for automatic acquisition are encouraged to provide for a transitory application procedure for stateless children born before the entry into force of the Convention. 42 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 91 prescribes: “Every State shall fix the conditions for the grant of its nationality to ships, for the registration of ships in its territory, and for the right to fly its flag”. This obligation affects ships on the high seas, but rules also exist in many States on the registration of ships which are destined for transport on (international) rivers and lakes. 43 Please see United Nations Conference on the Elimination or Reduction of Future Statelessness, Geneva, 1959 and New York, 1961. Summary Record of the 6th Meeting of Committee of the Whole, A/CONF.9/C.1/SR.6 (6-41959), p. 7 and Summary Record of the 13th Meeting of Committee of the Whole, A/CONF.9/C.1/SR.13 (10-4-1959), p. 9. 13