Straits Treaty
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Contents
- 1 (from: The Treaties of Peace 1919-1923, Vol. II, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, New York, 1924.)
- 2 THE CONVENTION RELATING TO THE REGIME OF THE STRAITS AND TURKEY
- 3 CONVENTION CONCERNING THE EXCHANGE OF GREEK AND TURKISH POPULATIONS
- 4 DECLARATION RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN TURKEY
- 5 PROTOCOL RELATING TO CERTAIN CONCESSIONS GRANTED IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
(from: The Treaties of Peace 1919-1923, Vol. II, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, New York, 1924.)
Go to Map of Convention Area, Thrace, The Straits, Etc.
Go to detailed Map of Western Turkey, showing the Zone of the Straits.
(Compiled by Lt.-Col. Lawrence Martin, Geographer of the Institute of Politics)
THE CONVENTION RELATING TO THE REGIME OF THE STRAITS
AND TURKEY
THE BRITISH EMPIRE, FRANCE, ITALY, JAPAN,
BULGARIA, GREECE, ROUMANIA, RUSSIA, the SERB-CROAT-SLOVENE STATE and TURKEY, being desirous of ensuring in the Straits freedom of transit and navigation between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea for all nations, in accordance with the principle laid down in Article 23 of the Treaty of Peace signed this day,
And considering that the maintenance of that freedom is
necessary to the general peace and the commerce of the world,
Have decided to conclude a Convention to this effect, and have appointed as their respective Plenipotentiaries:
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND AND OF THE
BRITISH DOMINIONS BEYOND THE SEAS, EMPEROR OF INDIA:
The Right Honourable Sir Horace George Montagu Rumbold, Baronet, G.C.M.G., High Commissioner at Constantinople;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC:
General Maurice Pellé, Ambassador of France, High Commissioner of the Republic in the East, Grand Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF ITALY:
The Honourable Marquis Camillo Garroni, Senator of the
Kingdom, Ambassador of Italy, High Commissioner at
Constantinople, Grand Cross of the Orders of Saints
Maurice and Lazarus, and of the Crown of Italy;
M. Giulio Cesare Montagna, Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary at Athens, Commander of the
Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Grand Officer of
the Crown of Italy;
HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN:
Mr. Kentaro Otchiai, Jusammi, First Class of the Order
of the Rising Sun, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary at Rome;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BULGARIANS:
M. Bogdan Morphoff, formerly Minister of Railways, Posts and Telegraphs;
M. Dimitri Stancioff, Doctor of Law, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at London, Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Alexander;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE HELLENES:
M. Eleftherios K. Veniselos, formerly President of the
Council of Ministers, Grand Cross of the Order of the
Saviour;
M. Demetrios Caclamanos, Minister Plenipotentiary at
London, Commander of the Order of the Saviour;
HlS MAJESTY THE KING OF ROUMANIA:
M. Constantine I. Diamandy, Minister Plenipotentiary;
M. Constantine Contzesco, Minister Plenipotentiary;
RUSSIA:
M. Nicolas Ivanovitch Iordanski;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE SERBS, THE CROATS AND THE SLOVENES:
Dr. Miloutine Yovanovitch, Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary at Berne;
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF TURKEY:
Ismet Pasha, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy for
Adrianople;
Dr. Riza Nour Bey, Minister for Health and for Public
Assistance, Deputy for Sinope;
Hassan Bey, formerly Minister, Deputy for Trebizond;
Who, having produced their full powers, found in good and due
form, have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE I.
The High Contracting Parties agree to recognise and declare the principle of freedom of transit and of navigation by sea and by
air in the Strait of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmora and the
Bosphorus, hereinafter comprised under the general term of the
"Straits."
ARTICLE 2.
The transit and navigation of commercial vessels and aircraft,
and of war vessels and aircraft in the Straits in time of peace and
in time of war shall henceforth be regulated by the provisions of
the attached Annex.
ANNEX.
Rules for the Passage of Commercial Vessels and Aircraft, and of
War Vessels and Aircraft through the Straits.
I.
Merchant Vessels, including Hospital Ships, Yachts and Fishing
Vessels and non-Military Aircraft.
(a) In Time of Peace.
Complete freedom of navigation and passage by day and by
night under any flag and with any kind of cargo, without any
formalities, or tax, or charge whatever (subject, however, to international sanitary provisions) unless for services directly rendered,
such as pilotage, light, towage or other similar charges, and without prejudice to the rights exercised in this respect by the services
and undertakings now operating under concessions granted by the
Turkish Government.
To facilitate the collection of these dues, merchant vessels
passing the Straits will communicate to stations appointed by the
Turkish Government their name, nationality, tonnage and
destination.
Pilotage remains optional.
(b) In Time of War, Turkey being Neutral.
Complete freedom of navigation and passage by day and by
night under the same conditions as above. The duties and rights
of Turkey as a neutral Power cannot authorise her to take any
measures liable to interfere with navigation through the Straits,
the waters of which, and the air above which, must remain entirely
free in time of war, Turkey being neutral just as in time of peace.
Pilotage remains optional.
(c) In Time of War, Turkey being a Belligerent.
Freedom of navigation for neutral vessels and neutral non-military aircraft, if the vessel or aircraft in question does not
assist the enemy, particularly by carrying contraband, troops or
enemy nationals. Turkey will have the right to visit and search
such vessels and aircraft, and for this purpose aircraft are to alight
on the ground or on the sea in such areas as are specified and
prepared for this purpose by Turkey. The rights of Turkey to
apply to enemy vessels the measures allowed by international law
are not affected.
Turkey will have full power to take such measures as she may
consider necessary to prevent enemy vessels from using the
Straits. These measures, however, are not to be of such a nature
as to prevent the free passage of neutral vessels, and Turkey
agrees to provide such vessels with either the necessary instruction
or pilots for the above purpose.
2.
Warships, induding Fleet Auxiliaries, Troopships, Aircraft
Carriers and Military Aircraft.
(a) In Time of Peace.
Complete freedom of passage by day and by night under any
flag, without any formalities, or tax, or charge whatever, but
subject to the following restrictions as to the total force:
The maximum force which any one Power may send through
the Straits into the Black Sea is not to be greater than that of
the most powerful fleet of the littoral Powers of the Black Sea
existing in that sea at the time of passage; but with the proviso
that the Powers reserve to themselves the right to send into the
Black Sea, at all times and under all circumstances, a force of
not more than three ships, of which no individual ship shall
exceed 10,000 tons.
Turkey has no responsibility in regard to the number of war
vessels which pass through the Straits.
In order to enable the above rule to be observed, the Straits
Commission provided for in Article 10 will, on the 1st January and
the 1st July of each year, enquire of each Black Sea littoral Power
the number of each of the following classes of vessel which such
Power possesses in the Black Sea: Battle-ships, battle-cruisers,
aircraft-carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, or other types of
vessels as well as naval aircraft; distinguishing between the ships
which are in active commission and the ships with reduced
complements, the ships in reserve and the ships undergoing repairs or alterations.
The Straits Commission will then inform the Powers concerned
that the strongest naval force in the Black Sea comprises: Battleships, battle-cruisers, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, aircraft and units of other types which may exist. The
Straits Commission will also immediately inform the Powers concerned when, owing to the passage into or out of the Black Sea of
any ship of the strongest Black Sea force, any alteration in tha[sic]
force has taken place.
The naval force that may be sent through the Straits into the
Black Sea will be calculated on the number and type of the ships
of war in active commission only.
(b) In Time of War, Turkey being Neutral.
Complete freedom of passage by day and by night under any
flag, without any formalities, or tax, or charge whatever, under
the same limitations as in paragraph 2 (a),
However, these limitations will not be applicable to any
belligerent Power to the prejudice of its belligerent rights in the
Black Sea.
The rights and duties of Turkey as a neutral Power cannot
authorise her to take any measures liable to interfere with navigation through the Straits, the waters of which, and the air above
which, must remain entirely free in time of war, Turkey being
neutral, just as in time of peace.
Warships and military aircraft of belligerents will be forbidden
to make any capture, to exercise the right of visit and search, or to
carry out any other hostile act in the Straits
As regards revictualling and carrying out repairs, war vessels
will be subject to the terms of the Thirteenth Hague Convention
of 1907, dealing with maritime neutrality.
Military aircraft will receive in the Straits similar treatment to
that accorded under the Thirteenth Hague Convention of 1907 to
warships, pending the conclusion of an international Convention
establishing the rules of neutrality for aircraft.
(c) In Time of War, Turkey being Belligerent.
Complete freedom of passage for neutral warships, without any
formalities, or tax, or charge whatever, but under the same
limitations as in paragraph 2 (a).
The measures taken by Turkey to prevent enemy ships and
aircraft from using the Straits are not to be of such a nature as to
prevent the free passage of neutral ships and aircraft, and Turkey
agrees to provide the said ships and aircraft with either the necessary instructions or pilots for the above purpose.
Neutral military aircraft will make the passage of the Straits at
their own risk and peril, and will submit to investigation as to
their character. For this purpose aircraft are to alight on the
ground or on the sea in such areas as are specified and prepared
for this purpose by Turkey.
3.
(a) The passage of the Straits by submarines of Powers at
peace with Turkey must be made on the surface.
(b) The officer in command of a foreign naval force, whether
coming from the Mediterranean or the Black Sea, will communicate, without being compelled to stop, to a signal station at the
entrance to the Dardanelles or the Bosphorus, the number and
the names of vessels under his orders which are entering the
Straits.
These signal stations shall be notified from time to time by
Turkey; until such signal stations are notified, the freedom of
passage for foreign war vessels in the Straits shall not thereby be
prejudiced, nor shall their entry into the Straits be for this reason
delayed.
(c) The right of military and non-military aircraft to fly over
the Straits, under the conditions laid down in the present rules,
necessitates for aircraft:
(i) Freedom to fly over a strip of territory of five kilometres on each side of the narrow parts of the Straits;
(ii) Liberty, in the event of a forced landing, to alight on the
coast or on the sea in the territorial waters of Turkey.
4.
Limitation of Time of Tronsit for Warships.
In no event shall warships in transit through the Straits, except
in the event of damage or peril of the sea, remain therein beyond
the time which is necessary for them to effect their passage, including the time of anchorage during the night if necessary for
safety of navigation.
5.
Stay in the Ports of the Straits and of the Black Sea.
(a) Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Annex apply to the passage of
vessels, warships and aircraft through and over the Straits and do
not affect the right of Turkey to make such regulations as she may
consider necessary regarding the number of men-of-war and military aircraft of any one Power which may visit Turkish ports or
aerodromes at one time, and the duration of their stay.
(b) Littoral Powers of the Black Sea will also have a similar
right as regards their ports and aerodromes.
(c) The light-vessels which the Powers at present represented
on the European Commission of the Danube maintain as stationnaires at the mouths of that river as far up as Galatz will be
regarded as additional to the men-of-war referred to in paragraph
2, and may be replaced in case of need.
6.
Special Provisions relating to Sanitary Protection.
Warships which have on board cases of plague, cholera or
typhus, or which have had such cases on board during the last
seven days, and warships which have left an infected port within
less than five times 24 hours must pass through the Straits in
quarantine and apply by the means on board such prophylactic
measures as are necessary to prevent any possibility of the Straits
being infected.
The same rule shall apply to merchant ships having a doctor
on board and passing straight through the Straits without calling
at a port or breaking bulk.
Merchant ships not having a doctor on board shall be obliged
to comply with the international sanitary regulations before
entering the Straits, even if they are not to call at a port therein.
Warships and merchant vessels calling at one of the ports in
the Straits shall be subject in that port to the international
sanitary regulations applicable in the port in question.
ARTICLE 3.
With a view to maintaining the Straits free from any obstacle
to free passage and navigation, the provisions contained in
Articles 4 to 9 will be applied to the waters and shores thereof
as well as to the islands situated therein, or in the vicinity.
ARTICLE 4.
The zones and islands indicated below shall be demilitarised:
(1) Both shores of the Straits of the Dardanelles and the
Bosphorus over the extent of the zones delimited below:
Dardanelles:
On the north-west, the Gallipoli Peninsula and the area south-east of a line traced from a point on the Gulf of Xeros 4 kilometres north-east of Bakla-Burnu, reaching the Sea of Marmora
at Kumbaghi and passing south of Kavak (this village excluded);
On the south-east, the area included between the coast and a
line 20 kilometres from the coast, starting from Cape Eski-Stamboul opposite Tenedos and reaching the Sea of Marmora at
a point on the coast immediately north of Karabigha.
Bosphorus (without prejudice to the special provisions relating
to Constantinople contained in Article 8):
On the east, the area extending up to a line 15 kilometres from
the eastern shore of the Bosphorus;
On the west, the area up to a line 15 kilometres from the western
shore of the Bosphorus.
(2) All the islands in the Sea of Marmora, with the exception
of the island of Emir Ali Adasi.
(3) In the Ægean Sea, the islands of Samothrace, Lemnos,
Imbros, Tenedos and Rabbit Islands.
ARTICLE 5.
A Commission composed of four representatives appointed
respectively by the Governments of France, Great Britain, Italy
and Turkey shall meet within 15 days of the coming into force
of the present Convention to determine on the spot the boundaries
of the zone laid down in Article 4 (1).
The Governments represented on that Commission will pay
the salaries of their respective representatives.
Any general expenses incurred by the Commission shall be
borne in equal shares by the Powers represented thereon.
ARTICLE 6
Subject to the provisions of Article 8 concerning Constantinople, there shall exist, in the demilitarised zones and islands,
no fortifications, no permanent artillery organisation, no submarine engines of war other than submarine vessels, no military
aerial organisation, and no naval base.
No armed forces shall be stationed in the demilitarised zones
and islands except the police and gendarmerie forces necessary
for the maintenance of order; the armament of such forces will
be composed only of revolvers, swords, rifles and four Lewis guns
per hundred men, and will exclude any artillery.
In the territorial waters of the demilitarised zones and islands,
there shall exist no submarine engines of war other than submarine vessels.
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs Turkey will retain
the right to transport her armed forces through the demilitarised
zones and islands of Turkish territory, as well as through their
territorial waters, where the Turkish fleet will have the right to
anchor.
Moreover, in so far as the Straits are concerned, the Turkish
Government shall have the right to observe by means of aeroplanes or balloons both the surface and the bottom of the sea.
Turkish aeroplanes will always be able to fly over the waters of
the Straits and the demilitarised zones of Turkish territory, and
will have full freedom to alight therein, either on land or on sea.
In the demilitarised zones and islands and in their territorial
waters, Turkey and Greece shall similarly be entitled to effect
such movements of personnel as are rendered necessary for the
instruction outside these zones and islands of the men recruited
therein.
Turkey and Greece shall have the right to organise in the said
zones and islands in their respective territories any system of
observation and communication, both telegraphic, telephonic and
visual. Greece shall be entitled to send her fleet into the territorial waters of the demilitarised Greek islands, but may not use these waters as a base of operations against Turkey nor for any
military or naval concentration for this purpose.
ARTICLE 7.
No submarine engines of war other than submarine vessels shall be installed in the waters of the Sea of Marmora.
The Turkish Government shall not install any permanent
battery or torpedo tubes, capable of interfering with the passage
of the Straits, in the coastal zone of the European shore of the
Sea of Marmora or in the coastal zone on the Anatolian shore
situated to the east of the demilitarised zone of the Bosphorus
as far as Darije.
ARTICLE 8.
At Constantinople, including for this purpose Stamboul, Pera,
Galata, Scutari, as well as Princes' Islands, and in the immediate
neighbourhood of Constantinople, there may be maintained for
the requirements of the capital, a garrison with a maximum
strength of 12,000 men. An arsenal and naval base may also be
maintained at Constantinople.
ARTICLE 9.
If, in case of war, Turkey, or Greece, in pursuance of their
belligerent rights, should modify in any way the provisions of
demilitarisation prescribed above, they will be bound to re-establish as soon as peace is concluded the regime laid down in
the present Convention.
ARTICLE 10.
There shall be constituted at Constantinople an International
Commission composed in accordance with Article 12 and called
the "Straits Commission."
ARTICLE 11.
The Commission will exercise its functions over the waters
of the Straits.
ARTICLE 12.
The Commission shall be composed of a representative of
Turkey, who shall be President, and representatives of France,
Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Greece, Roumania,
Russia, and the Serb-Croat-Slovene State, in so far as these
Powers are signatories of the present Convention, each of these
Powers being entitled to representation as from its ratification
of the said Convention.
The United States of America, in the event of their acceding to
the present Convention, will also be entitled to have one representative on the Commission.
Under the same conditions any independent littoral States of
the Black Sea which are not mentioned in the first paragraph of
the present Article will possess the same right.
ARTICLE 13.
The Governments represented on the Commission will pay the
salaries of their representatives. Any incidental expenditure
incurred by the Commission will be borne by the said Governments in the proportion laid down for the division of the expenses of the League of Nations.
ARTICLE 14.
It will be the duty of the Commission to see that the provisions
relating to the passage of warships and military aircraft are
carried out; these provisions are laid down in paragraphs 2, 3
and 4 of the Annex to Article 2.
ARTICLE 15.
The Straits Commission will carry out its functions under the
auspices of the League of Nations, and will address to the League
an annual report giving an account of its activities, and furnishing
all information which may be useful in the interests of commerce
and navigation; with this object in view the Commission will
place itself in touch with the departments of the Turkish Government dealing with navigation through the Straits.
ARTICLE 16.
It will be the duty of the Commission to prescribe such regulations as may be necessary for the accomplishment of its task.
ARTICLE 17.
The terms of the present Convention will not infringe the right
of Turkey to move her fleet freely in Turkish waters.
ARTICLE 18.
The High Contracting Parties, desiring to secure that the
demilitarisation of the Straits and of the contiguous zones shall
not constitute an unjustifiable danger to the military security of
Turkey, and that no act of war should imperil the freedom of the
Straits or the safety of the demilitarised zones, agree as follows:
Should the freedom of navigation of the Straits or the security
of the demilitarised zones be imperilled by a violation of the provisions relating to freedom of passage, or by a surprise attack or
some act of war or threat of war, the High Contracting Parties,
and in any case France, Great Britain, Italy, and Japan, acting
in conjunction, will meet such violation, attack, or other act of
war or threat of war, by all the means that the Council of the
League of Nations may decide for this purpose.
So soon as the circumstance which may have necessitated the
action provided for in the preceding paragraph shall have ended,
the regime of the Straits as laid down by the terms of the present
Convention shall again be strictly applied.
The present provision, which forms an integral part of those
relating to the demilitarisation and to the freedom of the Straits,
does not prejudice the rights and obligations of the High Contracting Parties under the Covenant of the League of Nations.
ARTICLE 19.
The High Contracting Parties will use every possible endeavour
to induce non-signatory Powers to accede to the present Convention.
This adherence will be notified through the diplomatic channel
to the Government of the French Republic, and by that.Government to all signatory or adhering States. The adherence will take
effect as from the date of notification to the French Government.
ARTICLE 20.
The present Convention shall be ratified. The ratification shall
be deposited at Paris as soon as possible.
The Convention will come into force in the same way as the
Treaty of Peace signed this day. In so far as concerns those
Powers who are not signatories of this Treaty and who at that
date shall not yet have ratified the present Convention, this
Convention will come into force as from the date on which they
deposit their respective ratifications, which deposit shall be notified to the other Contracting Powers by the French Government.
In faith whereof the above-named Plenipotentiaries have
signed the present Convention.
Done at Lausanne the 24th July, 1923, in a single copy which
will remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the
French Republic, and of which authenticated copies will be transmitted to each of the Contracting Powers.
(L.S.)HORACE RUMBOLD.
(L.S.) PELLÉ
(L.S.) GARRONI.
(L.S.)G. C. MONTAGNA.
(L.S.)K. OTCHIAI.
(L.S.)B. MORPHOFF.
(L.S.) STANCIOFF
(L.S.)E. K. VENISÉLOS.
(L.S.)D. CACLAMANOS.
(L.S.)CONST. DIAMANDY.
(L.S.)CONST. CONTZESCO.
(...... ) ........................................
(...... ).........................................
(L.S.)M. ISMET.
(L.S.)DR. RIZA NOUR.
(L.S.) HASSAN.
CONVENTION CONCERNING THE EXCHANGE OF GREEK AND TURKISH POPULATIONS
The Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the Greek Government have agreed upon the following provisions:
Article I
As from the 1st May, 1923, there shall take place a compulsory
exchange of Turkish nationals of the Greek Orthodox religion
established in Turkish territory, and of Greek nationals of the
Moslem religion established in Greek territory.
These persons shall not return to live in Turkey or Greece
respectively without the authorisation of the Turkish Government
or of the Greek Government respectively.
Article 2
The following persons shall not be included in the exchange provided for in Article I:
(a) The Greek inhabitants of Constantinople.
(b) The Moslem inhabitants of Western Thrace.
All Greeks who were already established before the 30th
October, 1918, within the areas under the Prefecture of the City
of Constantinople, as defined by the law of 1912, shall be considered as Greek inhabitants of Constantinople.
All Moslems established in the region to the east of the frontier
line laid down in 1913 by the Treaty of Bucharest shall be considered as Moslem inhabitants of Western Thrace.
Article 3
Those Greeks and Moslems who have already, and since the
18th October, 1912, left the territories the Greek and Turkish
inhabitants of which are to be respectively exchanged, shall be
considered as included in the exchange provided for in Article 1.
The expression "emigrant" in the present Convention includes
all physical and juridical persons who have been obliged to
emigrate or have emigrated since the 18th October, 1912.
Article 4
All able-bodied men belonging to the Greek population, whose
families have already left Turkish territory, and who are now
detained in Turkey, shall constitute the first instalment of Greeks
sent to Greece in accordance with the present Convention.
Article 5
Subject to the provisions of Articles 9 and l0 of the present
Convention, the rights of property and monetary assets of Greeks
in Turkey or Moslems in Greece shall not be prejudiced in consequence of the exchange to be carried out under the present
Convention
Article 6
No obstacle may be placed for any reason whatever in the way
of the departure of a person belonging to the populations which
are to be exchanged. In the event of an emigrant having received
a definite sentence of imprisonment, or a sentence which is not
yet definitive, or of his being the object of criminal proceedings, he
shall be handed over by the authorities of the prosecuting country to the authorities of the country whither he is going, in order
that he may serve his sentence or be brought to trial.
Article 7
The emigrants will lose the nationality of the country which
they are leaving, and will acquire the nationality of the country of
their destination, upon their arrival in the territory of the latter
country.
Such emigrants as have already left one or other of the two
countries and have not yet acquired their new nationality, shall
acquire that nationality on the date of the signature of the present Convention.
Article 8
Emigrants shall be free to take away with them or to arrange
for the transport of their movable property of every kind, without
being liable on this account to the payment of any export or import duty or any other tax.
Similarly, the members of each community (including the personnel of mosques, tekkes, meddresses, churches, convents,
schools, hospitals, societies, associations and juridical persons, or
other foundations of any nature whatever) which is to leave the
territory of one of the Contracting States under the present Convention, shall have the right to take away freely or to arrange for
the transport of the movable property belonging to their communities.
The fullest facilities for transport shall be provided by the
authorities of the two countries, upon the recommendation of the
Mixed Commission provided for in Article II.
Emigrants who may not be able to take away all or part of their
movable property can leave it behind. In that event, the local
authorities shall be required to draw up, the emigrant in question
being given an opportunity to be heard, an inventory and valuation of the property left by him. Procès-verbaux containing the
inventory and the valuation of the movable property left by the
emigrant shall be drawn up in four copies, one of which shall be
kept by the local authorities, the second transmitted to the Mixed
Commission provided for in Article I I to serve as the basis for the
liquidation provided for by Article 9, the third shall be handed to
the Government of the country to which the emigrant is going,
and the fourth to the emigrant himself.
Article 9
Immovable property, whether rural or urban, belonging to emigrants, or to the communities mentioned in Article 8, and the
movable property left by these emigrants or communities, shall
be liquidated in accordance with the following provisions by the
Mixed Commission provided for in Article II.
Property situated in the districts to which the compulsory
exchange applies and belonging to religious or benevolent institutions of the communities established in a district to which the
exchange does not apply, shall likewise be liquidated under the
same conditions.
Article l0
The movable and immovable property belonging to persons who
have already left the territory of the High Contracting Parties and
are considered, in accordance with Article 3 of the present
Convention, as being included in the exchange of populations,
shall be liquidated in accordance with Article 9. This liquidation
shall take place independently of all measures of any kind whatever, which, under the laws passed and the regulations of any
kind made in Greece and Turkey since the 18th October, 1912, or
in anyother way, have resulted in any restriction on rights of
ownership over the property in question, such as confiscation
forced sale, etc. In the event of the property mentioned in this
Article or in Article 9 having been submitted to a measure of this
kind, its value shall be fixed by the Commission provided for in
Article II, as if the measures in question had not been applied.
As regards expropriated property, the Mixed Commission shall
undertake a fresh valuation of such property, if it has been
expropriated since the 18th October, 1912, having previously
belonged to persons liable to the exchange of populations in the
two countries, and is situated in territories to which the exchange
applies. The Commission shall fix for the benefit of the owners
such compensation as will repair the injury which the Commission has ascertained. The total amount of this compensation shall
be carried to the credit of these owners and to the debit of the
Government on whose territory the expropriated property is
situated.
In the event of any persons mentioned in Articles 8 and 9 not
having received the income from property, the enjoyment of
which they have lost in one way or another, the restoration of the
amount of this income shall be guaranteed to them on the basis
of the average yield of the property before the war, and in accordance with the methods to be laid down by the Mixed Commission.
The Mixed Commission provided for in Article II, when
proceeding to the liquidation of Wakf property in Greece and of
the rights and interests connected therewith, and to the liquidation of similar foundations belonging to Greeks in Turkey, shall
follow the principles laid down in previous Treaties with a view to
fully safeguarding the rights and interests of these foundations
and of the individuals interested in them.
The Mixed Commission provided for in Article II shall be
entrusted with the duty of executing these provisions.
Article I I
Within one month from the coming into force of the present
Convention a Mixed Commission shall be set up in Turkey or in
Greece consisting of four members representing each of the High
Contracting Parties, and of three members chosen by the Council
of the League of Nations from among nationals of Powers which
did not take part in the war of 1914-1918. The Presidency of the
Commission shall be exercised in turn by each of these three
neutral members.
The Mixed Commission shall have the right to set up, in such
places as it may appear to them necessary, Sub-Commissions
working under its order. Each such Sub-Commission shall consist of a Turkish member, a Greek member and a neutral President
to be designated by the Mixed Commission. The Mixed Commission shall decide the powers to be delegated to the Sub-Commission.
Article 12
The duties of the Mixed Commission shall be to supervise and
facilitate the emigration provided for in the present Convention
and to carry out the liquidation of the movable and immovable
property for which provision is made in Articles 9 and l0.
The Commission shall settle the methods to be followed as
regards the emigration and liquidation mentioned above.
In a general way the Mixed Commission shall have full power
to take the measures necessitated by the execution of the present
Convention and to decide all questions to which this Convention
may give rise.
The decisions of the Mixed Commission shall be taken by a
majority.
All disputes relating to property, rights and interests which are
to be liquidated shall be settled definitely by the Commission.
Article 13
The Mixed Commission shall have full power to cause the valuation to be made of the movable and immovable property which is
to be liquidated under the present Convention, the interested
parties being given a hearing or being duly summoned so that
they may be heard.
The basis for the valuation of the property to be liquidated shall
be the value of the property in gold currency.
Article 14
The Commission shall transmit to the owner concerned a declaration stating the sum due to him in respect of the property of
which he has been dispossessed, and such property shall remain
at the disposal of the Government on whose territory it is situated.
The total sums due on the basis of these declarations shall
constitute a Government debt fromthe country wherethe liquidation takes place to the Government of the country to which the
emigrant belongs. The emigrant shall in principle be entitled to
receive in the country to which he emigrates, as representing the
sums due to him, property of a value equal to and of the same
nature as that which he has left behind.
Once every six months an account shall be drawn up of the
sums due by the respective Governments on the basis of the
declarations as above.
When the liquidation is completed, if the sums of money due
to both sides correspond, the accounts relating thereto shall be
balanced. If a sum remains due from one of the Governments to
the other Government after a balance has been struck, the debit
balance shall be paid in cash. If the debtor Government requests
a postponement in making this payment, the Commission may
grant such postponement, provided that the sum due be paid in
three annuities at most. The Commission shall fix the interest to
be paid during the period of postponement.
If the sum to be paid is fairly large and requires longer postponement, the debtor Government shall pay in cash a sum to be
fixed by the Mixed Commission, up to a maximum of 20 per cent.
of the total due, and shall issue in respect of the balance loan
certificates bearing such interest as the Mixed Commission may
fix, to be paid off within 20 years at most. The debtor Govern-
ment shall assign to the service of these loans pledges approved
by the Commission, which shall be administered and of which the
revenues shall be encashed by the International Commission in
Greece and by the Council of the Public Debt at Constantinople.
In the absence of agreement in regard to these pledges, they shall
be selected by the Council of the League of Nations.
Article 15
With a view to facilitating emigration, funds shall be advanced
to the Mixed Commission by the States concerned, under conditions laid down by the said Commission.
Article 16
The Turkish and Greek Governments shall come to an agreement with the Mixed Commission provided for in Article II in
regard to all questions concerning the notification to be made to
persons who are to leave the territory of Turkey and Greece under
the present Convention, and concerning the ports to which these
persons are to go for the purpose of being transported to the
country of their destination.
The High Contracting Parties undertake mutually that no pressure direct or indirect shall be exercised on the populations which
are to be exchanged with a view to making them leave their
homes or abandon their property before the date fixed for their
departure. They likewise undertake to impose on the emigrants
who have left or who are to leave the country no special taxes or
dues. No obstacle shall be placed in the way of the inhabitants
of the districts excepted from the exchange under Article 2 exercising freely their right to remain in or return to those districts
and to enjoy to the full their liberties and rights of property in
Turkey and in Greece. This provision shall not be invoked as a
motive for preventing the free alienation of property belonging
to inhabitants of the said regions which are excepted from the
exchange, or the voluntary departure of those among these inhabitants who wish to leave Turkey or Greece.
Article 17
The expenses entailed by the maintenance and working of the
Mixed Commission and of the organizations dependent on it shall
be borne by the Governments concerned in proportions to be fixed
by the Commission.
Article 18
The High Contracting Parties undertake to introduce in their
respective laws such modifications as may be necessary with a
view to ensuring the execution of the present Convention.
Article 19
The present Convention shall have the same force and effect as
between the High Contracting Parties as if it formed part of the
Treaty of Peace to be concluded with Turkey. It shall come into
force immediately after the ratification of the said Treaty by the
two High Contracting Parties.
In faith whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, whose
respective full Powers have been found in good and due form, have
signed the present Convention.
Done at Lausanne, the 30th January, 1923, in three copies,
one of which shall be transmitted to the Greek Government, one
to the Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,
and the third shall be deposited in the archives of the Government
of the French Republic, which shall deliver certified copies to the
other Powers signatory of the Treaty of Peace with Turkey.
(L.S.) E. K. VENISELOS
(L.S.) D. CACLAMANOS
(L.S.) ISMET
(L.S.) DR. RIZA NOUR
(L.S.) HASSAN
PROTOCOL
The undersigned Turkish Plenipotentiaries, duly authorized to
that effect, declare that, without waiting for the coming into force
of the Convention with Greece of even date, relating to the exchange of the Greek and Turkish populations, and by way of
exception to Article I of that Convention, the Turkish Government, on the signature of the Treaty of Peace, will release the
able-bodied men referred to in Article 4 of the said Convention,
and will provide for their departure.
Done at Lausanne, the 30th January, 1923.
ISMET
DR. RIZA NOUR
HASSAN
DECLARATION RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN TURKEY
The Turkish Delegation has already had occasion to state that
the Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey is in a
position to ensure to foreigners before the Turkish Courts all the
safeguards of a good judicial system and to provide therefor in
the exercise of its full sovereignty and without any kind of foreign
interference. It is nevertheless prepared to have an investigation
made and to cause the situation to be studied with a view to the
institution of such reforms as may be rendered advisable by the
development of manners and civilisation.
Animated by this spirit, the Undersigned, acting in virtue of
their full powers, desire to make the following Declaration:
1.
The Turkish Government proposes to take immediately into its
service, for such period as it may consider necessary, not being less
than five years, a number of European legal counsellors whom it
will select from a list prepared by the Permanent Court of International Justice of The Hague from among jurists nationals of
countries which did not take part in the war of 1914-1918, and
who will be engaged as Turkish officials.
2.
These legal counsellors will serve under the Minister of Justice;
some will be posted in the city of Constantinople and others in the
city of Smyrna. They will take part in the work of the legislative
commissions. It will be their duty to observe, without interfering
in the performance by the magistrates of their duties, the working
of the Turkish civil, commercial and criminal courts, and to forward to the Minister of Justice such reports as they may consider
necessary; they will be authorized to receive all complaints to
which the administration of justice in civil, commercial or criminal matters, the execution of sentences, or the manner of application of the law may give rise, with a view to bringing such
complaints to the notice of the Minister of Justice in order to
ensure the strict observance of the provisions of Turkish law.
Similarly, they will be authorized to receive such complaints as
may be caused by domiciliary visits, perquisitions orarrests; moreover, these measures shall, in the judicial districts of Constantinople and of Smyrna, be brought, immediately after their
execution, to the notice of the legal counsellor by the local representative of the Minister of Justice; this official shall in such cases
be authorized to correspond direct with the legal counsellor.
3.
In cases of minor offences release on bail shall always be ordered
unless this entails danger to public safety or unless such provisional release is calculated to impede the investigation of the case.
4
In civil or commercial matters all references to arbitration and
c!auses in agreements providing therefor are allowed, and the
arbitral decisions rendered in pursuance thereof shall be executed
on being signed by the President of the Court of First Instance,
who shall not refuse his signature unless the decision should be
contrary to public order.
5.
The present Declaration shall remain in force for a period of five
years.
Done at Lausanne, the 24th July, 1923.
ISSET
DR. RIZA NOUR
HASSAN
PROTOCOL RELATING TO CERTAIN CONCESSIONS GRANTED IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
THE BRITISH EMPIRE, FRANCE, ITALY, GREECE, ROUMANIA,
THE SERB-CROAT-SLOVENE STATE AND TURKEY, being desirous of
settling by agreement questions relating to certain concessions
granted in the Ottoman Empire.
The Undersigned, duly authorised, agree as follows:
SECTION I
Article I
Concessionary contracts and subsequent agreements relating
thereto, duly entered into before the 29th October, 1914, between
the Ottoman Government or any local authority, on the one
hand, and nationals (including Companies) of the Contracting
Powers, other than Turkey, on the other hand, are maintained.
Article 2
(i.) On the request of the Turkish Government, the operations
contemplated in the agreements entered into between the Ottoman Government and Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and
Company, Limited, and Vickers, Limited, during the years 1913
and 1914, relating to the constitution and the concession of the
Société Impériale Ottomane Coïntéressée des Docks, Arsenaux et
Constructions Navales will be suspended.
Negotiations shall be entered into between the two parties with
a view to the modification of the provisions of these agreements
or the grant of a new concession for an undertaking of equal
importance.
If, within six months from the coming into force of the Treaty of
Peace signed this day, an agreement shall not have been come to
between the Turkish Government and the said companies, either
for the modification of the provisions of the said agreements or for
the grant of a new concession, the companies mentioned above
shall have the right to submit to experts, appointed in accordance
with the provisions of Article 5, the settlement of the conditions of
the new concession to be granted as compensation for the cancellation of the old agreements.
It is nevertheless understood that, if the conditions settled by the
experts for the new concession are not acceptable to one or other
of the parties, the Turkish Goverment undertakes to pay to the
said companies such indemnity for the loss actually suffered for
the cancellation of their old concession as the experts determine to
be equitable.
(ii.) If, within six months from the coming into force of the
Treaty of Peace signed this day, the Regie Generale des Chemins
de Fer shall not, for any reason, have been restored to the possession of the concession which was given to it in 1914 for the construction and exploitation of the Samsun-Sivas Railway, the
Turkish Government undertakes to grant to this company, at its
request, a new concession by way of compensation. In default
of agreement as to the equivalence of this compensation, the
extent and conditions of exploitation of this new concession necessary to give compensation will be determined by experts appointed
in accordance with Article 5.
It is understood that, if the Régie Générale is restored to the
possession of the Samsun-Sivas Concession, it will be re-adapted
in accordance with the procedure for settlement by experts provided for by Article 5. In case of compensation by a new concession due regard will also be had to the power of re-adaptation.
If the conditions of the new concession, as determined by the
experts, are not acceptable to one or other of the parties, the
Turkish Government undertakes to pay to the company such
indemnity as the experts determine to be equitable for the loss
actually suffered from the cancellation of the concession for the
Samsun-Sivas Railway and for the expenses to which the company has been put for the survey and investigation work
on the spot in respect of the other sections of the Black Sea
Railway system.
Turkey will be entirely freed from all liability to the company
either by the restoration of the company to possession of the
Samsun-Sivas Concession, or by the grant of the new concession,
or, lastly, by the payment of an indemnity in accordance with the
provisions set out above.
Article 3
The amount due, after settlement of accounts, to the State or to
beneficiaries under contracts and agreements referred to in Articles
1 and 2, in respect of the use by the State, on the territory which
it now possesses, of the property or the services of the said beneficiaries shall be paid in accordance with existing contracts or
agreements or, in default of contracts or agreements, in accordance
with the procedure of settlement by experts provided for by the
present Protocol.
Article 4
Subject to the provisions of Article 6, the provisions of the
contracts and subsequent agreements referred to in Article 1 shall,
by agreement, and as regards both parties, be put into conformity
with the new economic conditions.
Article 5
In the absence of agreement within one year from the coming
into force of the Treaty of Peace signed this day, the parties will
adopt the provisions regarding both the settlement of accounts
and the re-adaptation of concessions, which are considered suitable and equitable by two experts, to be nominated by the parties
within two months from the expiration of the period of one year
mentioned above. In case of disagreement, these experts will
refer the question to a third expert selected within two months by
the Turkish Government from a list of three persons, nationals of
countries not having participated in the war of 1914-1918, prepared by the head of the Swiss Federal Department of Public
Works
Article 6
Beneficiaries under concessionary contracts referred to in
Article 1, which have not, on the date of this Protocol, begun to
be put into operation, cannot avail themselves of the provisions
of this Protocol relating to re-adaptation. These contracts may
be dissolved on the request of the concessionnaire made within
six months from the coming into force of the Treaty of Peace
signed this day. In such case the concessionnaire will be entitled,
if there is ground for it, to such indemnity in respect of the survey
and investigation work as, in default of agreement between the
parties, shall be considered equitable by the experts provided for
in this Protocol.
Article 7
Agreements entered into between the 30th October, 1918, and
the 1st November, 1922, between the Ottoman Government, and
beneficiaries under contracts and concessions referred to in Article
1, as well as contracts between individuals involving the transfer
of a concession entered into during this period, shall remain in
force until they have received the approval of the Turkish Government. If this approval should not be granted, compensation
shall, if there is ground for it, be paid to the concessionnaires in
respect of the loss actually suffered, the amount being fixed by
experts appointed as provided in Article 5. This provision shall
not prejudice, as regards contracts previous to the 24th October, 1914,
the right of readaptation provided for by this Protocol.
Article 8
The provisions of this Protocol do not apply to agreements
entered into since the 2sth April, 1920, between the Government
of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and concessionnaires.
SECTION II
Article 9
In territories detached from Turkey under the Treaty of Peace
signed this day, the State which acquires the territory is fully
subrogated as regards the rights and obligations of Turkey
towards the nationals of the other Contracting Powers, and companies in which the capital of the nationals of the said Powers is
preponderant, who are beneficiaries under concessionary contracts
entered into before the 2gth October, 1914, with the Ottoman
Government or any local Ottoman authority. The same provision
will apply in territories detached from Turkey after the Balkan
Wars so far as regards concessionary contracts entered into with
the Ottoman Government or any Ottoman local authority before
the coming into force of the Treaty providing for the transfer of
the territory. This subrogation will have effect as from the coming into force of the treaty by which the transfer of territory was
effected except as regards territories detached by the Treaty of
Peace signed this day, in respect of which the subrogation will
have effect as from the 30th October, 1918.
Article 10
The provisions of Section I of this Protocol, except Articles 7
and 8, will be applied to the contracts referred to in Article 9.
Article 3 will only have effect in detached territories where the
property or the services of the concessionnaires were utilised by
the State exercising authority in such territory.
Article 11
Any company formed in accordance with Ottoman law and carrying on its business in territory detached from Turkey, either after the Balkan Wars or under the Treaty of Peace signed this day, in which the interests of nationals of the Contracting Powers other than Turkey are preponderant, will have, within five years from the coming into force of the said Treaty, the right to transfer its property, rights and interest to any other company formed in accordance with the law, either of the State exercising authority on the territory in question, or of one of the Contracting Powers other than Turkey whose nationals control the first-named com- pany. The company to which the property, rights and interests shall have been transferred will be entitled to the same rights and privileges as those to which the first named company was entitled, including those conferred upon it by the provisions of this Protocol.
Article 12
The provisions of Article 11 do not apply to companies holding
concessions for public utility services, part of the exploitation
of which remains in Turkish territory.
Nevertheless such companies will be entitled to the benefit of
the provisions of Articles 11 and 13 as regards those parts of
their undertaking which are exploited outside Turkey, and to
transfer such parts to a new company.
Article 13
Companies to which, in accordance with Article 11, property
rights and interests of Ottoman companies shall have been transferred will not be subjected in territories detached from Turkey to
any special tax on account of such transfer or on account of their
formation with a view to this transfer, except in so far as this provision may be inconsistent with international conventions in
force. The same provision shall apply in the territory of the contracting Power, the nationality of which is taken by such companies, unless this Power raises objection to such exemption on
account of its own legislation.
Done at Lausanne, the 24th July, 1923.
HORACE RUMBOLD
PELLÉ
GARRONI
G. C. MONTAGNA
E. K. VENISELOS
D. CACLAMANOS
CONST. DIAMANDY
CONST. CONTZESCO
M . ISMET
DR. RIZA NOUR
HASSAN
DECLARATION
The Undersigned, duly authorised, declare that the Turkish
Government undertakes to apply the provisions of Section I of the
Protocol of to-day's date with respect to certain concessions
granted in the Ottoman Empire, to Ottoman companies in which
on the 1st August, 1914, the capital of nationals of the other
Powers party to that Protocol was preponderant.
Done at Lausanne, the 24th July, 1923.
M. ISMET
DR. RIZA NOUR
HASSAN
Ed. Note
-A number of other instruments were drawn up and signed at the same time, but are not included in this volume. They can be found in Treaty Series, No. l6 (1923), Cmd. 1929,
which is published by the British Government, and from which the foregoing texts of the Treaty of Peace with Turkey, and the Straits Convention, and the other instruments signed at Lausanne
were taken. They are:
I. Convention respecting the Thracian Frontiers, signed the 24th July, 1923.
II. Convention respecting Conditions of Residence and Business and Jurisdiction, signed the 24th July, 1923.
III. Commercial Convention, signed the 24th July, 1923.
IV. Graeco-Turkish Agreement on the Restitution of Interned Civilians and the Exchange of Prisoners of War, signed the 30th January, 1923.
V. Amnesty Declaration, and Protocol, signed the 24th July, 1923.
Vl. Declaration relating to Moslem Properties, in Greece, signed the 24th July, 1923.
VII. Declaration relating to Sanitary Matters, signed the 24th July, 1923.
VIII. Protocol relating to the accession of Belgium and Portugal to certain provisions of Instruments signed at Lausanne, and Declarations of these two Powers concerning such accession, signed the 24th July, 1923.
IX. Protocol relating to the Evacuation of the Turkish territory occupied by the British, French and Italian Forces, and Declaration, signed the 24th July, 1923.
X. Protocol relating to the Karagatch territory and to the islands of Imbros and Tenedos, signed by the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan, Greece and Turkey on the 24th July, 1923.
XI. Protocol, signed on the 24th July, 1923, relating to the Treaty, concluded at Sevres between the Principal Allied Powers and Greece on the l0th August, 1920, concerning the Protection of Minorities in Greece, and to the Treaty relating to Thrace concluded on the same day between the same Powers.
XII. Protocol relating to signature by the Serb-Croat-Slovene State, signed the 24th July, 1923.
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