Allied and Associated Powers, and approved by the League of Nations, relating to the waterways recognised in such Convention as having an international character. This Convention shall apply in particular to the whole or part of the above-mentioned river systems of the Elbe (Labe), the Oder (Odra), the Niemen (Russstrom-Memel-Niemen), and the Danube, and such other parts of these river systems as may be covered by a general definition. Germany undertakes, in accordance with the provisions of Article 379, to adhere to the said General Convention as well as to all projects prepared in accordance with Article 343 below for the revision of existing international agreements and regulations. Note to XII, 338 The convention and statute on the regime of waterways of international concern were prepared by the Organization for Communications and Transit and were concluded at the first general conference of the organization on April 20, 1921. For the establishment of the Organization for Communications and Transit of the League of Nations, see article 379. ARTICLE 339. Germany shall cede to the Allied and Associated Powers concerned, within a maximum period of three months from the date on which notification shall be given her, a proportion of the tugs and vessels remaining registered in the ports of the river systems referred to in Article 331 after the deduction of those surrendered by way of restitution or reparation. Germany shall in the same way cede material of all kinds necessary to the Allied and Associated Powers concerned for the utilisation of those river systems. The number of the tugs and boats, and the amount of the material so ceded, and their distribution, shall be determined by an arbitrator or arbitrators nominated by the United States of America, due regard being had to the legitimate needs of the parties concerned, and particularly to the shipping traffic during the five years preceding the war. All craft so ceded shall be provided with their fittings and gear, shall be in a good state of repair and in condition to carry goods, and shall be selected from among those most recently built. The cessions provided for in the present Article shall entail a credit of which the total amount, settled in a lump sum by the arbitrator or arbitrators, shall not in any case exceed the value of the capital expended in the initial establishment of the material ceded, and shall be set off against the total sums due from Germany; in consequence, the indemnification of the proprietors shall be a matter for Germany to deal with. Note to XII, 339 On March 9, 1920 the president of the peace conference drew up the following declaration for transmission to the Government of the United States (Foreign Relations, 1920, 11, 263): "With a view to expediting the execution of certain duties entrusted to an arbitrator or arbitrators to be nominated by the United States of America by paragraph 6 of annex 3 of part 8 and articles 339 and 357 of the Treaty of Versailles and by paragraph 5 of annex 3 of part 8 and article 300 of the Treaty of Saint Germain and by article 228 of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, the British, French, Italian, Belgian, Greek, Polish, Roumanian, Serb-Croat-Slovene and Czecho-Slovak Governments have the honor to request that the Government of the United States should immediately nominate the arbitrator or arbitrators independently of the position of the United States as a signatory of the treaties of peace, it being understood that no part of the expenses of the execution of these provisions of the treaties will be borne by the Government of the United States." In response to this request the President appointed Walker D. Hines on April 30. A German protest was made to this action, and the United States correctly replied (ibid., p. 266) that Mr. Hines would function in no manner as a representative of the United States. In this instance, the United States had simply complied with a request to designate an appropriate person for a specific task, but the note made a point of discussing the general question of American participation in bodies growing out of the treaty, which was said to be "largely dictated by the desire for sane solutions of various questions". To the German objection that the United States had not ratified the treaty, the note asserted "that its position as one of the principal Allied and Associated Powers and its fundamental interest in solution of problems arising out of war gives the right to official or unofficial representation of the United States on all administrative bodies until ratification of Peace Treaty or other arrangement." On September 8, the Conference of Ambassadors reiterated to Germany the right of the Allies to make the appointment, and Germany thereupon decided not to pursue its objection further. However, it had "not altered its standpoint that the Government 695852 0-47-43 Note to XII, 339—Continued of, the United States cannot be called upon to participate as arbitrator in the execution of the treaty as long as the latter has not ratified the treaty and consequently still is in a state of war with Germany" (ibid., p. 273). The award of the arbitrator of June 14, 1921 decided that under article 339 Germany must deliver to Czechoslovakia barges, tugs, motor merchant boats and small equipment from the ports of the Elbe of the total value of 8,350,000 gold marks. Deliveries were to be completed by January 1, 1922; by January 1, 1923 they were 92 per cent completed. The award of the arbitrator of August 2, 1921 fixed Germany's share in the deliveries of the Danube fleet to be made to Czechoslovakia at 5,083 tons in barges, credited at 338,490 gold marks. Deliveries were completed by December 31, 1922. The award of the arbitrator of July 6, 1922 decided that Germany must deliver from the Oder to Czechoslovakia 35,688 tons in barges and 5,669 horsepower in tugs, both amounting to 1,833,000 gold marks, and to Poland 39,735 tons in barges and 4,903 horsepower in tugs, together with a site for a shipyard, amounting in all to 2,195,000 gold marks. Deliveries were made after December 31, 1922. The final adjusted credits for German river craft delivered to Czechoslovakia, in gold marks, were: on the Danube, 338,490; on the Elbe, 8,141,750; on the Oder, 1,776,507. (2) Special Clauses relating to the Elbe, the Oder and the Niemen (Russstrom-Memel-Niemen). ARTICLE 340. The Elbe (Labe) shall be placed under the administration of an International Commission which shall comprise : 4 representatives of the German States bordering on the river; 2 representatives of the Czecho-Slovak State; 1 representative of Great Britain; 1 representative of France; 1 representative of Italy; 1 representative of Belgium. Whatever be the number of members present, each delegation shall have the right to record a number of votes equal to the number of representatives allotted to it. If certain of these representatives cannot be appointed at the time of the coming into force of the present Treaty, the decisions of the Commission shall nevertheless be valid. Note to XII, 340 The commission met at Baden-Baden on March 15, 1920 and administered the waterway until the convention instituting a statute of navigation of the Elbe was signed at Dresden, February 22, 1922 and entered into force on October 1, 1923 (26 League of Nations Treaty Series, p. 219). The international system of the Elbe comprised the Elbe from the open sea to its confluence with the Vltava (Moldau), and the Vltava to Prague, Czechoslovakia. Navigation was open without restrictions to the craft of all nations complying with the stipulations of the convention. "The nationals, goods and flags of all nations shall be treated in all respects on a footing of complete equality." The commission, each member of which had a vote, reached decisions by a majority. It was charged with securing freedom of navigation, the maintenance and the improvement of the navigable channel, and with deciding complaints arising out of the application of the convention. A supplementary convention signed at Prague, January 27, 1923 entered into force on April 1, 1924. It set up tribunals to deal with breaches of the police regulations and to decide disputes relative to the incidents of navigation. ARTICLE 341. The Oder (Odra) shall be placed under the administration of an International Commission, which shall comprise : 1 representative of Poland; 3 representatives of Prussia; 1 representative of the Czecho-Slovak State; 1 representative of Great Britain; 1 representative of France; 1 representative of Sweden. If certain of these representatives cannot be appointed at the time of the coming into force of the present Treaty, the decisions of the Commission shall nevertheless be valid. Text of May 7: The Oder (Odra) shall be placed under the administration of an International Commission, which shall comprise: Text of May 7—Continued 1 representative of Poland; 1 representative of Prussia; 1 representative of the Tchecko-Slovak State; 1 representative of Great Britain; 1 representative of France; 1 representative of Sweden. If certain of these representatives cannot be appointed at the time of the coming into force of the present Treaty, the decisions of the Commission shall nevertheless be valid. Note to XII, 341 The International Commission of the Oder, set up under article 341 at Baden-Baden on March 15, 1920, encountered difficulty in fixing the limits of this international river system. It certified the difficulty to the Organization for Communications and Transit of the League of Nations by a resolution of January 29, 1924. The Organization's Committee of Inquiry having made suggestions for a solution which was not accepted by Germany and Poland, the Governments of the United Kingdom, Czechoslovak Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, and Sweden of the one part and Poland of the other part submitted their question to the Permanent Court of International Justice by the special agreement concluded at London on October 30, 1928. The Court, by 9 votes to 3, on September 10, 1929 gave a judgment (Series A/23) that "under the provisions of the treaty of Versailles, the jurisdiction of the International Commission of the Oder extends to the sections of the Warthe (Warta) and Netze (Noteć) which are situated in Polish territory", and that the principle laid down in article 331 of that treaty was to be adopted by the parties in determining the upstream limits of the commission's jurisdiction. The commission did not succeed in producing a definitive statute for the Oder before Germany's unilateral repudiation of its authority in 1936. ARTICLE 342. On a request being made to the League of Nations by any riparian State, the Niemen (Russstrom-Memel-Niemen) shall be placed under the administration of an International Commission, which shall comprise one representative of each riparian State, and three representatives of other States specified by the League of Nations. |