persons must liquidate their property and other goods in Turkey, they shall be granted a period of nine months as from the date of the above-mentioned proclamation to effect this liquidation of their own accord, and in the event of liquidation by the Turkish Government after the expiry of this period the whole of the proceeds shall be paid to the said persons. It is similarly understood that paragraph 1 of the amnesty declaration in no way affects the right of the Greek Government to prosecute nonMoslem Greek subjects belonging or having belonged to its army for acts which constituted failure in respect of their military duties during the hostilities between Greece and Turkey. Done at Lausanne, the 24th July, 1923. The undersigned, acting in virtue of their full powers, declare, in the name of the Greek Government, that there shall be no infringement of rights to property held by Moslem persons, who are not subject to the terms of the convention respecting the exchange of populations, signed at Lausanne on the 30th January, 1923, and who have left Greece, including the Island of Crete, before the 18th October, 1912, or who have always resided outside Greece. Such persons will preserve their right to complete freedom as regards the disposal of their property. Such arrangements and measures as may have been exceptionally taken or applied in regard to the property of the said Moslems shall be annulled. In the event of the revenues derived from such properties having been collected by the Greek Government or authorities without having been hitherto restored, or without having been the subject of special agreements between the Government and the interested parties, such revenues shall be paid to the owners. All claims respecting the revenues in question, and all claims based on an allegation by such persons that their rights had been infringed by an unfair application of measures of a general nature, shall be settled by the commission, for which provision is made in the above-mentioned convention, subject, nevertheless, to the condition that such claims shall be made within a period of six months from the entry into force of the treaty of peace signed this day. The said claims shall be examined at once by the commission, in order that they may be settled within a year's time at the most from the coming into force of the said treaty. In view of the difficulties of a practical nature with which the abovementioned persons might be confronted, by reason of their absence, as regards their right to dispose freely of their goods, the Greek Government agrees that they shall be able to take advantage, if they so desire, of the services of the above-mentioned Mixed Commission to dispose of their property. It is understood that in this event intervention on the part of the Mixed Commission will entail no obligation for the Greek Government to purchase the properties in question, and that the task of the commission will be limited to facilitating the disposal thereof. It is understood that the present declaration is made on the condition that reciprocity shall be granted to Greek owners of property who have left Turkey before the 18th October, 1912, or who have always resided outside Turkey. Done at Lausanne, the 24th July, 1923. E. K. VENISELOS. X. DECLARATION RELATING TO SANITARY MATTERS The undersigned, acting in virtue of their full powers, declare that the Turkish Government will appoint for a period of five years three European medical specialists as counsellors for the sanitary administration of the frontiers. These medical specialists shall be Turkish officials and shall be attached to the Ministry of Health. They shall be chosen by the said government from a list of six names, prepared in agreement by the Health Committee of the League of Nations and by the International Bureau of Public Health. Their salary, as well as the other terms of their appointment, shall be settled by agreement between the said government and the two above-mentioned international organizations. The Turkish Sanitary Administration shall establish, with the help of the three above-mentioned European counsellors, regulations for the organization of the sanitary administration of the coasts and frontiers of Turkey. These regulations shall be in accordance with the terms of the International Sanitary Conventions, and, in so far as the Straits are concerned, with the terms of the Straits Convention signed this day. The yield of the sanitary taxes exacted by the Turkish administration shall be exclusively applied to the needs of the sanitary administration of Turkey, and shall appear in a special budget, which shall be prepared for this purpose by the Ministry of Health. Done at Lausanne, the 24th July, 1923. ISMET. DR. RIZA NOUR. XI. DECLARATION RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE 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 civilization. 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 or arrests; 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 clauses 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. ISMET. DR. RIZA NOUR. XII. PROTOCOL RELATING TO CERTAIN CONCESSIONS The British Empire, France, Italy, Greece, Roumania, the Serb-Croat- SECTION I ARTICLE 1 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 Cointéressée 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 Government 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 Régie Générale 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 SamsunSivas 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. |