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The
jurisdiction of the commissions is purely voluntary, is defined by
the Inquiry Convention, and is strictly limited to questions of
fact. Article 14 of the 1899 Convention provides that “the Report
of the Commission … has in no way the character of an Arbitral
Award. It leaves the conflicting Powers entire freedom as to the
effect to be given to this statement.” Article 35 of the 1907
Convention has an analogous provision. In addition, Article 9 of
both Conventions recommends that international commissions of
inquiry shall be instituted in respect of the 'differences of an
international nature involving neither honor nor vital interests.'
Also, the commission has no jurisdiction to issue orders requiring
the appearance of witnesses or experts, instead it always has to act
through the government on whose territory the respective person is
located. Similarly, if the commission chooses to visit some location
in respect of its proceedings it can do so only with the prior
consent of the parties and that of the local government.
See
'documents' for general comments on the 1997 Optional Rules.
In
terms of jurisdictional issues, the 1997 Rules are no longer open
solely to the signatories to the 1899 & 1907 Conventions.
The
Report and supporting documents can be disclosed if it is required
by the legislation of the member-state. In addition, the 1997 Rules provide
that parties can agree that the report of the Commission will be
binding on them.
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