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Germany
undertakes to grant freedom of transit through her territories on
the routes most convenient for international transit, either by
rail, navigable waterway, or canal, to persons, goods, vessels,
carriages, wagons and mails coming from or going to the territories
of any of the Allied and Associated Powers (whether contiguous or
not); for this purpose the crossing of territorial waters shall be
allowed. Such persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons, and mails
shall not be subjected to any transit duty or to any undue delays or
restrictions, and shall be entitled in Germany to national treatment
as regards charges, facilities, and all other matters.
Goods
in transit shall be exempt from all Customs or other similar duties.
All
charges imposed on transport in transit shall be reasonable, having
regard to the conditions of the traffic. No charge, facility or
restriction shall depend directly or indirectly on the ownership or
on the nationality of the ship or other means of transport on which
any part of the through journey has been, or is to be, accomplished.
Germany
undertakes neither to impose nor to maintain any control over
transmigration traffic through her territories beyond measures
necessary to ensure that passengers are bona fide in transit; nor to
allow any shipping company or any other private body, corporation or
person interested in the traffic to take any part whatever in, or to
exercise any direct or indirect influence over, any administrative
service that may be necessary for this purpose.
Germany
undertakes to make no discrimination or preference direct or
indirect, in the duties, charges and prohibitions relating to
importations into or exportations from her territories, or, subject
to the special engagements contained in the present Treaty, in the
charges and conditions of transport of goods or persons entering or
leaving her territories, based on the frontier crossed; or on the
kind, ownership or flag of the means of transport (including
aircraft) employed, or on the original or immediate place of
departure of the vessel, wagon or aircraft or other means of
transport employed, or its ultimate or intermediate destination; or
on the route of or places of trans-shipment on the journey; or on
whether any port through which the goods are imported or exported is
a German port or a port belonging to any foreign country or on
whether the goods are imported or exported by sea, by land or by
air.
Germany
particularly undertakes not to establish against the ports and
vessels of any of the Allied and Associated Powers any surtax or any
direct or indirect bounty for export, or import by German ports or
vessels, or by those of another Power, for example by means of
combined tariffs. She further undertakes that persons or goods
passing through a port or using a vessel of any of the Allied and
Associated Powers shall not be subjected to any formality or delay
whatever to which such persons or goods would not be subjected if
they passed through a German port or a port of any other Power, or
used a German vessel or a vessel of any other Power.
All
necessary administrative and technical measures shall be taken to
shorten, as much as possible, the transmission of goods across the
German frontiers and to ensure their forwarding and transport from
such frontiers, irrespective of whether such goods are coming from
or going to the territories of the Allied and Associated Powers or
are in transit from or to those territories, under the same material
conditions in such matters as rapidity of carriage and care en route
as are enjoyed by other goods of the same kind carried on German
territory under similar conditions of transport.
In
particular, the transport of perishable goods shall be promptly and
regularly carried out, and the customs formalities shall be effected
in such a way as to allow the goods to be carried straight through
by trains which make connection.
The
seaports of the Allied and Associated Powers are entitled to all
favours and to all reduced tariffs granted on German railways or
navigable waterways for the benefit of German ports or of any port
of another Power.
Germany
may not refuse to participate in the tariffs or combinations of
tariffs intended to secure for ports of any of the Allied and
Associated Powers advantages similar to those granted by Germany to
her own ports or the ports of any other Power.
The
nationals of any of the Allied and Associated Powers as well as
their vessels and property shall enjoy in all German ports and on
the inland navigation routes of Germany the same treatment in all
respects as German nationals, vessels and property.
In
particular the vessels of any one of the Allied or Associated Powers
shall be entitled to transport goods of any description, and
passengers, to or from any ports or places in German territory to
which German vessels may have access, under conditions which shall
not be more onerous than those applied in the case of national
vessels; they shall be treated on a footing of equality with
national vessels as regards port and harbour facilities and charges
of every description, including facilities for stationing loading,
and unloading, and duties and charges of tonnage, harbour, pilotage,
light-house, quarantine, and all analogous duties and charges of
whatsoever nature, levied in the name of or for the profit of the
Government, public functionaries, private individuals, corporations
or establishments of any kind.
In
the event of Germany granting a preferential regime to any of the
Allied or Associated Powers or to any other foreign Power, this
regime shall be extended immediately and unconditionally to all the
Allied and Associated Powers.
There
shall be no impediment to the movement of persons or vessels other
than those arising from prescriptions concerning customs, police,
sanitation, emigration, and immigration, and those relating to the
import and export of prohibited goods. Such regulations must be
reasonable and uniform and must not impede traffic unnecessarily.
The
free zones existing in German ports on August 1, 1914, shall be
maintained. These free zones, and any other free zones which may be
established in German territory by the present Treaty, shall be
subject to the regime provided for in the following
Goods
entering or leaving a free zone shall not be subjected to any import
or export duty, other than those provided for in Article 330.
Vessels
and goods entering a free zone may be subjected to the charges
established to cover expenses of administration, upkeep and
improvement of the port, as well as to the charges for the use of
various installations, provided that these charges shall be
reasonable having regard to the expenditure incurred, and shall be
levied in the conditions of equality provided for in Article 327.
Goods
shall not be subjected to any other charge except a statistical duty
which shall not exceed 1 mille ad valorem, and which shall be
devoted exclusively to defraying the expenses of compiling
statements of the traffic in the port.
The
facilities granted for the erection of warehouses, for packing and
for unpacking goods, shall be in accordance with trade requirements
for the time being. All goods allowed to be consumed in the free
zone shall be exempt from duty, whether of excise or of any other
description, apart from the statistical duty provided for in Article
328 above.
There
shall be no discrimination in regard to any of the provisions of the
present Article between persons belonging to different nationalities
or between goods of different origin or destination.
Import
duties may be levied on goods leaving the free zone for consumption
in the country on the territory of which the port is situated.
Conversely, export duties may be levied on goods coming from such
country and brought into the free zone. These import and export
duties shall be levied on the same basis and at the same rates as
similar duties levied at the other Customs frontiers of the country
concerned. On the other hand, Germany shall not levy, under any
denomination, any import, export or transit duty on goods carried by
land or water across her territory to or from the free zone from or
to any other State.
Germany
shall draw up the necessary regulations to secure and guarantee such
freedom of transit over such railways and waterways in her territory
as normally give access to the free zone.
The
following rivers are declared international: the Elbe (Labe) from
its confluence with the Vltava (Moldau), and the Vltava (Moldau)
from Prague; the Oder (Odra) from its confluence with the Oppa; the
Niemen (Russstrom-Memel-Niemen) from Grodno; the Danube from Ulm;
and all navigable parts of these river systems which naturally
provide more than one State with access to the sea, with or without
transshipment from one vessel to another; together with lateral
canals and channels constructed either to duplicate or to improve
naturally navigable sections of the specified river systems, or to
connect two naturally navigable sections of the same river.
The
same shall apply to the Rhine-Danube navigable waterway, should such
a waterway be constructed under the conditions laid down in Article
353.
On
the waterways declared to be international in the preceding Article,
the nationals, property and flags of all Powers shall be treated on
a footing of prefect equality, no distinction being made to the
detriment of the nationals, property or flag of any Power between
them and the nationals, property or flag of the riparian State
itself or of the most favoured nation.
Nevertheless,
German vessels shall not be entitled to carry passengers or goods by
regular services between the ports of any Allied or Associated
Power, without special authority from such Power.
Where
such charges are not precluded by any existing conventions, charges
varying on different sections of a river may be levied on vessels
using the navigable channels or their approaches, provided that they
are intended solely to cover equitably the cost of maintaining in a
navigable condition, or of improving, the river and its approaches,
or to meet expenditure incurred in the interests of navigation. The
schedule of such charges shall be calculated on the basis of such
expenditure and shall be posted up in the ports. These charges shall
be levied in such a manner as to render any detailed examination of
cargoes unnecessary, except in cases of suspected fraud or
contravention.
The
transit of vessels, passengers and goods on these waterways shall be
effected in accordance with the general conditions prescribed for
transit in Section I above.
When
the two banks of an international river are within the same State
goods in transit may be placed under seal or in the custody of
customs agents. When the river forms a frontier goods and passengers
in transit shall be exempt from all customs formalities, the loading
and unloading of goods, and the embarkation and disembarkation of
passengers, shall only take place in the ports specified by the
riparian State.
No
dues of any kind other than those provided for in the present Part
shall be levied along the course or at the mouth of these rivers.
This
provision shall not prevent the fixing by the riparian States of
customs, local octroi or consumption duties, or the creation of
reasonable and uniform charges levied in the ports, in accordance
with public tariffs, for the use of cranes, elevators, quays,
warehouses, etc.
In
default of any special organisation for carrying out the works
connected with the upkeep and improvement of the international
portion of a navigable system, each riparian State shall be bound to
take suitable measures to remove any obstacle or danger to
navigation and to ensure the maintenance of good conditions of
navigation.
If
a State neglects to comply with this obligation any riparian State,
or any State represented on the International Commission, if there
is one, may appeal to the tribunal instituted for this purpose by
the League of Nations.
The
same procedure shall be followed in the case of a riparian State
undertaking any works of a nature to impede navigation in the
international section. The tribunal mentioned in the preceding
Article shall be entitled to enforce the suspension or suppression
of such works, making due allowance in its decisions for all rights
in connection with irrigation, water-power, fisheries, and other
national interests, which, with the consent of all the riparian
States or of all the States represented on the International
Commission, if there is one, shall be given priority over the
requirements of navigation.
Appeal
to the tribunal of the League of Nations does not require the
suspension of the works.
The
regime set out in Articles 332 to 337 above shall be superseded by
one to be laid down in a General Convention drawn up by the 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.
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.
(2)
Special Clauses relating to the Elbe, the Oder and the Niemen (Russstrom-Memel-Niemen).
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.
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 Denmark;
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.
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.
The
International Commissions referred to in Articles 340 and 342 shall
meet within three months of the date of the coming into force of the
present Treaty. The International Commission referred to in Article
342 shall meet within three months from the date of the request made
by a riparian State. Each of these Commissions shall proceed
immediately to prepare a project for the revision of the existing
international agreements and regulations drawn up in conformity with
the General Convention referred to in Article 338, should such
Convention have been already concluded. In the absence of such
Convention, the project for revision shall be in conformity with the
principles of Articles 332 to 337 above.
The
projects referred to in the preceding Article shall, inter alia:
(a)
designate the headquarters of the International Commission, and
prescribe the manner in which its President is to be nominated;
(b)
specify the extent of the Commission's powers, particularly in
regard to the execution of works of maintenance, control, and
improvement on the river system, the financial regime, the fixing
and collection of charges, and regulations for navigation-
(c)
define the sections of the river or its tributaries to which the
international regime shall be applied.
The
international agreements and regulations at present governing the
navigation of the Elbe (Labe), the Oder (Odra), and the Niemen (Russstrom-Memel-Niemen)
shall be provisionally maintained in force until the ratification of
the above-mentioned projects. Nevertheless, in all cases where such
agreements and regulations in force are in conflict with the
provisions of Articles 332 to 337 above, or of the General
Convention to be concluded, the latter provisions shall prevail.
(3)
Special Clauses relating to the Danube.
The
European Commission of the Danube reassumes the powers it possessed
before the war. Nevertheless, as a provisional measure, only
representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy and Roumania shall
constitute this Commission.
From
the point where the competence of the European Commission ceases,
the Danube system referred to in Article 33l shall be placed under
the administration of an International Commission composed as
follows:
2
representatives of German riparian States; 1 representative of each
other riparian State; 1 representative of each non-riparian State
represented in the future on the European Commission of the Danube.
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.
The
International Commission provided for in the preceding Article shall
meet as soon as possible after the coming into force of the present
Treaty and shall undertake provisionally the administration of the
river in conformity with the provisions of Articles 332 to 337,
until such time as a definitive statute regarding the Danube is
concluded by the Powers dominated by the Allied and Associated
Powers.
Germany
agrees to accept the regime which shall be laid down for the Danube
by a Conference of the Powers nominated by the Allied and Associated
Powers, which shall meet within one year after the coming into force
of the present Treaty, and at which German representatives may be
present.
The
mandate given by Article 57 of the Treaty of Berlin of July 13,
1878, to Austria-Hungary, and transferred by her to Hungary to carry
out works at the Iron Gates, is abrogated. The Commission entrusted
with the administration of this part of the river shall lay down
provisions for the settlement of accounts subject to . the financial
provisions of the present Treaty. Charges which may be necessary
shall in no case be levied by Hungary.
Should
the Czecho-Slovak State, the Serb-Croat-Slovene State or Roumania,
with the authorisation of or under mandate from the International
Commission, undertake maintenance, improvement, weir, or other works
on a part of the river system which forms a frontier, these States
shall enjoy on the opposite bank, and also on the part of the bed
which is outside their territory, all necessary facilities for the
survey, execution and maintenance of such works.
Germany
shall be obliged to make to the European Commission of the Danube
all restitutions, reparations and indemnities for damages inflicted
on the Commission during the war.
Should a deep-draught
Rhine-Danube navigable waterway be constructed, Germany undertakes
to apply thereto the regime prescribed in Articles 332 to 338.
As
from the coming into force of the present Treaty, the Convention of
Mannheim of October 17, 1868, together with the Final Protocol
thereof, shall continue to govern navigation on the Rhine, subject
to the conditions hereinafter laid down.
In
the event of any provision of the said Convention being in conflict
with those laid down by the General Convention referred to in
Article 338 (which shall apply to the Rhine) the provisions of the
General Convention shall prevail.
Within
a maximum period of six months from the coming into force of the
present Treaty, the Central Commission referred to in Article 355
shall meet to draw up a project of revision of the Convention of
Mannheim. This project shall be drawn up in harmony with the
provisions of the General Convention referred to above, should this
have been concluded by that time, and shall be submitted to the
Powers represented on the Central Commission Germany hereby agrees
to adhere to the project so drawn up.
Further,
the modifications set out in the following Articles shall
immediately be made in the Convention of Mannheim.
The
Allied and Associated Powers reserve to themselves the right to
arrive at an understanding in this connection with Holland, and
Germany hereby agrees to accede if required to any such
understanding.
The
Central Commission provided for in the Convention of Mannheim shall
consist of nineteen members, viz.:
2
representatives of the Netherlands; 2 representatives of
Switzerland; 4 representatives of German riparian States; 4
representatives of France, which in addition shall appoint the
President of the Commission; 2 representatives of Great Britain; 2
representatives of Italy; 2 representatives of Belgium.
The
headquarters of the Central Commission shall be at Strasburg.
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 decision of the
Commission shall nevertheless be valid.
Vessels
of all nations, and their cargoes, shall have the same rights and
privileges as those which are granted to vessels belonging to the
Rhine navigation, and to their cargoes.
None
of the provisions contained in Articles 15 to 20 and 26 of the
above-mentioned Convention of Mannheim, in Article 4 of the Final
Protocol thereof, or in later Conventions, shall impede the free
navigation of vessels and crews of all nations on the Rhine and on
waterways to which such Conventions apply, subject to compliance
with the regulations concerning pilotage and other police measures
drawn up by the Central Commission.
The
provisions of Article 22 of the Convention of Mannheim and of
Article 5 of the Final Protocol thereof shall be applied only to
vessels registered on the Rhine. The Central Commission shall decide
on the steps to be taken to ensure that other vessels satisfy the
conditions of the general regulations applying to navigation on the
Rhine.
Within
a maximum period of three months from the date on which notification
shall be given Germany shall cede to France tugs and vessels, from
among those remaining registered in German Rhine ports after the
deduction of those surrendered by way of restitution or reparation,
or shares in German Rhine navigation companies.
When
vessels and tugs are ceded, such vessels and tugs, together with
their fittings and gear, shall be in good state of repair, shall be
in condition to carry on commercial traffic on the Rhine, and shall
be selected from among those most recently built.
The
same procedure shall be followed in the matter of the cession by
Germany to France of:
(1)
the installations, berthing and anchorage accommodation, platforms,
docks, warehouses, plant, etc., which German subjects or German
companies owned on August 1, 1914, in the port of Rotterdam, and
(2)
the shares or interests which Germany or German nationals possessed
in such installations at the same date.
The
amount and specifications of such cessions shall be determined
within one year of the coming into force of the present Treaty by an
arbitrator or arbitrators appointed by the United States of America,
due regard being had to the legitimate needs of the parties
concerned.
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 mentioned above shall not in any case exceed the
value of the capital expended in the initial establishment of the
ceded material and installations, 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.
Subject
to the obligation to comply with the provisions of the Convention of
Mannheim or of the Convention which may be substituted therefor, and
to the stipulations of the present Treaty, France shall have on the
whole course of the Rhine included between the two extreme points of
the French frontiers:
(a)
the right to take water from the Rhine to feed navigation and
irrigation canals (constructed or to be constructed) or for any
other purpose, and to execute on the German bank all works necessary
for the exercise of this right;
(b)
the exclusive right to the power derived from works of regulation on
the river, subject to the payment to Germany of the value of half
the power actually produced, this payment, which will take into
account the cost of the works necessary for producing the power,
being made either in money or in power and in default of agreement
being determined by arbitration. For this purpose France alone shall
have the right to carry out in this part of the river all works of
regulation (weirs or other works) which she may consider necessary
for the production of power. Similarly, the right of taking water
from the Rhine is accorded to Belgium to feed the Rhine-Meuse
navigable waterway provided for below.
The
exercise of the rights mentioned under (a) and (b) of the present
Article shall not interfere with navigability nor reduce the
facilities for navigation, either in the bed of the Rhine or in, the
derivations which may be substituted therefor, nor shall it .
involve any increase in the tolls formerly levied under the
Convention in force. All proposed schemes shall be laid before the
Central Commission in order that that Commission may assure itself
that these conditions are complied with.
To
ensure the proper and faithful execution of the provisions contained
in (a) and (b) above, Germany:
(1)
binds herself not to undertake or to allow the construction of any
lateral canal or any derivation on the right bank of the river
opposite the French frontiers;
(2)
recognises the possession by France of the right of support on and
the right of way over all lands situated on the right bank which may
be required in order to survey, to build, and to operate weirs which
France, with the consent of the Central Commission, may subsequently
decide to establish. In accordance with such consent, France shall
be entitled to decide upon and fix the limits of the necessary
sites, and she shall be permitted to occupy such lands after a
period of two months after simple notification, subject to the
payment by her to Germany of indemnities of which the total amount
shall be fixed by the Central Commission. Germany shall make it her
business to indemnify the proprietors whose property will be
burdened with such servitudes or permanently occupied by the works.
Should
Switzerland so demand, and if the Central Commission approves, the
same rights shall be accorded to Switzerland for the part of the
river forming her frontier with other riparian States;
(3)
shall hand over to the French Government, during the month following
the coming into force of the present Treaty, all projects, designs,
drafts of concessions and of specifications concerning the
regulation of the Rhine for any purpose whatever which have been
drawn up or received by the Governments of Alsace-Lorraine or of the
Grand Duchy of Baden.
Subject
to the preceding provisions, no works shall be carried out in the
bed or on either bank of the Rhine where it forms the boundary of
France and Germany without the previous approval of the Central
Commission or of its agents.
France
reserves the option of substituting herself as regards the rights
and obligations resulting from agreements arrived at between the
Government of Alsace-Lorraine and the Grand Duchy of Baden
concerning the works to be carried out on the Rhine; she may also
denounce such agreements within a term of five years dating from the
coming into force of the present Treaty.
France
shall also have the option of causing works to be carried out which
may be recognised as necessary by the Central Commission for the
upkeep or improvement of the navigability of the Rhine above
Mannheim.
Should
Belgium within a period of 25 years from the coming into force of
the present Treaty decide to create a deep-draught Rhine-Meuse
navigable waterway, in the region of Ruhrort, Germany shall be bound
to construct, in accordance with plans to be communicated to her by
the Belgian Government, after agreement with the Central Commission,
the portion of this navigable waterway situated within her
territory.
The
Belgian Government shall, for this purpose, have the right to carry
out on the ground all necessary surveys.
Should
Germany fail to carry out all or part of these works, the Central
Commission shall be entitled to carry them out instead; and, for
this purpose, the Commission may decide upon and fix the limits of
the necessary sites and occupy the ground after a period of two
months after simple notification, subject to the payment of
indemnities to be fixed by it and paid by Germany.
This
navigable waterway shall be placed under the same administrative
regime as the Rhine itself, and the division of the cost of initial
construction, including the above indemnities, among the States
crossed thereby shall be made by the Central Commission.
Germany
hereby agrees to offer no objection to any proposals of the Central
Rhine Commission for extending its jurisdiction:
(1)
to the Moselle below the Franco-Luxemburg frontier down to the
Rhine, subject to the consent of Luxemburg;
(2)
to the Rhine above Basle up to the Lake of Constance, subject to the
consent of Switzerland;
(3)
to the lateral canals and channels which may be established either
to duplicate or to improve naturally navigable sections of the Rhine
or the Moselle, or to connect two naturally navigable sections of
these rivers, and also any other parts of the Rhine river system
which may be covered by the General Convention provided for in
Article 338 above.
In
the ports of Hamburg and Stettin Germany shall lease to the Czecho-Slovak
State, for a period of 99 years, areas which shall be placed under
the general regime of free zones and shall be used for the direct
transit of goods coming from or going to that State.
The
delimitation of these areas, and their equipment, their
exploitation, and in general all conditions for their utilisation,
including the amount of the rental, shall be decided by a Commission
consisting of one delegate of Germany, one delegate of the Czecho-Slovak
State and one delegate of Great Britain. These conditions shall be
susceptible of revision every ten years in the same manner.
Germany
declares in advance that she will adhere to the decisions so taken.
Goods
coming from the territories of the Allied and Associated Powers, and
going to Germany, or in transit through Germany from or to the
territories of the Allied and Associated Powers, shall enjoy on the
German railways as regards charges to be collected (rebates and
drawbacks being taken into account), facilities, and all other
matters, the most favourable treatment applied to goods of the same
kind carried on any German lines, either in internal traffic, or for
export, import or in transit, under similar conditions of transport,
for example as regards length of route. The same rule shall be
applied, on the request of one or more of the Allied and Associated
Powers, to goods specially designated by such Power or Powers coming
from Germany and going to their territories.
International
tariffs established in accordance with the rates referred to in the
preceding paragraph and involving through waybills shall be
established when one of the Allied and Associated Powers shall
require it from Germany.
From
the coming into force of the present Treaty the High Contracting
Parties shall renew, in so far as concerns them and under the
reserves indicated in the second paragraph of the present Article,
the conventions and arrangements signed at Berne on October 14,
1890, September 20, 1893, July 16, 1895, June 16, 1898, and
September 19, 1906, regarding the transportation of goods by rail.
If
within five years from the date of the coming into force of the
present Treaty a new convention for the transportation of
passengers, luggage, and goods by rail shall have been concluded to
replace the Berne Convention of October 14, 1 890, and the
subsequent additions referred to above, this new convention and the
supplementary provisions for international transport by rail which
may be based on it shall bind Germany, even if she shall have
refused to take part in the preparation of the convention or to
subscribe to it. Until a new convention shall have been concluded,
Germany shall conform to the provisions of the Berne Convention and
the subsequent additions referred to above, and to the current
supplementary provisions.
Germany
shall be bound to co-operate in the establishment of through ticket
services (for passengers and their luggage) which shall be required
by any of the Allied and Associated Powers to ensure their
communication by rail with each other and with all other countries
by transit across the territories of Germany; in particular Germany
shall, for this purpose, accept trains and carriages coming from the
territories of the Allied and Associated Powers and shall forward
them with a speed at least equal to that of her best long-distance
trains on the same lines. The rates applicable to such through
services shall not in any case be higher than the rates collected on
German internal services for the same distance, under the same
conditions of speed and comfort.
The
tariffs applicable under the same conditions of speed and comfort to
the transportation of emigrants going to or coming from ports of the
Allied and Associated Powers and using the German railways shall not
be at a higher kilometric rate than the most favourable tariffs
(drawbacks and rebates being taken into account) enjoyed on the said
railways by emigrants going to or coming from any other ports
Germany
shall not apply specially to such through services, or to the
transportation of emigrants going to or coming from the ports of the
Allied and Associated Powers, any technical, fiscal or
administrative measures, such as measures of customs examination,
general police, sanitary police, and control, the result of which
would be to impede or delay such services.
In
case of transport partly by rail and partly by internal navigation,
with or without through way-bill, the preceding Articles shall apply
to the part of the journey performed by rail.
Germany
undertakes that German wagons shall be fitted with apparatus
allowing:
(1)
of their inclusion in goods trains on the lines of such of the
Allied and Associated Powers as are parties to the Berne Convention
of May 15, 1886, as modified on May 18, 1907, without hampering the
action of the continuous brake which may be adopted in such
countries within ten years of the coming into force of the present
Treaty, and
(2)
Of the acceptance of wagons of such countries in all goods trains on
the German lines.
The
rolling-stock of the Allied and Associated Powers shall enjoy on the
German lines the same treatment as German rollingstock as regards
movement, upkeep, and repairs.
Subject
to any special provisions concerning the cession of ports, waterways
and railways situated in the territories over which Germany abandons
her sovereignty, and to the financial conditions relating to the
concessionnaires and the pensioning of the personnel, the cession of
railways will take place under the following conditions:
(1)
The works and installations of all the railroads shall be handed
over complete and in good condition.
(2)
When a railway system possessing its own rolling-stock is handed
over in its entirety by Germany to one of the Allied and Associated
Powers, such stock shall be handed over complete, in accordance with
the last inventory before November 11, 1918, and in a normal state
of upkeep.
(3)
As regards lines without any special rolling-stock, Commissions of
experts designated by the Allied and Associated Powers, on which
Germany shall be represented, shall fix the proportion of the stock
existing on the system to which those lines belong to be handed
over. These Commissions shall have regard to the amount of the
material registered on these lines in the last inventory before
November 11, 1918, the length of track (sidings included), and the
nature and amount of the traffic. These Commissions shall also
specify the locomotives, carriages and wagons to be handed over in
each case; they shall decide upon the conditions of their
acceptance, and shall make the provisional arrangements necessary to
ensure their repair in German workshops.
(4)
Stocks of stores, fittings and plant shall be handed over under the
same conditions as the rolling-stock.
The
provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 above shall be applied to the lines
of former Russian Poland converted by Germany to the German gauge,
such lines being regarded as detached from the
Prussian
State System.
When
as a result of the fixing of new frontiers a railway connection
between two parts of the same country crosses another country, or a
branch line from one country has its terminus in another, the
conditions of working, if not specifically provided for in the
present Treaty, shall be laid down in a convention between the
railway administrations concerned. If the administrations cannot
come to an agreement as to the terms of such convention, the points
of difference shall be decided by commissions of experts composed as
provided in the preceding Article.
Within
a period of five years from the coming into force of the present
Treaty the Czecho-Slovak State may require the construction of a
railway line in German territory between the stations of Schlauney
and Nachod. The cost of construction shall be borne by the Czecho-Slovak
State.
Germany
undertakes to accept, within ten years of the coming into force of
the present Treaty, on request being made by the Swiss Government
after agreement with the Italian Government, the denunciation of the
International Convention of October l3, 1909, relative to the St.
Gothard railway. In the absence of agreement as to the conditions of
such denunciation, Germany hereby agrees to accept the decision of
an arbitrator designated by the United States of America.
Germany
shall carry out the instructions given her, in regard to transport,
by an authorised body acting on behalf of the Allied and Associated
Powers:
(1)
For the carriage of troops under the provisions of the present
Treaty, and of material, ammunition and supplies for army use;
(2)
As a temporary measure, for the transportation of supplies for
certain regions, as well as for the restoration, as rapidly as
possible, of the normal conditions of transport, and for the
organisation of postal and telegraphic services.
Disputes
which may arise between interested Powers with regard to the
interpretation and application of the preceding Article shall be
settled as provided by the League of Nations.
At
any time the League of Nations may recommend the revision of such of
these Articles as relate to a permanent administrative regime.
The
stipulations in Articles 321 to 330, 332, 365, and 367 to 369 shall
be subject to revision by the Council of the League of Nations at
any time after five years from the coming into force of the present
Treaty.
Failing
such revision, no Allied or Associated Power can claim after the
expiration of the above period of five years the benefit of any of
the stipulations in the Articles enumerated above on behalf of any
portion of its territories in which reciprocity is not accorded in
respect of such stipulations. The period of five years during which
reciprocity cannot be demanded may be prolonged by the Council of
the League of Nations.
Without
prejudice to the special obligations imposed on her by the present
Treaty for the benefit of the Allied and Associated Powers, Germany
undertakes to adhere to any General Conventions regarding the
international regime of transit, waterways, ports or railways which
may be concluded by the Allied and Associated Powers, with the
approval of the League of Nations, within five years of the coming
into force of the present Treaty.
The
Kiel Canal and its approaches shall be maintained free and open to
the vessels of commerce and of war of all nations at peace with
Germany on terms of entire equality.
The
nationals, property and vessels of all Powers shall, in respect of
charges, facilities, and in all other respects, be treated on a
footing of perfect equality in the use of the Canal, no distinction
being made to the detriment of nationals, property and vessels of
any Power between them and the nationals, property and vessels of
Germany or of the most favoured nation.
No
impediment shall be placed on the movement of persons or vessels
other than those arising out of police, customs, sanitary,
emigration or immigration regulations and those relating to the
import or export of prohibited goods. Such regulations must be
reasonable and uniform and must not unnecessarily impede traffic
Only
such charges may be levied on vessels using the Canal or its
approaches as are intended to cover in an equitable manner the cost
of maintaining in a navigable condition, or of improving, the Canal
or its approaches, or to meet expenses incurred in the interests of
navigation. The schedule of such charges shall be calculated on the
basis of such expenses, and shall be posted up in the ports.
These
charges shall be levied in such a manner as to render any detailed
examination of cargoes unnecessary, except in the case of suspected
fraud or contravention.
Goods
in transit may be placed under seal or in the custody of customs
agents; the loading and unloading of goods, and the embarkation and
disembarkation of passengers, shall only take place in the ports
specified by Germany.
No
charges of any kind other than those provided for in the present
Treaty shall be levied along the course or at the approaches of the
Kiel Canal.
Germany
shall be bound to take suitable measures to remove any obstacle or
danger to navigation, and to ensure the maintenance of good
conditions of navigation. She shall not undertake any works of a
nature to impede navigation on the Canal or its approaches.
In
the event of violation of any of the conditions of Articles 380 to
386, or of disputes as to the interpretation of these Articles, any
interested Power can appeal to the jurisdiction instituted for the
purpose by the League of Nations.
In
order to avoid a reference of small questions to the League of
Nations, Germany will establish a local authority at Kiel qualified
to deal with disputes in the first instance and to give satisfaction
so far as possible to complaints which may be presented through the
consular representatives of the interested Powers.
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