Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1923, Volume II

711.672/92

The Special Mission at Lausanne to the Secretary of State

Lausanne, June 2, 1923.
[Received June 21.]

No. 30–A

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith one copy of the long form of treaty prepared by Mr. Hackworth and Mr. Turlington, as well as one copy of the short form of treaty, as mentioned in my telegram No. 393, June 2, 1 a.m.

One copy of each of these two forms is also being sent to the Embassy in Paris in case the Department desires the text transmitted by wire to Washington.

I have [etc.]

For the Mission:

F. L. Belin

Secretary General

[Enclosure 1]

Draft for Short Form of Treaty between the United States and Turkey

Preamble

The United States and Turkey, recognizing that the treaties heretofore concluded between the two countries do not correspond to the changed conditions in Turkey,

And desiring to provide a satisfactory basis for the conduct of the relations between the two countries,

Have decided to conclude a treaty for that purpose and to this end have appointed,

The President of the United States . . . . . . . and

The . . . . . . .

Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found to be in good and due form, have agreed upon the following Articles:

Article I

On the date of the coming into force of the present treaty, the treaties heretofore concluded between the United States and Turkey, shall, except as otherwise provided in Article VI hereof, absolutely cease and determine.

The High Contracting Parties, each in so far as it is concerned, accept the abrogation of the Capitulations.

The provisions of this Article are without prejudice to the right of the American Consular Courts in Turkey to conclude in due course cases actually pending in such Courts.

Article II

The nationals of each of the High Contracting Parties in the territory of the other shall, in regard to their persons and property, be received and treated in accordance with the general usages and practices of modern civilized nations. They shall enjoy the most complete and constant protection for their persons, property, rights and interests and upon submitting themselves to the applicable laws and regulations of the country, they shall be accorded all such rights, privileges and immunities, of any kind whatsoever, as are or may be accorded to the nationals of the most favored nation.

In like manner, limited liability and other companies and associations, whether or not for pecuniary profit, which have been or hereafter may be organized in accordance with the laws of the United States or Turkey and which maintain central offices in the country in which they have been or may be organized, shall, upon complying with the applicable laws and regulations of the other country or of any part thereof, be recognized and permitted to transact their business or industry in the territory of such country upon an equal footing with like companies and associations of the most favored nation.

In all that pertains to commerce and navigation, each of the High Contracting Parties shall extend to the other and the nationals, companies, and associations thereof, any rights, privileges, immunities or exemptions which are or may be accorded to any third country or to the nationals, companies and associations of such country.

The stipulations of this Article do not extend to the treatment accorded by the United States to the commerce of Cuba under the provisions of the Commercial Convention concluded by the United States and Cuba on December 11, 1902, or any other commercial convention which may hereafter be concluded by the United States with Cuba or to the commerce of the United States with any of its dependencies and the Panama Canal Zone under existing or future laws.

Article III

Each of the High Contracting Parties shall be entitled to maintain in the territory of the other diplomatic and consular representatives, who shall be accorded treatment as favorable as that which may be accorded to the diplomatic and consular representatives of any other country in pursuance of the provisions of international law or of special agreements concluded or to be concluded.

Article IV

Each of the High Contracting Parties, under reserve of the right to prohibit the expatriation of its nationals in time of war, binds itself to recognize the voluntary naturalization of any of its nationals within the territory and in accordance with the laws of the other Party as having the effect of investing the person so naturalized with the exclusive nationality of the other party and entitling him to treatment as such. However, a person so naturalized who renews his residence in his country of origin without the intention to return to the country of his adoption shall be held to have renounced his acquired nationality. The intention not to return to the latter country may be presumed to exist when such a person shall have resided more than two years in his country of origin.

The provisions of this Article shall be applicable to persons formerly of Ottoman or Turkish nationality on the one hand and persons formerly of American nationality on the other hand who have been or shall hereafter be naturalized in the United States and Turkey, respectively.

Article V

All claims of American nationals, companies or associations for indemnification on account of injuries, losses or damages of any kind attributable to the Turkish Government and all claims of nationals, companies or associations of Turkey for indemnification on account of injuries, losses or damages attributable to the Government of the United States which shall have been filed with their respective Governments within one year of the coming into force of this treaty, shall be submitted for adjudication to a mixed commission to be constituted within a period of one year after the coming into force of this treaty. The commission shall be composed of two members, one appointed by each of the High Contracting Parties. The two Governments shall by agreement select an umpire to decide upon any cases concerning which the Commissioners may disagree or upon any points of difference which may arise in the course of their proceedings. Should one of the Commissioners or the umpire die or retire, or for any reason be unable to discharge his duties, the same procedure shall be followed in filling the vacancy as was followed in appointing him.

The commission shall meet at . . . . . . . prior to the expiration of a period of fifteen months from the coming into force of the present treaty. They may fix the time and the place of their subsequent meetings according to their convenience.

The commissioners shall keep an accurate record of the questions and cases submitted and correct minutes of their proceedings. To this end each of the Governments may appoint a secretary, and the secretaries shall act together as joint secretaries of the commission and shall be subject to its direction.

The commission may also appoint or employ any other necessary officer or officers to assist in the performance of its duties. The compensation of such officer or officers shall be subject to the approval of the two Governments. Each Government shall pay its own expenses including the compensation of its own commissioner, agent or counsel. All other expenses which by their nature are a charge on both Governments, including the honorarium of the umpire, shall be borne by the two Governments in equal moieties. The two Governments may designate agents and counsel who may present oral or written arguments to the commission.

The commission shall receive and consider all written statements or documents which may be presented to it by or on behalf of the respective Governments in support of or in answer to any claim.

The decisions of the commission, or of the umpire (if any) shall, in each case, be based upon the applicable principles of law and equity and the provisions of the treaties in force at the time of the injury, loss or damage sustained.

The decisions of the commission and those of the umpire (if any) shall be accepted as final and binding upon the two Governments.

Article VI

The extradition treaty concluded between the United States and Turkey in 1874 is reaffirmed with the addition to Article II of that treaty of the following paragraphs:

9. Swindling, by which is understood the obtaining of money under false pretenses, when the amount involved exceeds $200.00.

10. Perjury; subornation of perjury.

11. Abduction; kidnapping.

Article VII

The present treaty shall come into effect on the date of the exchange of ratifications and shall remain in force for five years from that date.

In case neither of the High Contracting Parties should have notified twelve months before the expiration of the said five years the intention of terminating it, it shall remain binding until the expiration of one year from the day on which either of the High Contracting Parties shall have denounced it.

Article VIII

This treaty shall be ratified and the ratifications thereof shall be exchanged as soon as possible.

In Witness Whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present treaty and have thereunto affixed their seals.

Done in duplicate, in the French language, at Lausanne, the . . . . . . . day of June in the nineteen hundred and twenty-third year of the Christian Era, corresponding to the . . . . . . . day of . . . . . . . in the . . . . . . . year of . . . . . . .

[Enclosure 2]

Draft for Long Form of Treaty between the United States and Turkey

Article I

On the date of the coming into force of the present treaty, the treaties heretofore concluded between the United States and Turkey, shall, except as otherwise provided in Article XVII hereof, absolutely cease and determine.

The High Contracting Parties, each in so far as it is concerned, accept the abrogation of the Capitulations in Turkey.

The provisions of this Article are without prejudice to the right of American Consular Courts in Turkey to conclude in due course cases actually pending in such Courts.

Article II

The nationals of each of the High Contracting Parties in the territory of the other shall, in regard to their persons and property, be received and treated in accordance with the general usages and practices of modern civilized nations. They shall enjoy the most complete and constant protection for their persons, property, rights and interests and upon submitting themselves to the applicable laws and regulations of the country, they shall enjoy equality of treatment with the nationals thereof and with the nationals of the most favored nation in regard to freedom of access to the courts of justice and liberty of religious belief and worship; and the acquisition, possession and disposition of movable property. In regard to the right to enter, travel, and reside; to engage in the various kinds of commerce, professions, industries, enterprises, and activities; and to own, occupy, and dispose of real property they shall be accorded treatment no less favorable than that which is or may be accorded to the nationals of the most favored nation.

Article III

Limited liability and other companies and associations, whether or not for pecuniary profit, which have been or hereafter may be organized in accordance with the laws of the United States or Turkey and which maintain central offices in the country in which they have been or may be organized shall, upon complying with the applicable laws and regulations of the other country or of any part thereof, be recognized and permitted to carry on their activities in the territory of such other country and to enjoy such rights with respect to real property as are or may be accorded to similar companies and associations of the foreign nation most favored in this respect. In regard to access to the courts of justice and the acquisition, possession, and disposition of movable property they shall, upon submitting to the applicable laws and regulations, enjoy equality of treatment with similar companies and associations of the country or of the most favored nation.

Article IV

The dwellings, warehouses, manufactories, shops, and other buildings occupied by nationals, companies, or associations of each of the High Contracting Parties in the territory of the other, and all premises appertaining thereto, shall be respected. There shall be no domiciliary visit to or search of such buildings or premises and no examination or inspection of books, papers, or accounts, in such buildings or on such premises, except under the conditions and with the forms prescribed by the laws, ordinances, and regulations for nationals of the country in which such buildings and premises may be, or for the citizens or subjects of the most favored nation.

Article V

The nationals of each of the High Contracting Parties shall be exempt in the territory of the other from all compulsory military service whether on land or sea; from all contributions imposed in lieu of military service and from all forced loans, military exactions and contributions.

Article VI

In all that pertains to imposition and collection of taxes, imposts and charges of any kind and to exemptions from such taxes, imposts and charges the nationals of each of the High Contracting Parties residing or being within the territory of the other, shall be accorded treatment as favorable as that which is or may be accorded to the nationals of the nation most favored in this respect.

In like manner, limited liability and other companies and associations organized and maintaining their central offices in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties and carrying on their activities within the territory of the other, shall, in relation to the imposition and collection of taxes, imposts and charges of any kind and in relation to exemptions from such taxes, imposts and charges, be accorded treatment as favorable as that which is or may be accorded to similar companies and associations of the nation most favored in these respects.

Article VII

In matters of personal status and domestic relationship (including all questions in regard to marriage, conjugal relationship, divorce, judicial separation, dowry or curtesy, paternity, affiliation, adoption, capacity, majority, guardianship and interdiction) and in matters concerning the right of testamentary or intestate succession to movable property and the distribution and liquidation of such property, the nationals of the United States in Turkey shall be subject only to the jurisdiction of the tribunals or other national authorities of the United States or the appropriate state, territory or possession thereof. Turkish tribunals may, however, if all the parties submit in writing to the jurisdiction of such tribunals, decide in accordance with the laws of the United States cases involving questions of the character above indicated. Such tribunals may also require and receive proofs relative to such questions in so far as may be necessary in the determination of questions coming within their competence.

The present provisions do not prejudice the special attributions of Consuls in the matter of civil status under international law or under separate agreements which may be made. With respect to such attributions, American Consuls in Turkey shall be placed on an equal footing with the Consuls of the most favored nation.

All questions of judicial competence shall, except as above provided, be regulated in conformity with the applicable principles of international law.

Article VIII

Between the territories of the High Contracting Parties there shall be freedom of commerce and navigation. The nationals of each of the High Contracting Parties equally with those of the most favored nation, shall have liberty freely to come with their vessels and cargoes to all places, ports and waters of every kind within the territorial limits of the other which are or may be open to foreign commerce and navigation. Nothing in this Article is designed to restrict the right of either High Contracting Party to impose prohibitions or restrictions of a sanitary character for quarantine purposes designed to protect human, animal, or plant life within its territories.

Merchant vessels and other privately owned vessels under the flag of either of the High Contracting Parties shall be permitted to discharge portions of cargoes at any port open to foreign commerce in the territories of the other High Contracting Party, and to proceed with the remaining portions of such cargoes to any other ports of the same territories open to foreign commerce, without paying other or higher tonnage dues or port charges in such cases than would be paid by national vessels in like circumstances, and they shall be permitted to load in like manner at different ports in the same voyage outward, provided, however, that the coasting trade of the High Contracting Parties is exempt from the provisions of this Article and from the other provisions of this treaty, and is to be regulated according to the laws of each High Contracting Party in relation thereto. It is agreed, however, that the nationals of either High Contracting Party shall within the territories of the other enjoy with respect to the coasting trade the most favored nation treatment.

Article IX

No higher or other duties shall be imposed on the importation into the territories of either of the two High Contracting Parties of any article of the growth, produce or manufacture of the territories of the other Contracting Party, than are, or shall be, payable on the like article of the most favored nation; nor shall any other or higher duties or charges be imposed in the territories of either of the Contracting Parties on the exportation of any article to the territories of the other than are, or shall be, payable on the exportation of the like article to any other foreign country; nor shall any prohibition, restriction or condition be imposed upon the importation or exportation of any article of the growth, produce or manufacture of the territories of either of the Contracting Parties, to or from the territories of the other, which shall not equally extend to the like article of the most favored nation.

With respect to the amount and collection of duties on imports and exports of every kind, each of the two High Contracting Parties binds itself to give to the nationals, vessels and goods of the other the advantage of every favor, privilege or immunity which it shall have accorded to the nationals, vessels and goods of a third State, and regardless of whether such favored State shall have been accorded such treatment gratuitously or in return for reciprocal compensatory treatment. Every such favor, privilege or immunity which shall hereafter be granted the nationals, vessels or goods of a third State shall simultaneously and unconditionally, without request and without compensation, be extended to the other High Contracting Party, for the benefit of itself, its nationals and vessels.

The stipulations of this Article do not extend to the treatment which is accorded by the United States to the commerce of Cuba under the provisions of the Commercial Convention concluded by the United States and Cuba on December 11, 1902, or any other commercial convention which hereafter may be concluded by the United States with Cuba, or to the commerce of the United States with any of its dependencies and the Panama Canal Zone under existing or future laws.

Article X

The nationals of each of the High Contracting Parties shall enjoy in the territories of the other exemption from all transit duties and a perfect equality of treatment with the nationals of the country and the nationals of the most favored nation in all that relates to warehousing, bounties, facilities, drawbacks, and the examination and appraisement of merchandise.

Article XI

No tonnage, harbor, pilotage, lighthouse, quarantine, or other similar or corresponding duties of whatever denomination, levied in the name or for the profit of the Government, public functionaries, private individuals, corporations or establishments of any kind shall be imposed in the ports of the territories of either country upon the vessels of the other, which shall not equally, under the same conditions, be imposed on national vessels. Such equality of treatment shall apply reciprocally to the vessels of the two countries, respectively, from whatever place they may arrive and whatever may be their destination.

Article XII

Merchant vessels navigating under the flag of the United States or that of Turkey and carrying the papers required by their respective national laws to prove their nationality shall in Turkey and in the United States be presumed to be vessels of the United States or of Turkey.

Article XIII

The nationals of each of the High Contracting Parties shall enjoy within the territories of the other, reciprocally and upon compliance with the conditions there imposed, such rights as may be accorded the nationals of any other country with respect to the mining of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas, and sodium on the public domain of the other.

Articles XIV to XVII, both inclusive, are the same as Articles III to VI, both inclusive, in Short Draft Treaty.