April 24, 1933.

Parcel post agreement between the United States of America and New
Zealand with regulations of execution. Signed at Wellington, March
3, 1933; at Washington, April 24, 1933; approved by the President,
May 3, 1933.

AGREEMENT
between

NEW ZEALAND AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONCERNING THE EXCHANGE OF PARCEL POST

March 3, 1933.
April 24, 1933.

with New Zealand.

"Preamble.

The undersigned, provided with full powers by their respective Parcel post agreement governments, have by common consent and subject to ratification by the competent superior authorities, drawn up the following Agree

ment:

ARTICLE I.

Object of the Agreement.

Object.

1. Between the United States of America (including Alaska, Territory embraced. Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Samoa, and Hawaii) on one hand, and New Zealand (including the Cook Islands [Rarotonga, Mangaia, Atiu, Aitutaki, Mitiaro, Mauke (or Parry), and Hervey or Manuae)]; Palmerston (or Avarua), Niue (or Savage), Danger, Rakahanga, Manihiki, Penrhyn (or Tongareva), and Suwarrow Islands; also Western Samoa (Savaii and Upolu Islands) and the Tokelau (Union) Group [Atafu, Fakaofo, and Nukunonu Islands]) on the other hand, there may be exchanged, under the denomination of parcel post, parcels up to the maximum weight and the maximum dimensions indicated in the Regulations of Execution.

1. Each Postal Administration guarantees the right of transit Rights guaranteed. through its service, to or from any country with which it has parcelpost communication, of parcels originating in or addressed for delivery in the service of the other contracting Administration.

Notice.

2. Each Postal Administration shall inform the other to which countries parcels may be sent through it as intermediary, and the amount of the charges due to it therefor, as well as other conditions. 3. To be accepted for onward transmission, parcels sent by one of Intermediate Adminthe contracting Administrations through the service of the other Administration must comply with the conditions prescribed from time to time by the intermediate Administration.

istration, requirements.

Articles specified.

Letters, etc.

ARTICLE III.

Postage and Fees.

1. The Administration of origin is entitled to collect from the sender of each parcel the postage and the fees for requests for information as to the disposal of a parcel made after it has been posted, and also, in the case of insured parcels, the insurance fees and the fees for return receipts, that may from time to time be prescribed by its regulations.

2. Except in the case of returned or redirected parcels, the postage and such of the fees mentioned in the preceding section as are applicable, must be prepaid.

ARTICLE IV.
Preparation of Parcels.

Every parcel shall be packed in a manner adequate for the length of the journey and the protection of the contents as set forth in the Regulations of Execution.

ARTICLE V.
Prohibitions.

1. The following articles are prohibited transmission by parcel post:

(a) A letter or a communication having the nature of a letter. Nevertheless it is permitted to enclose in a parcel an open invoice, confined to the particulars which constitute an invoice, and also a simple copy of the address of the parcel, that of the sender being added.

With different ad- (b) An enclosure which bears an address different from that placed on the cover of the parcel.

dress.

(c) Any live animal, except leeches.

(d) Any article the admission of which is forbidden by the Customs or other laws or regulations in force in either country.

(e) Any explosive or inflammable article, and in general, any article the conveyance of which is dangerous, including articles which from their nature or packing may be a source of danger to postal employees or may soil or damage other parcels.

(f) Obscene or immoral articles.

(g) It is, moreover, forbidden to send coin, platinum, gold or silver (whether manufactured or unmanufactured), precious stones, jewels, or other precious articles in uninsured parcels.

If a parcel which contains coin, platinum, gold or silver (whether manufactured or unmanufactured), precious stones, jewels, or other precious articles is sent uninsured, it shall be placed under insurance by the country of destination and treated accordingly.

2. When a parcel contravening any of these prohibitions is handed over by one Administration to the other, the latter shall proceed in accordance with its laws and inland regulations. Explosive or inflammable articles, as well as documents, pictures and other articles injurious to public morals may be destroyed on the spot by the Administration which has found them in the mails.

The fact that a parcel contains a letter, or a communication having the nature of a letter, may not, in any case, entail the return of the parcel to the sender. The letter is, however, marked for the collection of postage due from the addressee at the regular rate.

April 24, 1933.

ticles to be published.

The two Administrations advise each other, by means of the List List of prohibited arof Prohibited Articles published by the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, of all prohibited articles. However, they do not assume, on that account, any responsibility towards the customs or police authorities, or the sender.

ARTICLE VI.

Insurance.

1. Parcels may be insured up to the amount of 500 francs gold or its equivalent in the currency of the country of origin. However, the Chiefs of the Postal Administrations of the two contracting countries may, by mutual consent, increase or decrease this maximum amount of insurance.

Insurance.

Maximum.

A parcel cannot give rise to the right to an indemnity higher than Limitation. the actual value of its contents, but it is permissible to insure it for only part of that value.

1. Except in the cases mentioned in the section following, the Ad- Allowance to sender. ministrations are responsible for the loss of insured parcels mailed in one of the two contracting countries for delivery in the other and for the abstraction of or damage to their contents.

The sender, or other rightful claimant, is entitled on this account to an indemnity corresponding to the actual amount of the loss, abstraction or damage. The amount of indemnity is calculated on the basis of the actual value (current price, or, in the absence of current price, at the ordinary estimated value) at the time and place of mailing of the parcel, provided in any case that the indemnity shall not exceed the amount for which the parcel was insured and on which the insurance fee has been collected, or the maximum of 500 francs gold.

Amount restricted.

Return of postage on

In the case where indemnity is payable for the loss of a parcel or loss of parcel. for the destruction or abstraction of the whole of the contents thereof, the sender is entitled to the return of the postal charges. However, the insurance fees are not in any case returned.

Transit originating in a third country destracting power.

In the absence of special agreement to the contrary between the countries involved no indemnity will be paid by either country for tined for either conthe loss of transit insured parcels originating in a country not participating in this Agreement and destined for one of the two contracting countries.

Parcel forwarded to a third country.

When an insured parcel originating in one country and addressed for delivery in the other country is reforwarded from there to a third country or is returned to a third country at the request of the sender or addressee, the party entitled to the indemnity, in case of loss, rifling or damage occurring subsequent to the reforwarding or return of the parcel by the original country of destination, can lay claim, in such cases, only to the indemnity which the country where the loss, rifling or damage occurred consents to pay, or which that country is obligated to pay in accordance with the agreement made between the countries directly interested in the reforwarding or return. Either of the two countries signing the present error. Agreement which wrongly forwards an insured parcel to a third country is responsible to the sender to the same extent as the country of origin, that is, within the limit of the present Agreement.

Responsibility

for

April 24, 1933.

Release of responsi- 2. The Administrations are relieved of all responsibility.

bility.

Unconditional

acceptance.

Loss, etc., through force majeure.

Destruction of offi

cial documents.

Damage through fault of sender, addressee, etc.

Prohibited articles. Declared above real value.

Seized, because of false declarations.

Unclaimed within a

year.

Matter of no intrinsic value, etc.

Indirect loss, etc.

Indemnity payment.

Deferred, in exceptional cases.

Payment by country

of origin if country of months.

(a) In case of parcels of which the addressee has accepted delivery without reservation.

(b) In case of loss or damage through force majeure (causes beyond control) although either Administration may at its option and without recourse to the other Administration pay indemnity for loss or damage due to force majeure even in cases where the Administration of the country in the service of which the loss or damage occurred recognizes that the damage was due to force majeure.

(c) When they are unable to account for parcels in consequence of the destruction of official documents through force majeure.

(d) When the damage has been caused by the fault or negligence of the sender or the addressee or the representative of either, or when it is due to the nature of the article.

(e) For parcels which contain prohibited articles.

(f) In case the sender of an insured parcel, with intent to defraud, shall declare the contents to be above their real value; this rule, however, shall not prejudice any legal proceedings necessitated by the legislation of the country of origin.

(g) For parcels seized by the customs because of false declaration of contents.

(h) When no inquiry or application for indemnity has been made by claimant or his representative within a year commencing with the day following the posting of the insured parcel.

(i) For parcels which contain matter of no intrinsic value or perishable matter or which did not conform to the stipulations of this Convention or which were not posted in the manner prescribed, but the country responsible for the loss, rifling or damage may pay indemnity in respect of such parcels without recourse to the other Administration.

3. No compensation shall be given for indirect loss or loss of profits of any parcel transmitted under this Agreement.

4. The payment of compensation for an insured parcel shall be made to the rightful claimant as soon as possible and at the latest within a period of one year counting from the day following that on which the application is made.

However, the paying Postal Administration may exceptionally defer payment of indemnity for a longer period than that stipulated if, at the expiration of that period, it has not been able to determine the disposition made of the article in question or the responsibility incurred.

5. Except in cases where payment is exceptionally deferred as destination delays provided in the second paragraph of the foregoing section, the Postal Administration which undertakes the payment of compensation is authorized to pay indemnity on behalf of the Office which, after being duly informed of the application for indemnity, has let nine months pass without settling the matter.

Country responsible.

Claim for repayment.

Responsibility of receiving country unable to show disposition.

6. The obligation of paying the indemnity shall rest with the Postal Administration to which the mailing office is subordinate, provided that in cases where the indemnity is paid to the addressee in accordance with the second paragraph of the first section, it shall rest with the Postal Administration of destination.

The paying Administration retains the right to make a claim against the Administration responsible.

7. Until the contrary is proved, responsibility for an insured parcel rests with the Postal Administration which having received the parcel without making any observation and being furnished all necessary particulars for inquiry is unable to show its proper disposition.

April 24, 1933.

8. Responsibility for loss, abstraction or damage of an insured parcel discovered by the receiving office of exchange at the time of opening the receptacles and duly notified to the dispatching office of exchange by Bulletin of Verification shall fall upon the Postal Administration to which the dispatching office of exchange is subordinate unless it be proved that the damage occurred in the service of the receiving Administration.

9. If the loss, abstraction or damage has occurred in course of conveyance, without its being possible to ascertain in which service the irregularity took place, the Postal Administrations concerned bear the loss in equal shares.

10. The Postal Administration responsible or on whose account payment is made in accordance with Section 5 is bound to repay to the country making payment on its behalf, without delay and within not more than six months after receiving notice of payment, the amount of indemnity paid.

11. Repayments are to be made free of cost to the creditor Administration by means of either a money order or a draft, in money valid in the creditor country, or by such other means as may be mutually agreed upon by correspondence.

12. Repayments of indemnity by one country to the other will be made on the gold basis.

Sender

responsible

13. The responsibility of properly enclosing, packing and sealing for proper packing, etc. insured parcels rests upon the sender, and the postal service of neither country will assume liability for loss, rifling or damage arising from defects which may not be observed at the time of posting.

ordinary parcels.

14. The Postal Administrations of the two contracting countries No responsibility for will not be responsible for the loss, abstraction or damage of an ordinary parcel; but either Administration is at liberty to indemnify for the loss, abstraction or damage which may occur in its service, without recourse to the other Administration.

ARTICLE VIII.

Certificate of Mailing. Receipts.

Certificate of mailing.

request.

The sender will, on request at the time of mailing an ordinary Furnished sender, on (uninsured) parcel, receive a certificate of mailing from the post office where the parcel is mailed, on a form provided for the purpose; and each country may fix a reasonable fee therefor.

The sender of an insured parcel receives without charge, at the Receipt. time of posting, a receipt for his parcel.

ARTICLE IX.

Return Receipts and Inquiries.

Return receipts and inquiries.

1. The sender of an insured parcel may obtain an advice of delivery Advice of delivery. upon payment of such additional charge, if any, as the country of origin of the parcel shall stipulate and under the conditions laid down in the Regulations.

tion.

2. A fee may be charged, at the option of the country of origin, Request for informaon a request for information as to the disposal of an ordinary parcel and also of an insured parcel made after it has been posted if the sender has not already paid the special fee to obtain an advice of delivery.

plaints.

3. A fee may also be charged, at the option of the country of Irregularity comorigin, in connection with any complaint of any irregularity which prima facie was not due to the fault of the Postal Service.