1Sweden and Norway constituted a Union until 1905. Action taken by them prior to that date was taken as a single Power. RESERVATIONS AT SIGNATURE1 CONVENTION I Roumania. Under the reservations formulated with respect to Articles 16, 17 and 19 of the present Convention (15, 16 and 18 of the project presented by the committee on examination), and recorded in the procès-verbal of the sitting of the Third Commission of July 20, 1899. Extract from the procès-verbal: The Royal Government of Roumania being completely in favor of the principle of facultative arbitration, of which it appreciates the great importance in international relations, nevertheless does not intend to undertake, by Article 15, an engagement to accept arbitration in every case there provided for, and it believes it ought to form express reservations in that respect. It can not therefore vote for this article, except under that reservation. The Royal Government of Roumania declares that it can not adhere to Article 16 except with the express reservation, entered in the procèsverbal, that it has decided not to accept, in any case, an international arbitration for disagreements or disputes previous to the conclusion of the present Convention. The Royal Government of Roumania declares that in adhering to Article 18 of the Convention, it makes no engagement in regard to obligatory arbitration.2 Servia. Under the reservations recorded in the procès-verbal of the Third Commission of July 20, 1899. Extract from the procès-verbal: In the name of the Royal Government of Servia, we have the honor to declare that our adoption of the principle of good offices and mediation does not imply a recognition of the right of third States to use these means except with the extreme reserve which proceedings of this delicate nature require. We do not admit good offices and mediation except on condition that their character of purely friendly counsel is maintained fully and completely, and we never could accept them in forms and circumstances such as to impress upon them the character of intervention.3 1All these reservations, except that of Turkey, were maintained at ratification. 2 Declaration of Mr. Beldiman. Procès-verbaux, pt. iv, p. 48. Declaration of Mr. Miyatovitch. Procès-verbaux, pt. iv, p. 47. RESERVATIONS AT SIGNATURE. CONVENTION I (Continued) Turkey. Under reservation of the declaration made in the plenary sitting of the Conference of July 25, 1899. Extract from the procès-verbal: The Turkish delegation, considering that the work of this Conference has been a work of high loyalty and humanity, destined solely to assure general peace by safeguarding the interests and the rights of each one, declares, in the name of its Government, that it adheres to the project just adopted, on the following conditions: 1. It is formally understood that recourse to good offices and mediation, to commissions of inquiry and arbitration is purely facultative and could not in any case assume an obligatory character or degenerate into interventions; 2. The Imperial Government itself will be the judge of the cases where its interests would permit it to admit these methods without its abstention or refusal to have recourse to them being considered by the signatory States as an unfriendly act. It goes without saying that in no case could the means in question be applied to questions concerning interior regulation.1 United States. Under reservation of the declaration made at the plenary sitting of the Conference on the 25th of July, 1899. Extract from the procès-verbal: The delegation of the United States of America on signing the Convention for the pacific settlement of international disputes, as proposed by the International Peace Conference, makes the following declaration: Nothing contained in this Convention shall be so construed as to require the United States of America to depart from its tradisional policy of not intruding upon, interfering with, or entangling elf in the political questions or policy or internal administration of any foreign State; nor shall anything contained in the said Convention be construed to imply a relinquishment by the United States of America of its traditional attitude toward purely American questions.2 CONVENTION III Germany, Great Britain, Turkey and United States signed with reservation of Article 10. [It was subsequently agreed, on an understanding reached by the Government of the Netherlands with the signatory Powers, to exclude Article 10 from all ratifications of the Convention.3] 1 Declaration of Turkhan Pasha. Procès-verbaux, pt. i. p. 70. vation does not appear in the instrument of ratification. This reser 2Procès-verbaux, pt. i, p. 69. Compare the reservation of the United States to the 1907 Convention I, post, p. 14. BU. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 32, p. 1837. |