Associated country concerned, then the above provisions concerning the rate of exchange shall not apply.

In the case of the new States of Poland and the Czecho-Slovak State the currency in which and the rate of exchange at which debts shall be paid or credited shall be determined by the Reparation Commission provided for in Part VIII, unless they shall have been previously settled by agreement between the States interested.

(e) The provisions of this Article and of the Annex hereto shall not apply as between Austria on the one hand and any one of the Allied and Associated Powers, their colonies or protectorates, or any one of the British Dominions or India on the other hand, unless within a period of one month from the deposit of the ratification of the present Treaty by the Power in question, or of the ratification on behalf of such Dominion or of India, notice to that effect is given to Austria by the Government of such Allied or Associated Power or of such Dominion or of India as the case may be.

(f) The Allied and Associated Powers which have adopted this Article and the Annex hereto may agree between themselves to apply them to their respective nationals established in their territory so far as regards matters between their nationals and Austrian nationals. In this case the payments made by application of this provision will be subject to arrangements between the Allied and Associated Clearing Offices concerned.

ANNEX.
I.

Each of the High Contracting Parties will, within three months from the notification provided for in Article 248, paragraph (e), establish a Clearing Office for the collection and payment of enemy debts.

Local Clearing Offices may be established for any particular portion of the territories of the High Contracting Parties. Such local Clearing Offices may perfor n all the functions of a central Clearing Office in their respective districts, except that all transactions with the clearing office in the Opposing State must be effected through the central Clearing Office.

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2.

In this Annex the pecuniary obligations referred to in the first paragraph of Article 248 are described as enemy debts", the persons from whom the same are due as "enemy debtors", the persons to whom they are due as "enemy creditors', the Clearing Office in the country of the creditor is called the "Creditor Clearing Office", and the Clearing Office in the country of the debtor is called the "Debtor Clearing Office".

3.

The High Contracting Parties will subject contraventions of paragraph (a) of Article 248 to the same penalties as are at present provided by their legislation for trading with the enemy. They will similarly prohibit within their territory all legal process relating to payment of enemy debts, except in accordance with the provisions of this Annex.

4.

The Government guarantee specified in paragraph (b) of Article 248 shall take effect whenever, for any reason, a debt shall not be recoverable, except in a case where at the date of the outbreak of war the debt was barred by the laws of prescription in force in the country of the debtor, or where the debtor was at that time in a state of bankruptcy or failure or had given formal indication of insolvency, or where the debt was due by a company whose business has been liquidated under emergency legislation during the war. In such case the procedure specified by this Annex shall apply to payment of the dividends.

The terms "bankruptcy" and "failure" refer to the application of legislation providing for such juridical conditions. The expression "formal indication of insolvency" bears the same meaning as it has in English law.

5.

Creditors shall give notice to the Creditor Clearing Office within six months of its establishment of debts due to them, and shall furnish the Clearing Office with any documents and information required of them.

The High Contracting Parties will take all suitable measures to trace and punish collusion between enemy creditors and debtors. The Clearing Offices will communicate to one another any evidence and information which might help the discovery and punishment of such collusion.

The High Contracting Parties will facilitate as much as possible postal and telegraphic communication at the expense of the parties concerned and through the intervention of the Clearing Offices between debtors and creditors desirous of coming to an agreement as to the amount of their debt.

The Creditor Clearing Office will notify the Debtor Clearing Office of all debts declared to it. The Debtor Clearing Office will, in due course, inform the Creditor Clearing Office which debts are admitted and which debts are contested. In the latter case, the Debtor Clearing Office will give the grounds for the non-admission of debt.

6.

When a debt has been admitted, in whole or in part, the Debtor Clearing Office will at once credit the Creditor Clearing Office with the amount admitted, and at the same time notify it of such credit.

7.

The debt shall be deemed to be admitted in full and shall be credited forthwith to the Creditor Clearing Office unless within three months from the receipt of the notification or such longer time as may be agreed to by the Creditor Clearing Office notice has been given by the Debtor Clearing Office that it is not admitted.

8.

When the whole or part of a debt is not admitted the two Clearing Offices will examine into the matter jointly and will endeavour to bring the parties to an agreement.

9.

The Creditor Clearing Office will pay to the individual creditor the sums credited to it out of the funds placed at its disposal by the Government of its

country and in accordance with the conditions fixed by the said Government, retaining any sums considered necessary to cover risks, expenses or commissions.

10.

Any person having claimed payment of an enemy debt which is not admitted in whole or in part shall pay to the Clearing Office, by way of fine, interest at 5 per cent. on the part not admitted. Any person having unduly refused to admit the whole or part of a debt claimed from him shall pay, by way of fine, interest at 5 per cent. on the amount with regard to which his refusal shall be disallowed.

Such interest shall run from the date of expiration of the period provided for in paragraph 7 until the date on which the claims shall have been disallowed or the debt paid.

Each Clearing Office shall in so far as it is concerned take steps to collect the fines above provided for, and will be responsible' if such fines cannot be collected.

The fines will be credited to the other Clearing Office, which shall retain them as a contribution towards the cost of carrying out the present provisions.

11.

The balance between the Clearing Offices shall be struck monthly and the credit balance paid in cash by the debtor State within a week.

Nevertheless, any credit balances which may be due by one or more of the Allied and Associated Powers shall be retained until complete payment shall have been effected of the sums due to the Allied or Associated Powers or their nationals on account of the war.

12.

To facilitate discussion between the Clearing Offices each of them shall have a representative at the place where the other is established.

13.

Except for special reasons all discussions in regard to claims will, so far as possible, take place at the Debtor Clearing Office.

14.

In conformity with Article 248, paragraph (b), the High Contracting Parties are responsible for the payment of the enemy debts owing by their nationals.

The Debtor Clearing Office will therefore credit the Creditor Clearing Office with all debts admitted, even in case of inability to collect them from the individual debtor. The Governments concerned will, nevertheless, invest their respective Clearing Offices with all necessary powers for the recovery of debts which have been admitted.

15.

Each Government will defray the expenses of the Clearing Office set up in its territory, including the salaries of the staff.

16.

Where the two Clearing Offices are unable to agree whether a debt claimed is due, or in case of a difference between an enemy debtor and an enemy creditor or between the Clearing Offices, the dispute shall either be referred to arbitration if the parties so agree under conditions fixed by agreement between them, or referred to the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal provided for in Section VI hereafter.

At the request of the Creditor Clearing Office the dispute may, however, be submitted to the jurisdiction of the Courts of the place of domicile of the debtor.

17.

Recovery of sums found by the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal, the Court, or the Arbitration Tribunal to be due shall be effected through the Clearing Offices as if these sums were debts admitted by the Debtor Clearing Office.

18.

Each of the Governments concerned shall appoint an agent who will be responsible for the presentation to the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal of the cases