Voici en intégral le texte des 440 articles du traité de Versailles,
The Versailles Treaty June 28, 1919
THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,
In order to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace
and security by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war by the prescription of open, just and honourable
relations between nations by the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual
rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty
obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another Agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations.
ARTICLE I.
The original Members of the League of Nations shall be those of the Signatories which
are named in the Annex to this Covenant and also such of those other States named in the Annex as shall accede
without reservation to this Covenant. Such accession shall be effected by a Declaration deposited with the
Secretariat within two months of the coming into force of the Covenant Notice thereof shall be sent to all
other Members of the League. Any fully self-governing State, Dominion, or Colony not named in the Annex may
become a Member of the League if its admission is agreed to by two-thirds of the Assembly provided that it
shall give effective guarantees of its sincere intention to observe its international obligations, and shall
accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military, naval, and air forces
and armaments.Any Member of the League may, after two years' notice of its intention so to do, withdraw from
the League, provided that all its international obligations and all its obligations under this Covenant shall
have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal.
ARTICLE 2.
The action of the League under this Covenant shall be effected through the instrumentality
of an Assembly and of a Council, with a permanent Secretariat.
ARTICLE 3.
The Assembly shall consist of Representatives of the Members of the League. The Assembly
shall meet at stated intervals and from time to time as occasion may require at the Seat of the League or at
such other place as may be decided upon.The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere
of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. At meetings of the Assembly each Member of the
League shall have one vote, and may not have more than three Representatives.
ARTICLE 4.
The Council shall consist of Representatives of the Principal Allied and Associated
Powers, together with Representatives of four other Members of the League. These four Members of the League
shall be selected by the Assembly from time to time in its discretion. Until the appointment of the Representatives
of the four Members of the League first selected by the Assembly, Representatives of Belgium, Brazil, Spain,
and Greece shall be members of the Council. With the approval of the majority of the Assembly, the Council
may name additional Members of the League whose Representatives shall always be members of the Council; the
Council with like approval may increase the number of Members of the League to be selected by the Assembly
for representation on the Council. The Council shall meet from time to time as occasion may require, and at
least once a year, at the Seat of the League, or at such other place as may be decided upon. The Council may
deal at its meetings with any matter within the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the
world. Any Member of the League not represented on the Council shall be invited to send a Representative to
sit as a member at any meeting of the Council during the consideration of matters specially affecting the interests
of that Member of the League. At meetings of the Council, each Member of the League represented on the Council
shall have one vote, and may have not more than one Representative.
ARTICLE 5.
Except where otherwise expressly provided in this Covenant or by the terms of the present
Treaty, decisions at any meeting of the Assembly or of the Council shall require the agreement of all the Members
of the League represented at the meeting. All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or of the Council,
including the appointment of Committees to investigate particular matters, shall be regulated by the Assembly
or by the Council and may be decided by a majority of the Members of the League represented at the meeting.
The first meeting of the Assembly and the first meeting of the Council shall be summoned by the President of
the United States of America.
ARTICLE 6.
The permanent Secretariat shall be established at the Seat of the League. The Secretariat
shall comprise a Secretary General and such secretaries and staff as may be required.The first Secretary General
shall be the person named in the Annex; thereafter the Secretary General shall be appointed by the Council
with the approval of the majority of the Assembly.The secretaries and staff of the Secretariat shall be appointed
by the Secretary General with the approval of the Council.The Secretary General shall act in that capacity
at all meetings qf the Assembly and of the Council.The expenses of the Secretariat shall be borne by the Members
of the League in accordance with the apportionment of the expenses of the International Bureau of the Universal
Postal Union.
ARTICLE 7.
The Seat of the League is established at Geneva. The Council may at any time decide
that the Seat of the League shall be established elsewhere. All positions under or in connection with the League,
including he Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women. Representatives of the Members of the League
and officials of he League when engaged on the business of the League shall enjoy diplomatic privileges and
immunities.The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its officials or by Representatives attending
its meetings sha11 be inviolable.
ARTICLE 8.
The Members of the League recognise that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction
of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action
of international obligations. The Council, taking account of the geographical situation and circumstances of
each State, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action of the several Governments.
Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at least every ten years. After these plans shall
have been adopted by the several Governments, the limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be exceeded without
the concurrence of the Council. The Members of the League agree that the manufacture by private enterprise
of munitions and implements of war is open to grave objections. The Council shall advise how the evil effects
attendant upon such manufacture can be prevented, due regard being had to the necessities of those Members
of the League which are not able to manufacture the munitions and implements of war necessary for their safety.
The Members of the League undertake to interchange full and frank information as to the scale of their armaments,
their military, naval, and air programmes and the condition of such of their industries as are adaptable to
war-like purposes.
ARTICLE 9.
A permanent Commission shall be constituted to advise the Council on the execution of
the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and on military, naval, and air questions generally.
ARTICLE 10.
The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression
the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any
such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means
by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.
ARTICLE 11.
Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the Members of the League
or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action tnat
may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations. In case any such emergency should arise
the Secretary General shall on the request of any Member of the League forthwith summon a meeting of the Council.
It is also declared to be the friendly right of each Member of the League to bring to the attention of the
Assembly or of the Council any circumstance whatever affecting international relations which threatens to disturb
international peace or the good understanding between nations upon which peace depends.
ARTICLE 12.
The Members of the League agree that if there should arise between them any dispute
likely to lead to a rupture, they will submit the matter either to arbitration or to inquiry by the Council,
and they agree in no case to resort to war until three months after the award by the arbitrators or the report
by the Council. In any case under this Article the award of the arbitrators shall be made within a reasonable
time, and the report of the Council shall be made within six months after the submission of the dispute.
ARTICLE 13.
The Members of the League agree that whenever any dispute shall arise between them which
they recognise to be suitable for submission to arbitration and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy,
they will submit the whole subject-matter to arbitration. Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as
to any question of international law, as to the existence of any fact which if established would constitute
a breach of any international obligation, or as to the extent and nature of the reparation to be made or any
such breach, are declared to be among those which are generally suitable for submission to arbitration. For
the consideration of any such dispute the court of arbitraion to which the case is referred shall be the Court
agreed on by the parties to the dispute or stipulated in any convention existing between them. The Members
of the League agree that they will carry out in full good faith any award that may be rendered, and that they
will not resort to war against a Member of the League which complies therewith. In the event of any failure
to carry out such an award, the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect thereto.
ARTICLE 14.
The Council shall formulate and submit to the Members of the League for adoption plans
for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International Justice. The Court shall be competent to hear and
determine any dispute of an international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The Court may also
give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or by the Assembly.
ARTICLE 15.
If there should arise between Members of the League any dispute likely to lead to a
rupture, which is not submitted to arbitration in accordance with Article 13, the Members of the League agree
that they will submit the matter to the Council. Any party to the dispute may effect such submission by giving
notice of the existence of the dispute to the Secretary General, who will make all necessary arrangements for
a full investigation and conside ation thereof. For this purpose the parties to the dispute will communicate
to the Secretary General, as promptly as possible, statements of their case with all the relevant facts and
papers, and the Council may forthwith direct the publication thereof. The Council shall endeavour to effect
a settlement of the dispute, and if such efforts are successful, a statement shall be made public giving such
facts and explanations regarding the dispute and the terms of settlement thereof as the Council may deem appropriate.
If the dispute is not thus settled, the Council either unanimously or by a majority vote shall make and publish
a report containing a statement of the facts of the dispute and the recommendations which are deemed just and
proper in regard thereto Any Member of the League represented on the Council may make public a statement of
the facts of the dispute and of its conclusions regarding the same. If a report by the Council is unanimously
agreed to by the members thereof other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute,
the Members of the League agree that they will not go to war with any party to the dispute which complies with
the recommendations of the report. If the Council fails to reach a report which is unanimously agreed to by
the members thereof, other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties to the dispute, the Members
of the League reserve to themselves the right to take such action as they shall consider necessary for the
maintenance of right and justice. If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, and is found
by the Council, to arise out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction
of that party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no recommendation as to its settlement. The Council
may in any case under this Article refer the dispute to the Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the
request of either party to the dispute, provided that such request be made within fourteen days after the submission
of the dispute to the Council. In any case referred to the Assembly, all the provisions of this Article and
of Article 12 relating to the action and powers of the Council shall apply to the action and powers of the
Assembly, provided that a report made by the Assembly, if concurred in by the Representatives of those Members
of the League represented on the Council and of a majority of the other Members of the League, exclusive in
each case of the Rpresentatives of the parties to the dispute shall have the same force as a report by the
Council concurred in by all the members thereof other than the Representatives of one or more of the parties
to the dispute.
ARTICLE 16.
Should any Member of the League resort to war in disregard of its covenants under Articles
12, 13, or 15, it shall ipso facto be deemed to have committed an act of war against all other Members of the
League, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations,
the prohibition of all intercourse between their nations and the nationals of the covenant-breaking State,
and the prevention of all financial, commercial, or personal intercourse between the nationals of the covenant-breaking
State and the nationals of any other State, whether a Member of the League or not. It shall be the duty of
the Council in such case to recommend to the several Governments concerned what effective military, naval,
or air force the Members of the League shall severally contribute to the armed forces to be used to protect
the covenants of the League. The Members of the League agree, further, that they will mutually support one
another in the financial and economic measures which are taken under this Article, in order to minimise the
loss and inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that they will mutually support one another in
resisting any special measures aimed at one of their number by the covenantbreaking State, and that they will
take the necessary steps to afford passage through their territory to the forces of any of the Members of the
League which are co-operating to protect the covenants of the League. Any Member of the League which has violated
any covenant of the League may be declared to be no longer a Member of the League by a vote of the Council
concurred in by the Representatives of all the other Members of the League represented thereon.
ARTICLE 17.
In the event of a dispute between a Member of the League and a State which is not a
Member of the League, or between States not Members of the League, the State or States, not Members of the
League shall be invited to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute,
upon such conditions as the Council may deem just. If such invitation is accepted, the provisions of Articles
12 to I6 inclusive shall be applied with such modifications as may be deemed necessary by the Council. Upon
such invitation being given the Council shall immediately institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the
dispute and recommend such action as may seem best and most effectual in the circumstances.If a State so invited
shall refuse to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and shall
resort to war against a Member of the League, the provisions of Article 16 shall be applicable as against the
State taking such action. If both parties to the dispute when so invited refuse to accept the obligations of
membership in the League for the purpose of such dispute, the Council may take such measures and make such
recommendations as will prevent hostilities and will result in the settlement of the dispute.
ARTICLE 18.
Every treaty or international engagement entered into hereafter by any Member of the
League shall be forthwith registered with the Secretariat and shall as soon as possible be published by it.
No such treaty or international engagement shall be binding until so registered.
ARTICLE 19.
The Assembly may from time to time advise the reconsideration by Members of the League
of treaties which have become inapplicable and the consideration of international conditions whose continuance
might endanger the peace of the world.
ARTICLE 20.
The Members of the League severally agree that this Covenant is accepted as abrogating
all obligations or understandings inter se which are inconsistent with the terms thereof, and solemnly undertake
that they will not hereafter enter into any engagements inconsistent with the terms thereof. In case any Member
of the League shall, before becoming a Member of the League, have undertaken any obligations inconsistent with
the terms of this Covenant, it shall be the duty of such Member to take immediate steps to procure its release
from such obligations.
ARTICLE 21.
Nothing in this Covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity of international engagements,
such as treaties of arbitration or regional understandings like the Monroe doctrine, for securing the maintenance
of peace.
ARTICLE 22.
To those colonies and territories which as a consequence of the late war have ceased
to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not
yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied
the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilisation and that
securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant. The best method of giving
practical effect to this principle is that the tutelage of such peoples should be entrusted to advanced nations
who by reason of their resources, their experience or their geographical position can best undertake this responsibility,
and who are willing to accept it, and that this tutelage should be exercised by them as Mandatories on behalf
of the League. The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage of the development of the people,
the geographical situation of the territory, its economic conditions, and other similar circumstances. Certain
communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire have reached a stage of development where their existence
as independent nations can be provisionally recognised subject to the rendering of administrative advice and
assistance by a Mandatory until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these communities
must be a principal consideration in the selection of the Mandatory. Other peoples, especially those of Central
Africa, are at such a stage that the Mandatory must be responsible for the administration of the territory
under conditions which will guarantee freedom of conscience and religion, subject only to the maintenance of
public order and morals, the prohibition of abuses such as the slave trade, the arms traffic, and the liquor
traffic, and the prevention of the establishment of fortifications or military and naval bases and of military
training of the natives for other than police purposes and the defence of territory, and will also secure equal
opportunities for the trade and commerce of other Members of the League. There are territories, such as South-West
Africa and certain of the South Pacific Islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their population, or their
small size, or their remoteness from the centres of civilisation, or their geographical contiguity to the territory
of the Mandatory, and other circumstances, can be best administered under the laws of the Mandatory as integral
portions of its territory, subject to the safeguards above mentioned in the interests of the indigenous population.
In every case of mandate, the Mandatory shall render to the Council an annual report in reference to the territory
committed to its charge. The degree of authority, control, or administration to be exercised by the Mandatory
shall, if not previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, be explicitly defined in each case by the
Council. A permanent Commission shall be constituted to receive and examine the annual reports of the Mandatories
and to advise the Council on all matters relating to the observance of the mandates.
ARTICLE 23.
Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of international conventions existing
or hereafter to be agreed upon, the Members of the League: (a) will endeavour to secure and maintain fair and
humane conditions of labour for men, women, and children, both in their own countries and in all countries
to which their commercial and industrial relations extend, and for that purpose will establish and maintain
the necessary international organisations; (b) undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants
of territories under their control; (c) will entrust the League with the general supervision over the execution
of agreements with regard to the traffic in women and children, and the traffic in opium and other dangerous
drugs; (d) will entrust the League with the general supervision of the trade in arms and ammunition with the
countries in which the control of this traffic is necessary in the common interest; (e) will make provision
to secure and maintain freedom of communications and of transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of
all Members of the League. In this connection, the special necessities of the regions devastated during the
war of 1914-1918 shall be borne in mind; (f) will endeavour to take steps in matters of international concern
for the prevention and control of disease.
ARTICLE 24.
There shall be placed under the direction of the League all international bureaux already
established by general treaties if the parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaux and
all commissions for the regulation of matters of international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed
under the direction of the League. In all matters of international interest which are regulated by general
conventions but which are not placed under the control of international bureaux or commissions, the Secretariat
of the League shall, subject to the consent of the Council and if desired by the parties, collect and distribute
all relevant information and shall render any other assistance which may be necessary or desirable. The Council
may include as part of the expenses of the Secretariat the expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed
under the direction of the League.
ARTICLE 25.
The Members of the League agree to encourage and promote the establishment and co-operation
of duly authorised voluntary national Red Cross organisations having as purposes the improvement of health,
the prevention of disease, and the mitigation of suffering throughout the world.
ARTICLE 26.
Amendments to this Covenant will take effect when ratified by the Members of the League
whose representatives compose the Council and by a majority of the Members of the League whose Representatives
compose the Assembly. No such amendment shall bind any Member of the League which signifies its dissent therefrom,
but in that case it shall cease to be a Memb,er of the League.
ANNEX.
I. ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS SIGNATORIES OF THE TREATY OF PEACE.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, BRITISH EUPIRE, CANADA, AUSTRALIA,
SOUTH AFRICA, NEW ZEALAND, INDIA, CHINA, CUBA, ECUADOR, FRANCE, GREECE, GUATEMALA, HAITI, HEDJAZ, HONDURAS,
ITALY, JAPAN, LIBERIA, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, PERU, POLAND, PORTUGAL, ROUMANIA, SERB-CROAT-SLOVENE STATE, SIAM,
CZECHO-SLOVAKIA, URUGUAY
STATES INVITED TO ACCEDE TO THE COVENANT.
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, CHILE, COLOMBIA, DENMARK, NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, PARAGUAY, PERSIA,
SALVADOR, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, VENEZUELA.
II. FIRST SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE LEAGUE OF NATION5.
The Honourable Sir James Eric Drummond, K.C.M.G., C.B.
==============================
PART II.
BOUNDARIES OF GERMANY.
ARTICLE 27.
The boundaries of Germany will be determined as follows:
1. With Belgium:
From the point common to the three frontiers of Belgium, Holland, and Germany and in
a southerly direction: the north-eastern boundary of the former territory of 'neutral Moresnet', then the eastern
boundary of the Kreis of Eupen, then the frontier between Belgium and the Kreis of Montjoie, then the northeastern
and eastern boundary of the Kreis of Malmedy to its junction with the frontier of Luxemburg.
2. With Luxemburg:
The frontier of August 3, 1914, to its junction with the frontier of France of the 18th
July, 1870.
3. With France:
The frontier of July 18, 1870, from Luxemburg to Switzerland with the reservations made
in Article 48 of Section IV (Saar Basin) of Part III.
4. With Switzerland:
The present frontier.
5. With Austria.
The frontier of August 3, 1914, from Switzerland to CzechoSlovakia as hereinafter defined.
6. With Czecho-Slovakia:
The frontier of August 3, 1914, between Germany and Austria from its junction with the
old administrative boundary separating Bohemia and the province of Upper Austria to the point north of the
salient of the old province of Austrian Silesia situated at about 8 kilometres east of Neustadt.
7. With Poland:
From the point defined above to a point to be fixed on the ground about 2 kilometres
east of Lorzendorf: the fronticr as it will be fixed in accordance with Article 88 of the present Treaty; thence
in a northerly direction to the point where the administrative boundary of Posnania crosses the river Bartsch:
a line to be fixed on the ground leaving the following placcs in Poland: Skorischau, Reichthal, Trembatschau,
Kunzendorf, Schleise, Gross Koscl, Schreibersdorf, Rippin, Furstlich-Niefken, Pawelau, Tscheschen, Konradau,
Johallnisdorf, Modzenowe, Bogdaj, and in Gerrmany: Lorzendorf, Kaulwitz, Glausche, Dalbersdorf, Reesewitz,
Stradam, Gross Wartenberg, Kraschen, Neu Mittelwalde, Domaslawitz, Wedelsdorf, Tscheschen Hammer; thence the
administrative boundary of Posnania northwestwards to the point where it cuts the Rawitsch-Herrnstadt railway;
thence to the point where the administrative boundary of Posnania cuts the Reisen-Tschirnau road: a line to
be fixed on the ground passing west of Triebusch and Gabel and east of Saborwitz; thence the administrative
boundary of Posnania to its junction with the eastern administrative boundary of the Kreis of Fraustadt; thence
in a north-westerly direction to a point to be chosen on the road between the villages of Unruhstadt and Kopnitz:
a line to be fixed on the ground passing west of Geyersdorf, Brenno, Fehlen, Altkloster, Klebel, and east of
Ulbersdorf, Buchwald, Ilgen,Weine, Lupitze, Schwenten: thence in a northerly direction to the northernmost
point of Lake Chlop: a line to be fixed on the ground following the median line of the lakes; the town and
the station of Bentschen however (including the junction of the lines Schwiebus-Bentschen and Zullichau-Bentschen)
remaining in Polish territory; thence in a north-easterly direction to the point of junction of the boundaries
of the Kreise of Schwerin, Birnbaum, and Meseritz: a line to be fixed on the ground passing east of Betsche;
thence in a northerly direction the boundary separating the Kreise of Schwerin and Birnbaum, then in an easterly
direction the northern boundary of Posnania to the point where it cuts the river Netze; thence upstream to
its confluence with the Kaddow: the course of the Netze; thence upstream to a point to be chosen about 6 kilometres
southeast of Schneidemuhl: the course of the Kuddow; thence north-eastwards to the most southern point of the
reentant of the northern boundary of Posnania about 5 kilometres west of Stahren: a line to be fixed on the
ground leaving the SchneidemuhlKonitz railway in this area entirely in German territory; thence the boundary
of Posnania north-eastwards to the point of the salient it makes about 15 kilometres east of Flatow; thence
north-eastwards to the point where the river Kamionka meets the southern boundary of the Kreis of Konitz about
3 kilometres north-east of Grunau: a line to be fixed on the ground leaving the following places to Poland:
Jasdrowo, Gr. Lutau, Kl. Lutau, Wittkau, and to Germany: Gr. Butzig, Cziskowo, Battrow, Bock, Grunau; thence
in a northerly direction the boundary between the Kreise of Konitz and Schlochau to the point where this boundary
cuts the river Brahe; thence to a point on the boundary of Pomerania 15 kilometres east of Rummelsburg: a line
to be fixed on the ground leaving the following places in Poland: Konarzin, Kelpin, Adl. Briesen, and in Germany:
Sampohl, Neuguth, Steinfort, Gr. Peterkau; then the boundary of Pomerania in an easterly direction to its junction
with the boundary between the Kreise of Konitz and Schlochau; thence northwards the boundary between Pomerania
and West Prussia to the point on the river Rheda about 3 kilometres northwest of Gohra where that river is
joined by a tributary from the north-west; thence to a point to be selected in the bend of the Piasnitz river
about 1 1/2 kilometres north-west of Warschkau: a line to be fixed on the ground; thence this river downstream,
then the median line of Lake Zarnowitz, then the old boundary of West Prussia to the Baltic Sea. 8. With Denmark:
The frontier as it will be fixed in accordance with Articles 109 to III of Part III,
Section XII (Schleswig).
ARTICLE 28.
The boundaries of East Prussia, with the reservations made in Section IX (East Prussia)
of Part III, will be determined as follows: from a point on the coast of the Baltic Sea about 1 1/2 kilometres
north of Probbernau church in a direction of about 159° East from true North: a line to be fixed on the
ground for about 2 kilometres; thence in a straight line to the light at the bend of the Elbing Channel in
approximately latitude 54° 19 1/2' North, longitude 19° 26' East of Greenwich; thence to the easternmost
mouth of the Nogat River at a bearing of approximately 209° East from true North; thence up the course
of the Nogat River to the point where the latter leaves the Vistula (Weichsel);thence up the principal channel
of navigation of the Vistula, then the southern boundary of the Kreis of Marienwerder, then that of the Kreis
of Rosenberg eastwards to the point where it meets the old boundary of East Prussia, thence the old boundary
between East and West Prussia, then the boundary between the Kreise of Osterode and Neidenburg, then the course
of the river Skottau downstream, then the course of the Neide upstream to a point situated about 5 kilometres
west of Bialutten being the nearest point to the old frontier of Russia; thence in an easterly direction to
a point immediately south of the intersection of the road Neidenburg-Mlava with the old frontier of Russia:
a line to be fixed on the ground passing north of Bialutten; thence the old frontier of Russia to a point east
of Schmalleningken, then the principal channel of navigation of the Niemen (Memel) downstream, then the Skierwieth
arm of the delta to the Kurisches Haff; thence a straight line to the point where the eastern shore of the
Kurische Nehrung meets the administrative boundary about 4 kilometres south-west of Nidden; thence this administrative
boundary to the western shore of the Kurische Nehrung.
ARTICLE 29.
The boundaries as described above are drawn in red on a one-in-a-million map which is
annexed to the present Treaty (Map No. 1). In the case of any discrepancies between the text of the Treaty
and this map or any other map which may be annexed, the text will be final.
ARTICLE 30.
In the case of boundaries which are defined by a waterway, the terms "course" and "channel" used
in the present Treaty signify: in the case of non-navigable rivers, the median line of the waterway or of its
principal arm, and, in the case of navigable rivers, the median line of the principal channel of navigation
It will rest with the Boundary Commissions provided by the present Treaty to specify in each case whether the
frontier line shall follow any changes of the course or channel which may take place or whether it shall be
definitely fixed by the position of the course or channel at the time when the present Treaty comes into force.
ARTICLE 31 .
Germany, recognising that the Treaties of April 19, 1839, which established the status
of Belgium before the war, no longer conform to the requirements of the situation, consents to the abrogation
of the said Treaties and undertakes immediately to recognise and to observe whatever conventions may be entered
into by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, or by any of them, in concert with the Governments of Belgium
and of the Netherlands, to replace the said Treaties of 1839. If her formal adhesions should be required to
such conventions or to any of their stipulations, Germany undertakes immediately to give it.
ARTICLE 32.
Germany recognises the full sovereignty of Belgium over the whole of the contested territory
of Moresnet (called Moresnet neutre).
ARTICLE 33
Germany renounces in favour of Belgium all rights and title over the territory of Prussian
Moresnet situated on the west of the road from Liege to Aix-la-Chapelle; the road will belong to Belgium where
it bounds this territory.
ARTICLE 34
Germany renounces in favour of Belgium all rights and title over the territory comprising
the whole of the Kreise of Eupen and of Malmedy. During the six months after the coming into force of this
Treaty, registers will be opened by the Belgian authority at Eupen and Malmedy in which the inhabitants of
the above territory will be entitled to record in writing a desire to see the whole or part of it remain under
German sovereignty. The results of this public expression of opinion will be communicated by the Belgian Government
to the League of Nations, and Belgium undertakes to accept the decision of the League.
ARTICLE 35 .
A Commission of seven persons, five of whom will be appointed by the Principal Allied
and Associated Powers, one by Germany and one by Belgium, will be set up fifteen days after the coming into
force of the present Treaty to settle on the spot the new frontier line between Belgium and Germany, taking
into account the economic factors and the means of communication. Decisions will be taken by a majority and
will be binding on the parties concerned.
ARTICLE 36.
When the transfer of the sovereignty over the territories referred to above has become
definite, German nationals habitually resident in the territories will definitively acquire Belgian nationality
ipso facto, and will lose their German nationality. Nevertheless, German nationals who became resident in the
territories after August 1, 1914, shall not obtain Belgian nationality without a permit from the Belgian Government.
ARTICLE 37.
Within the two years following the definitive transfer of the sovereignty over the territories
assigned to Belgium under the present Treaty, German nationals over 18 years of age habitually resident in
those territories will be entitled to opt for German nationality. Option by a husband will cover his wife,
and option by parents will cover their children under 18 years of age. Persons who have exercised the above
right to opt must within the ensuing twelve months transfer their place of residence to Germany. They will
be entitled to retain their immovable property in the territories acquired by Belgium. They may carry with
them their movable property of every description. No export or import duties may be imposed upon them in connection
with the removal of such property.
ARTICLE 38.
The German Government will hand over without delay to the Belgian Government the archives,
registers, plans, title deeds and documents of every kind concerning the civil, military, financial, judicial
or other administrations in the territory transferred to Belgian sovereignty. The German Government will likewise
restore to the Belgian Government the archives and documents of every kind carried off during the war by the
German authorities from the Belgian public administrations, in particular from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
at Brussels.
ARTICLE 39.
The proportion and nature of the financial liabilities of Germany and of Prussia with
Belgium will have to bear on account of the territories ceded to her shall be fixed in conformity with Articles
254 and 256 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty.
SECTION ll.
LUXEMBURG.
ARTICLE 40.
With regard to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Germany renounces the benefit of all the
provisions inserted in her favour in the Treaties of February 8, 1842, April 2, 1847, October 20-25, 1865,
August 18, 1866, February 21 and May 11, 1867, May 10, 1871, June 11, 1872, and November 11, 1902, and in all
Conventions consequent upon such Treaties. Germany recognises that the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg ceased to form
part of the German Zollverein as from January 1, 1919, renounces all rights to the exploitation of the railways,
adheres to the termination of the regime of neutrality of the Grand Duchy, and accepts in advance all international
arrangements which may be concluded by the Allied and Associated Powers relating to the Grand Duchy.
ARTICLE 41.
Germany undertakes to grant to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, when a demand to that effect
is made to her by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, the rights and advantages stipulated in favour
of such Powers or their nationals in the present Treaty with regard to economic questions, to questions relative
to transport and to aerial navigation.
SECTION III
LEFT BANK OF THE RHINE.
ARTICLE 42.
Germany is forbidden to maintain or construct any fortifications either on the left
bank of the Rhine or on the right bank to the west of a line drawn 50 kilometres to the East of the Rhine.
ARTICLE 43
In the area defined above the maintenance and the assembly of armed forces, either permanently
or temporarily, and military maneuvers of any kind, as well as the upkeep of all permanent works for mobilization,
are in the same way forbidden.
ARTICLE 44
In case Germany violates in any manner whatever the provisions of Articles 42 and 43,
she shall be regarded as committing a hostile act against the Powers signatory of the present Treaty and as
calculated to disturb the peace of the world.
SECTION IV.
SAAR BASIN.
ARTICLE 45
As compensation for the destruction of the coal-mines in the north of France and as
part payment towards the total reparation due from Germany for the damage resulting from the war, Germany cedes
to France in full and absolute possession, with exclusive rights of exploitation, unencumbered and free from
all debts and charges of any kind, the coal-mines situated in the Saar Basin as defined in Article 48.
ARTICLE 46.
In order to assure the rights and welfare of the population and to guarantee to France
complete freedom in working the mines, Germany agrees to the provisions of Chapters I and II of the Annex hereto.
ARTICLE 47.
In order to make in due time permanent provision for the government of the Saar Basin
in accordance with the wishes of the populations, France and Germany agree to the provisions of Chapter III
of the Annex hereto.
ARTICLE 48.
The boundaries of the territory of the Saar Basin, as dealt with in the present stipulations,
will be fixed as follows: On the south and south-west: by the frontier of France as fixed by the present Treaty.
On the north-west and north: by a line following the northern administrative boundary of the Kreis of Merzig
from the point where it leaves the French frontier to the point where it meets the administrative boundary
separating the commune of Saarholzbach from the commune of Britten; following this communal boundary southwards
and reaching the administrative boundary of the canton of Merzig so as to include in the territory of the Saar
Basin the canton of Mettlach, with the exception of the commune of Britten; following successively the northern
boundaries of the cantons of Merzig and Haustedt, which are incorporated in the aforesaid Saar Basin, then
successively the administrative boundaries separating the Kreise of Sarrelouis, Ottweiler, and Saint-Wendel
from the Kreise of Merzig, Treves (Trier), and the Principality of Birkenfeld as far as a point situated about
500 metres north of the village of Furschweiler (viz., the highest point of the Metzelberg). On the north-east
and east: from the last point defined above to a point about 3 1/2 kilometres east-north-east of Saint-Wendel:
a line to be fixed on the ground passing east of Furschweiler, west of Roschberg, east of points 418, 329 (south
of Roschberg) west of Leitersweiler, north-east of point 464, and following the line of the crest southwards
to its junction with the administrative boundary of the Kreis of Kusel
thence in a southerly direction the boundary of the Kreis of Kusel, then the boundary
of the Kreis of Homburg towards the south-south-east to a point situated about 1000 metres west of Dunzweiler;
thence to a point about 1 kilometre south of Hornbach- a line to be fixed on the ground passing through point
424 (about 1000 metres south-east of Dunzweiler), point 363 (Fuchs-Berg), point 322 (south-west of Waldmohr),
then east of Jagersburg and Erbach, then encircling Homburg, passing through the points 361 (about 2-1/2 kilometres
north-east by east of that town), 342 (about 2 kilometres south-east of that town), 347 (Schreiners-Berg),
356, 350 (about 1-1/2 kilometres south-east of Schwarzenbach), then passing east of Einod, south-east of points
322 and 333, about 2 kilometres east of Webenheim, about 2 kilometres east of Mimbach, passing east of the
plateau which is traversed by the road from Mimbach to Bockweiler (so as to include this road in the territory
of the Saar Basin), passing immediately north of the junction of the roads from Bockweiler and Altheim situated
about 2 kilometres north of Altheim, then passing south of Ringweilerhof and north of point 322, rejoining
the frontier of France at the angle which it makes about 1 kilometre south of Hornbach.
A Commission composed of five members, one appointed by France, one by Germany, and
three by the Council of the League of Nations, which will select nationals of other Powers, will be constituted
within fifteen days from the coming into force of the present Treaty, to trace on the spot the frontier line
described above.
In those parts of the preceding line which do not coincide with administrative boundaries,
the Commission will endeavour to keep to the line indicated, while taking into consideration, so far as is
possible, local economic interests and existing communal boundaries.
The decisions of this Commission will be taken by a majority, and will be binding on
the parties concerned.
ARTICLE 49.
Germany renounces in favour of the League of Nations, in the capacity of trustee, the
government of the territory defined above.
At the end of fifteen years from the coming into force of the present Treaty the inhabitants
of the said territory shall be called upon to indicate the sovereignty under which they desire to be placed.
ARTICLE 50.
The stipulations under which the cession of the mines in the Saar Basin shall be carried
out, together with the measures intended to guarantee the rights and the well-being of the inhabitants and
the government of the territory, as well as the conditions in accordance with which the plebiscite herein before
provided for is to be made, are laid down in the Annex hereto. This Annex shall be considered as an integral
part of the present Treaty, and Germany declares her adherence to it. |
ANNEX.
In accordance with the provisions of Articles 45 to 50 of the present Treaty, the stipulations
under which the cession by Germany to France of the mines of the Saar Basin will be effected, as well as the
measures intended to ensure respect for the rights and well-being of the population and the government of the
territory, and the conditions in which the inhabitants will be called upon to indicate the sovereignty under
which they may wish to be placed, have been laid down as follows:
CHAPTER I .
CESSION AND EXPLOITATION OF MINING PROPERTY,
From the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty,
all the deposits of coal situated within the Saar Basin as defined
in Article 48 of the said Treaty, become the complete and absolute property of the French
State.
The French State will have the right of working or not working the said mines, or of
transferring to a third party the right of working them, without having to obtain any previous authorisation
or to fulfil any formalities.
The French State may always require that the German mining laws and regulations referred
to below shall be applied in order to ensure the determination of its rights.
2.
The right of ownership of the French State will apply not only to the deposits which
are free and for which concessions have not yet been granted, but also to the deposits for which concessions
have already been granted, whoever may be the present proprietors, irrespective of whether they belong to the
Prussian State, to the Bavarian State, to other States or bodies, to companies or to individuals, whether they
have been worked or not, or whether a right of exploitation distinct from the right of the owners of the surface
of the soil has or has not been recognised.
3.
As far as concerns the mines which are being worked, the transfer of the ownership to
the French State will apply to all the accessories and subsidiaries of the said mines, in particular to their
plant and equipment both on and below the surface to their extracting machinery, their plants for transforming
coal into electric power, coke and by-products, their workshops means of communication, electric lines, plant
for catching and distributing water, land, buildings such as offices, managers, employees, and workmen's dwellings,
schools, hospitals and dispensaries, their stocks and supplies of every description, their archives and plans,
and in general everything which those who own or exploit the mines possess or enjoy for the purpose of exploiting
the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries.
The transfer will apply also to the debts owing for products delivered before the entry
into possession by the French State and after the signature of the present Treaty, and to deposits of money
made by customers, whose rights will be guaranteed by the French State.
4.
The French State will acquire the property free and clear of all debts and charges.
Nevertheless, the rights acquired, or in course of being acquired, by the employees of the mines and their
accessories and subsidiaries at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty, in connection with
pensions for old age or disability, will not be affected. In return, Germany must pay over to the French State
a sum representing the actuarial amounts to which the said employees are entitled.
5.
The value of the property thus ceded to the French State will be determined by the Reparation
Commission referred to in Article 233 of Part VIII (Reparation) of the present Treaty.
This value shall be credited to Germany in part payment of the amount due for reparation.
It will be for Germany to indemnify the proprietors or parties concerned, whoever they may be.
6.
No tariff shall be established on the German railways and canals which may directly
or indirectly discriminate to the prejudice of the transport of the personnel or products of the mines and
their accessories or subsidiaries, or of the material necessary to their exploitation. Such transport shall
enjoy all the rights and privileges which any international railway conventions may . guarantee to similar
products of French origin.
7. The equipment and personnel necessary to ensure the despatch and transport of the
products of the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries, as well as the carriage of workmen and employees,
will be provided by the local railway administration of the Basin.
8.
No obstacle shall be placed in the way of such improvements of railways or waterways
as the French State may judge necessary to assure the despatch and the transport of the products of the mines
and their accessories and subsidiaries, such as double trackage, enlargement of stations, and construction
of yards and appurtenances. The distribution of expenses will, in the event of disagreement, be submitted to
arbitration.
The French State may also establish any new means of communication, such as roads, electric
lines, and telephone connections which it may consider necessary for the exploitation of the mines it may exploit
freely and without any restrictions the means of communication of which it may become the owner, particularly
those connecting the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries with the means of communication situated
in French territory.
9.
The French State shall always be entitled to demand the application of the German mining
laws and regulations in force on November 11, 1918, excepting provisions adopted exclusively in view of the
state of war, with a view to the acquisition of such land as it may judge necessary for the exploitation of
the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries.
The payment for damage caused to immovable property by the working of the said mines
and their accessories and subsidiaries shall be made in accordance with the German mining laws and regulations
above referred to.
10.
Every person whom the French State may substitute for itself as regards the whole or
part of its rights to the exploitation of the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries shall enjoy the
benefit of the privileges provided in this Annex.
11.
The mines and other immovable property which become the property of the French State
may never be made the subject of measures of forfeiture, forced sale, expropriation or requisition, nor of
any other measure affecting the right of property.
The personnel and the plant connected with the exploitation of these mines or their
accessories and subsidiaries, as well as the product extracted from the mines or manufactured in their accessories
and subsidiaries, may not at any time be made the subject of any measures of requisition.
The exploitation of the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries, which become the
property of the French State will continue, subject to the provisions of paragraph 23 below, to be subject
to the regime established by the German laws and regulations in force on November 11, 1918, excepting provisions
adopted exclusively in view of the state of war.
The rights of the workmen shall similarly be maintained, subject to the provisions of
the said paragraph 23, as established on November 11, 1918, by the German laws and regulations above referred
to.
No impediment shall be placed in the way of the introduction or employment in the mines
and their accessories and subsidiaries of workmen from without the Basin.
The employees and workmen of French nationality shall have the right to belong to French
labour unions.
13.
The amount contributed by the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries, either to
the local budget of the territory of the Saar Basin or to the communal funds, shall be fixed with due regard
to the ratio of the value of the mines to the total taxable wealth of the Basin.
14.
The French State shall always have the right of establishing and maintaining, as incidental
to the mines, primary or technical schools for its employees and their children, and of causing instruction
therein to be given in the French language, in accordance with such curriculum and by such teachers as it may
select.
It shall also have the right to establish and maintain hospitals, dispensaries, workmen's
houses and gardens, and other charitable and social institutions.
15.
The French State shall enjoy complete liberty with respect to the distribution, dispatch
and sale prices of-the products of the mines and their accessories and subsidiaries.
Nevertheless, whatever may be the total product of the mines, the French Government
undertakes that the requirements of local consumption for industrial and domestic purposes shall always be
satisfied in the proportion existing in 1913 between the amount consumed locally and the total output of the
Saar Basin.
CHAPTER II.
GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF THE SAAR BASIN.
16.
The Government of the territory of the Saar Basin shall be entrusted to a Commission
representing the League of Nations. This Commission shall sit in the territory of the Saar Basin.
17.
The Governing Commission provided for by paragraph 16 shall consist of five members
chosen by the Council of the League of Nations, and will include one citizen of France, one native inhabitant
of the Saar Basin, not a citizen of France, and three members belonging to three countries other than France
or Germany.
The members of the Governing Commission shall be appointed for one year and may be re-appointed.
They can be removed by the Council of the League of Nations, which will provide for their replacement.
The members of the Governing Commission will be entitled to a salary which will be fixed
by the Council of the League of Nations, and charged on the local revenues.
18.
The Chairman of the Governing Commission shall be appointed for one year from among
the members of the Commission by the Council of the League of Nations and may be re-appointed. The Chairman
will act as the executive of the Commission.
19.
Within the territory of the Saar Basin the Governing Commission shall have all-the powers
of government hitherto belonging to the German Empire, Prussia, or Bavaria, including the appointment and dismissal
of officials, and the creation of such administrative and representative bodies as it may deem necessary.
It shall have full powers to administer and operate the railways, canals, and the different
public services. Its decisions shall be taken by a majority.
20.
Germany will place at the disposal of the Governing Commission all official documents
and archives under the control of Germany, of any German State, or of any local authority, which relate to
the territory of the Saar Basin or to the rights of the inhabitants thereof.
21.
It will be the duty of the Governing Commission to ensure, by such means and under such
conditions as it may deem suitable, the protection abroad of the interests of the inhabitants of the territory
of the Saar Basin.
22.
The Governing Commission shall have the full right of user of all property, other than
mines, belonging, either in public or in private domain, to the Government of the German Empire, or the Government
of any German State, in the territory of the Saar Basin.
As regards the railways an equitable apportionment of rolling stock shall be made by
a mixed Commission on which the Government of the territory of the Saar Basin and the German railways will
be represented.
Persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and mails coming from or going to the Saar
Basin shall enjoy all the rights and privileges relating to transit and transport which are specified in the
provisions of Part XII (Ports, Waterways and Railways) of the present Treaty.
23.
The laws and regulations in force on November 11, 1918, in the territory of the Saar
Basin (except those enacted in consequence of the state of war) shall continue to apply.
If, for general reasons or to bring these laws and regulations into accord with the
provisions of the present Treaty, it is necessary to introduce modifications, these shall be decided on, and
put into effect by the Governing Commission, after consultation with the elected representatives of the inhabitants
in such a manner as the Commission may determine.
No modification may be made in the legal regime for the exploitation of the mines, provided
for in paragraph 12, without the French State being previously consulted, unless such modification results
from a general regulation respecting labour adopted by the League of Nations.
In fixing the conditions and hours of labour for men, women and children, the Governing
Commission is to take into consideration the wishes expressed by the local labour organisations, as well as
the principles adopted by the League of Nations.
24.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4, no rights of the inhabitants of the Saar Basin
acquired or in process of acquisition at the date of coming into force of this Treaty, in respect of any insurance
system of Germany or in respect of any pension of any kind, are affected by any of the provisions of the present
Treaty.
Germany and the Government of the territory of the Saar Basin will preserve and continue
all of the aforesaid rights.
25.
The civil and criminal courts existing in the territory of the Saar Basin shall continue.
A civil and criminal court will be established by the Governing Commission to hear appeals
from the decisions of the said courts
and to decide matters for which these courts are not competent.
The Governing Commission will be responsible for settling the organisation and jurisdiction
of the said court.
Justice will be rendered in the name of the Governing Commission.
26.
The Governing Commission will alone have the power of levying taxes and dues in the
territory of Saar Basin.
These taxes and dues will be exclusively applied to the needs of the territory.
The fiscal system existing on November 11, 1918, will be maintained as far as possible,
and no new tax except customs duties may be imposed without previously consulting the elected representatives
of the inhabitants.
27.
The present stipulation will not affect the existing nationality of the inhabitants
of the territory of the Saar Basin.
No hindrance shall be placed in the way of those who wish to acquire a different nationality,
but in such case the acquisition of the new nationality will involve the loss of any other.
28.
Under the control of the Governing Commission the inhabitants will retain their local
assemblies, their religious liberties, their schools and their language.
The right of voting will not be exercised for any assemblies other than the local assemblies,
and will belong to every inhabitant over the age of twenty years, without distinction of sex.
29.
Any of the inhabitants of the Saar Basin who may desire to leave the territory will
have full liberty to retain in it their immovable property or to sell it at fair prices, and to remove their
movable property free of any charges.
30.
There will be no military service, whether compulsory or voluntary, in the territory
of the Saar Basin, and the construction of fortifications therein is forbidden.
Only a local gendarmerie for the maintenance of order may be established.
It will be the duty of the Governing Commission to provide in all cases for the protection
of persons and property in the Saar Basin.
31.
The territory of the Saar Basin as defined by Article 48 of the present Treaty shall
be subjected to the French customs regime. The receipts from the customs duties on goods intended for local
consumption shall be included in the budget of the said territory after deduction of all costs of collection.
No export tax shall be imposed upon metallurgical products or coal exported from the
said territory to Germany, nor upon the German exports for the use of the industries of the territory of the
Saar Basin.
Natural or manufactured products originating in the Basin in transit over German territory
and, similarly, German products in
transit over the territory of the Basin shall be free of all customs duties.
Products which both originate in and pass from the Basin into Germany shall be free
of import duties for a period of five years from the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty, and
during the same period articles imported from Germany into the territory of the Basin for local consumption,
shall likewise be free of import duties.
During these five years the French Government reserves to itself the right of limiting
to the annual average of the quantities imported into Alsace-Lorraine and France in the years 1911 to 1913
the quantities which may be sent into France of all articles coming from the Basin which include raw materials
and semimanufactured goods imported duty free from Germany. Such average shall be determined after reference
to all available official information and statistics.
32.
No prohibition or restriction shall be imposed upon the circulation of French money
in the territory of the Saar Basin.
The French State shall have the right to use French money in all purchases, payments,
and contracts connected with the exploitation of the mines or their accessories and subsidiaries.
33.
The Governing Commission shall have power to decide all questions arising from the interpretation
of the preceding provisions.
France and Germany agree that any dispute involving a difference of opinion as to the
interpretation of the said provision shall in the same way be submitted to the Governing Commission and the
decision of a majority of the Commission shall be binding on both countries.
CHAPTER III.
PLEBISCITE.
34.
At the termination of a period of fifteen years from the coming into force of the present
Treaty, the population of the territory
of the Saar Basin will be called upon to indicate their desires in the following manner:
A vote will take place by communes or districts, on the three following alternatives: (a) maintenance of the
regime established by the present Treaty and by this Annex; (b) union with France; (c) union with Germany.
All persons without distinction of sex, more than twenty years old at the date of the
voting, resident in the territory at the date of the signature of the present Treaty, will have the right to
vote.
The other conditions, methods, and the date of the voting shall be fixed by the Council
of the League of Nations in such a way as to secure the freedom, secrecy and trustworthiness of the voting
35.
The League of Nations shall decide on the sovereignty under which the territory is to
be placed, taking into account the wishes of the inhabitants as expressed by the voting.
(a) If, for the whole or part of the territory, the League of Nations decides in favour
of the maintenance of the regime established by the present Treaty and this Annex, Germany hereby agrees to
make such renunciation of her sovereignty in favour of the League of Nations as the latter shall deem necessary.
It will be the duty of the League of Nations to take appropriate steps to adapt the regime definitively adopted
to the permanent welfare of the territory and the general interest;
(b) If, for the whole or part of the territory, the League of Nations decides in favour
of union with France, Germany hereby agrees to cede to France in accordance with the decision of the League
of Nations, all rights and title over the territory specified by the League.
(c) If, for the whole or part of the territory, the League of Nations decides in favour
of union with Germany, it will be the duty of the League of Nations to cause the German Government to be re-established
in the government of the territory specified by the League.
36.
If the League of Nations decides in favour of the union of the whole or part of the
territory of the Saar Basin with Germany, France's rights of ownership in the mines situated in such part of
the territory will be repurchased by Germany in their entirety at
a price payable in gold. The price to be paid will be fixed by three experts, one nominated
by Germany, one by France, and one,
who shall be neither a Frenchman nor a German, by the Council
of the League of Nations; the decision of the experts will be given by a majority.
The obligation of Germany to make such payment shall be
taken into account by the Reparation Commission, and for the
purpose of this payment Germany may create a prior charge upon her assets or revenues
upon such detailed terms as shall be agreed to by the Reparation Commission. If, nevertheless, Germany after
a period of one year from the date on which the payment becomes due shall not have effected the said payment,
the Reparation Commission shall do so in accordance with such instructions as may be given by the League of
Nations, and, if necessary, by liquidating that part of the mines which is in question.
37.
If, in consequence of the repurchase provided for in paragraph 36, the ownership of
the mines or any part of them is transferred to Germany, the French State and French nationals shall have the
right to purchase such amount of coal of the Saar Basin as their industrial and domestic needs are found at
that time to require. An equitable arrangement regarding amounts of coal, duration of contract, and rices will
be fixed in due time by the Council of the League of Nations.
38.
It is understood that France and Germany may, by special agreements concluded before
the time fixed for the payment of the price for the repurchase of the mines, modify the provisions of paragraphs
36 and 37.
39.
The Council of the League of Nations shall make such provisions as may be necessary
for the establishment of the regime
which is to take effect after the decisions of the League of Nations mentioned in paragraph
35 have become operative, including an equitable apportionment of any obligations of the Government of the
territory of the Saar Basin arising from loans raised by the Commission or from other causes.
From the coming into force of the new regime, the powers of the Governing Commission
will terminate, except in the case provided for in paragraph 35 (a).
In all matters dealt with in the present Annex, the decisions of the Council of the
League of Nations will be taken by a majority.
SECTION V.
ALSACE-LORRAINE.
The HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES, recognising the moral obligation to redress the wrong
done by Germany in 1871 both to the rights of France and to the wishes of the population of Alsace and Lorraine,
which were separated from their country in spite of the solemn protest of their representatives at the Assembly
of Bordeaux
Agree upon the following Articles:
ARTICLE 5l.
The territories which were ceded to Germany in accordance with the Preliminaries of
Peace signed at Versailles on February 26, 187l, and the Treaty of Frankfort of May lo, 1871, are restored
to French sovereignty as from the date of the Armistice of November 11, 1918.
The provisions of the Treaties establishing the delimitation of the frontiers before
1871 shall be restored.
ARTICLE 52.
The German Government shall hand over without delay to the French Government all archives,
registers, plans, titles and documents of every kind concerning the civil, military, financial, judicial or
other administrations of the territories restored to French sovereignty. If any of these documents, archives,
registers, titles or plans nave been misplaced, they will be restored by the German Government on the demand
of the French Government. ARTICLE 53.
Separate agreements shall be made between France and Germany dealing with the interests
of the inhabitants of the territories referred to in Article 51, particularly as regards their civil rights,
their business and the exercise of their professions, it being understood that Germany undertakes as from the
present date to recognise and accept the regulations laid down in the Annex hereto regarding the nationality
of the inhabitants or natives of the said territories, not to claim at any time or in any place whatsoever
as German nationals those who shall have been declared on any ground to be French, to receive all others in
her territory, and to conform, as regards the property of German nationals in the territories indicated in
Article 51, with the provisions of Article 297 and the Annex to Section IV of Part X (Economic Clauses) of
the present Treaty.
Those German nationals who without acquiring French nationality shall receive permission
from the French Government to reside in the said territories shall not be subjected to the provisions of the
said Article.
ARTICLE 54.
Those persons who have regained French nationality in virtue of paragraph 1 of the Annex
hereto will be held to be Alsace-Lorrainers for the purposes of the present Section.
The persons referred to in paragraph 2 of the said Annex will from the day on which
they have claimed French nationality be held to be Alsace-Lorrainers with retroactive effect as from November
11, 1918. For those whose application is rejected, the privilege will terminate at the date of the refusal.
Such juridical persons will also have the status of AlsaceLorrainers as shall have been
recognised as possessing this quality whether by the French administrative authorities or by a judicial decision.
ARTICLE 55.
The territories referred to in Article 5l shall return to France free and quit of all
public debts under the conditions laid down in Article 255 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 56.
In conformity with the provisions of Article 256 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the
present Treaty, France shall enter into
possession of all property and estate, within the territories referred to in Article
5l, which belong to the German Empire or German States, without any payment or credit on this account to any
of the States ceding the territories.
This provision applies to all movable or immovable property of public or private domain
together with all rights whatsoever belonging to the German Empire or German States or to their administrative
areas.
Crown property and the property of the former Emperor or other German sovereigns shall
be assimilated to property of the public domain.
ARTICLE 57.
Germany shall not take any action, either by means of stamping or by any other legal
or administrative measures not applying equally to the rest of her territory, which may be to the detriment
of the legal value or redeemability of Germany monetary instruments or monies which, at the date of the signature
of the present Treaty, are legally current, and at that date are in the possession of the French Government.
ARTICLE 58.
A special Convention will determine the conditions for repayment in marks of the exceptional
war expenditure advanced during the course of the war by Alsace-Lorraine or by the public bodies in Alsace-Lorraine
on account of the Empire in accordance with German law, such as payment to the families of persons mobilised,
requisitions, billeting of troops, and assistance to persons who have been evacuated. In fixing the amount
of these sums Germany shall be credited with that portion which Alsace-Lorraine would have contributed to the
Empire to meet the expenses resulting from these payments, this contribution being calculated according to
the proportion of the Imperial revenues derived from Alsace-Lorraine in l913.
ARTICLE 59.
The French Government will collect for its own account the Imperial taxes, duties and
dues of every kind leviable in the territories referred to in Article 5l and not collected at the time of the
Armistice of November 11, 19l8.
ARTICLE 60.
The German Government shall without delay restore to AlsaceLorrainers (individuals,
juridical persons and public institutions) all property, rights and interests belonging to them on November
11, 1918, in so far as these are situated in German territory.
ARTICLE 61.
The German Government undertakes to continue and complete without delay the execution
of the financial clauses regarding Alsace-Lorraine contained in the Armistice Conventions.
ARTICLE 62.
The German Government undertakes to bear the expense of all civil and military pensions
which had been earned in Alsace. Lorraine on date of November 11, 1918, and the maintenance of which was a
charge on the budget of the German Empire.
The German Government shall furnish each year the funds necessary for the payment in
francs, at the average rate of exchange for that year, of the sums in marks to which persons resident in Alsace-Lorraine
would have been entitled if Alsace-Lorraine had remained under German jurisdiction.
ARTICLE 63.
For the purposes of the obligation assumed by Germany in Part VIII (Reparation) of the
present Treaty to give compensation for damages caused to the civil populations of the Allied and Associated
countries in the form of fines, the inhabitants of the territories referred to in Article 51 shall be assimilated
to the above-mentioned populations.
ARTICLE 64.
The regulations concerning the control of the Rhine and of the Moselle are laid down
in Part XII (Ports, Waterways and Railways) of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 65.
Within a period of three weeks after the coming into force of the present Treaty, the
port of Strasburg and the port of Kehl shall be constituted, for a period of seven years, a single unit from
the point of view of exploitation.
The administration of this single unit will be carried on by a manager named by the
Central Rhine Commission, which shall also have power to remove him.
This manager shall be of French nationality.
He will reside in Strasburg and will be subject to the supervision of the Central Rhine
Commission.
There will be established in the two ports free zones in conformity with Part XII (Ports,
Waterways and Railways) of the present Treaty.
A special Convention between France and Germany which shall be submitted to the approval
of the Central Rhine Commission, will fix the details of this organisation, particularly as regards finance.
It is understood that for the purpose of the present Article the port of Kehl includes
the whole of the area necessary for the movement of the port and the trains which serve it, including the harbour,
quays and railroads, platforms, cranes, sheds and warehouses, silos, elevators and hydro-electric plants, which
make up the equipment of the port.
The German Government undertakes to carry out all measures which shall be required of
it in order to assure that all the making-up and switching of trains arriving at or departing from Kehl, whether
for the right bank or the left bank of the Rhine, shall be carried on in the best conditions possible.
All property rights shall be safeguarded. In particular the administration of the ports
shall not prejudice any property rights of the French or Baden railroads.
Equality of treatment as respects traffic shall be assured in both ports to the nationals,
vessels and goods of every country.
In case at the end of the sixth year France shall consider that the progress made in
the improvement of the port of Strasburg still requires a prolongation of this temporary regime, she may ask
for such prolongation from the Central Rhine Commission, which may grant an extension for a period not exceeding
three years.
Throughout the whole period of any such extension the free zones above provided for
shall be maintained.
Pending appointment of the first manager by the Central Rhine Commission a provisional
manager who shall be of French nationality may be appointed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers subject
to the foregoing provisions.
For all purposes of the present Article the Central Rhine Commission will decide by
a majority of votes.
ARTICLE 66.
The railway and other bridges across the Rhine now existing within the limits of Alsace-Lorraine
shall, as to all their parts and their whole length, be the property of the French State, which shall ensure
their upkeep.
The French Government is substituted in all the, rights of the German Empire over all
the railways which were administered by the Imperial railway administration and which are actually working
or under construction.
The same shall apply to the rights of the Empire with regard to railway and tramway
concessions within the territories referred to in Article 51.
This substitution shall not entail any payment on the part of the French State.
The frontier railway stations shall be established by a subsequent agreement, it being
stipulated in advance that on the Rhine frontier they shall be situated on the right bank.
ARTICLE 68.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 268 of Chapter I of Section I of Part X
(Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty, for a period of five years from the coming into force of the present
Treaty, natural or manufactured products originating in and coming from the territories referred to in Article
51 shall, on importation into German customs territory, be exempt from all customs duty.
The French Government may fix each year, by decree communicated to the German Government,
the nature and amount of the products which shall enjoy this exemption.
The amount of each product which may be thus sent annually into Germany shall not exceed
the average of the amounts sent annually in the years 1911-1913.
Further, during the period of five years above mentioned, the German Government shall
allow the free export from Germany and the free reimportation into Germany, exempt from all customs, duties
and other charges (including internal charges), of yarns, tissues, and other textile materials or textile products
of any kind and in any condition, sent from Germany into the territories referred to in Article 51, to be subjected
there to any finishing process, such as bleaching, dyeing, printing, mercerization, gassing, twisting or dressing.
During a period of ten years from the coming into force of the present Treaty, central
electric supply works situated in German territory and formerly furnishing electric power to the territories
referred to in Article 51 or to any establishment the working of which passes permanently or temporarily from
Germany to France, shall be required to continue such supply up to the amount of consumption corresponding
to the undertakings and contracts current on November 11, 1918.
Such supply shall be furnished according to the contracts in force and at a rate which
shall not be higher than that paid to the said works by German nationals.
|
ARTICLE 70.
It is understood that the French Government preserves its right to prohibit in the future
in the territories referred to in Article 51 all new German participation:
(1) In the management or exploitation of the public domain and of public services, such
as railways, navigable waterways, water works, gas works, electric power, etc. ;
(2) In the ownership of mines and quarries of every kind and in enterprises connected
therewith;
(3) In metallurgical establishments, even though their working may not be connected
with that of any mine.
ARTICLE 71.
As regards the territories referred to in Article 51, Germany renounces on behalf of
herself and her nationals as from November 11, 1918, all rights under the law of May 25, 1910, regarding the
trade in potash salts, and generally under any stipulations for the intervention of German organisations in
the working of the potash mines. Similarly, she renounces on behalf of herself and her- nationals all rights
under any agreements, stipulations or laws which may exist to her benefit with regard to other products of
the aforesaid territories.
ARTICLE 72.
The settlement of the questions relating to debts contracted before November 11, 1918,
between the German Empire and the German States or their nationals residing in Germany on the one part and
Alsace-Lorrainers residing in Alsace-Lorraine on the other part shall be effected in accordance with the provisions
of Section III of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty, the expression "before the war" therein
being replaced by the expression "before November 11, 1918,. The rate of exchange applicable in the case
of such settlement shall be the average rate quoted on the Geneva Exchange during the month preceding November
11, 1918.
There may be established in the territories referred to in Article 51, for the settlement
of the aforesaid debts under the conditions laid down in Section III of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present
Treaty, a special clearing office, it being understood that this office shall be regarded as a "central
office" under the provisions of paragraph 1 of the Annex to the said Section.
ARTICLE 73.
The private property, rights and interests of Alsace-Lorrainers in Germany will be regulated
by the stipulations of Section IV of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 74.
The French Government reserves the right to retain and liquidate all the property, rights
and interests which German nationals or societies controlled by Germany possessed in the territories referred
to in Article 51 on November 11, 1918, subject to the conditions laid down in the last paragraph of Article
53 above. Germany will directly compensate her nationals who may have been dispossessed by the aforesaid liquidations.
The product of these liquidations shall be applied in accordance with the stipulations of Sections III and
IV of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 75.
Notwithstanding the stipulations of Section V of Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present
Treaty, all contracts made before the date of the promulgation in Alsace-Lorraine of the French decree of November
30, 1918, between Alsace-Lorrainers (whether individuals or juridical persons) or others resident in Alsace-Lorraine
on the one part and the German Empire or German States and their nationals resident in Germany on the other
part, the execution of which has been suspended by the Armistice or by subsequent French legislation, shall
be maintained.
Nevertheless, any contract of which the French Government shall notify the cancellation
to Germany in the general interest within a period of six months from the date of the coming into force of
the present Treaty, shall be annulled except in respect of any debt or other pecuniary obligation arising out
of any act done or money paid thereunder before November 11, 1918. If this dissolution would cause one of the
parties substantial prejudice, equitable compensation, calculated solely on the capital employed without taking
account of loss of profits, shall be accorded to the prejudiced party.
With regard to prescriptions, limitations and forfeitures in Alsace-Lorraine, the provisions
of Articles 300 and 301 of Section V of Part X (Economic Clauses) shall be applied with the substitution for
the expression "outbreak of war" of the expression "November 11, 1918", and for the expression "duration
of the war" of the expression "period from November 11, 1918, to the date of the coming into force
of the present Treaty".
ARTICLE 76.
Questions concerning rights in industrial, literary or artistic property of Alsace-Lorrainers
shall be regulated in accordance with the general stipulations of Section VII of Part X (Economic Clauses)
of the present Treaty, it being understood that AlsaceLorrainers holding rights of this nature under German
legislation will preserve full and entire enjoyment of those rights on German territory.
ARTICLE 77
The German Government undertakes to pay over to the French Government such proportion
of all reserves accumulated by the Empire or by public or private bodies dependent upon it, for the purposes
of disability and old age insurance, as would fall to the disability and old age insurance fund at Strasburg.
The same shall apply in respect of the capital and reserves accumulated in Germany falling
legitimately to other social insurance funds, to miners, superannuation funds, to the fund of the railways
of Alsace-Lorraine, to other superannuation organisations established for the benefit of the personnel of public
administrations and institutions operating in Alsace-Lorraine and also in respect of the capital and reserves
due by the insurance fund of private employees at Berlin, by reason of engagements entered into for the benefit
of insured persons of that category resident in Alsace-Lorraine. A special Convention shall determine the conditions
and procedure of these transfers.
ARTICLE 78.
With regard to the execution of judgments, appeals and prosecutions, the following rules
shall be applied:
(1) All civil and commercial judgments which shall have been given since August 3, 1914,
by the Courts of Alsace-Lorraine between Alsace-Lorrainers, or between Alsace-Lorrainers and foreigners, or
between foreigners, and which shall not have been appealed from before November 11, 1918, shall be regarded
as final and susceptible of immediate execution without further formality.
When the judgment has been given between Alsace-Lorrainers and Germans or between Alsace-Lorrainers
and subjects of the allies of Germany, it shall only be capable of execution after the issue of an exequatur
by the corresponding new tribunal in the restored territory referred to in Article 51.
(2) All judgments given by German Courts since August 3, 1914, against Alsace-Lorrainers
for political crimes or misdemeanors shall be regarded as null and void.
(3) All sentences passed since November 11, 1918, by the Court of the Empire at Leipzig
on appeals against the decisions of the Courts of Alsace-Lorraine shall be regarded as null and void and shall
be so pronounced. The papers in regard to the cases in which such sentences have been given shall be returned
to the Courts of Alsace-Lorraine concerned.
All appeals to the Court of the Empire against decisions of the Courts of Alsace-Lorraine
shall be suspended. The papers shall be returned under the aforesaid conditions for transfer without delay
to the French Cour de Cassation, which shall be competent to decide them.
(4) All prosecutions in Alsace-Lorraine for offences committed during the period between
November 11, 1918, and the coming into force of the present Treaty will be conducted under German law except
in so far as this has been modified by decrees duly published on the spot by the French authorities.
(5) All other questions as to competence, procedure or administration of justice shall
be determined by a special Convention between France and Germany.
ARTICLE 79.
The stipulations as to nationality contained in the Annex hereto shall be considered
as of equal force with the provisions of the present Section.
All other questions concerning Alsace-Lorraine which are not regulated by the present
Section and the Annex thereto or by the general provisions of the present Treaty will form the subject of further
conventions between France and Germany.
ANNEX.
1..
As from November 11, 1918, the following persons are ipso facto reinstated in French
nationality:
(1) Persons who lost French nationality by the application of the Franco-German Treaty
of May 10, 1871, and who have not since that date acquired any nationality other than German;
(2) The legitimate or natural descendants of the persons referred to in the immediately
preceding paragraph, with the exception of those whose ascendants in the paternal line include a German who
migrated into Alsace-Lorraine after July 15, 1870;
(3) All persons born in Alsace-Lorraine of unknown parents, L or whose nationality is
unknown.
2.
Within the period of one year from the coming into force of the present Treaty, persons
included in any of the following categories may claim French nationality:
(1) All persons not restored to French nationality under paragraph 1 above, whose ascendants
include a Frenchman or Frenchwoman who lost French nationality under the conditions referred to in the said
paragraph;
(2) All foreigners, not nationals of a German State, who acquired the status of a citizen
of Alsace-Lorraine before August 3, 1914;
(3) All Germans domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine, if they have been so domiciled since a
date previous to July 15, 1870, or if one of their ascendants was at that date domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine;
(4) All Germans born or domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine who have served in the Allied or
Associated armies during the present war, and their descendants;
(5) All persons born in Alsace-Lorraine before May 10, 1871, of foreign parents, and
the descendants of such persons;
(6) The husband or wife of any person whose French nationality may have been restored
under paragraph 1, or who may have claimed and obtained French nationality in accordance with the
preceding provisions.
The legal representative of a minor may exercise, on behalf of that minor, the right
to claim French nationality; and if that right has not been exercised, the minor may claim French nationality
within the year following his majority.
Except in the cases provided for in No.(6) of the present paragraph, the French authorities
reserve to themselves the right, in individual cases, to reject the claim to French nationality.
3.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2, Germans born or domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine
shall not acquire French nationality by reason of the restoration of Alsace-Lorraine to France, even though
they may have the status of citizens of Alsace-Lorraine.
They may acquire French nationality only by naturalisation, on condition of having been
domiciled in Alsace-Lorraine from a date previous to August 3, 1914, and of submitting proof of unbroken residence
within the restored territory for a period of three years from November 11, 1918.
France will be solely responsible for their diplomatic and consular protection from
the date of their application for French naturalisation.
The French Government shall determine the procedure by which reinstatement in French
nationality as of right shall be effected, and the conditions under which decisions shall be given upon claims
to such nationality and applications for naturalisation, as provided by the present Annex.
SECTION VI.
AUSTRIA.
ARTICLE 80.
Germany acknowledges and will respect strictly the independence of Austria, within the
frontiers which may be fixed in a Treaty between that State and the Principal Allied and Associated Powers;
she agrees that this independence shall be inalienable, except with the consent of the Council of the League
of Nations.
SECTION VII.
CZECH0-SLOVAK STATE.
ARTICLE 81.
Germany, in conformity with the action already taken by the Allied and Associated Powers,
recognises the complete independence of the Czecho-Slovak State which will include the autonomous territory
of the Ruthenians to the south of the Carpathians. Germany hereby recognises the frontiers of this State as
determined by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and the other interested States.
ARTICLE 82.
The old frontier as it existed on August 3, 1914, between Austria-Hungary and the German
Empire will constitute the frontier between Germany and the Czecho-Slovak State.
ARTICLE 83.
Germany renounces in favour of the Czecho-Slovak State all rights and title over the
portion of Silesian territory defined as follows: starting from a point about 2 kilometres south-east of Katscher,
on the boundary between the Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor: the boundary between the two Kreise; then, the
former boundary between Germany and Austria-Hungary up to a point on the Oder immediately to the south of the
Ratibor-Oderberg railway; thence, towards the north-west and up to a point about 2 kilometres to the south-east
of Katscher: a line to be fixed on the spot passing to the west of Kranowitz. A Commission composed of seven
members, five nominated by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, one by Poland and one by the Czecho-Slovak
State, will be appointed fifteen days after the coming into force of the present Treaty to trace on the spot
the frontier line between Poland and the Czecho-Slovak State. The decisions of this Commission will be taken
by a majority and shall be binding on the parties concerned. Germany hereby agrees to renounce in favour of
the Czecho-Slovak State all rights and title over the part of the Kreis of Leobschutz comprised within the
following boundaries in case after the determination of the frontier between Germany and Poland the said part
of that Kreis should become isolated from Germany: from the south-eastern extremity of the salient of the former
Austrian frontier at about 5 kilometres to the west of Leobschutz southwards and up to the point of junction
with the boundary between the Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor: the former frontier between Germany and Austria-Hungary;
then, northwards, the administrative boundary between the Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor up to a point situated
about 2 kilometres to the south-east of Katscher; thence, north-westwards and up to the starting-point of this
definition: a line to be fixed on the spot passing to the east of Katscher,
ARTICLE 84.
German nationals habitually resident in any of the territories recognised as forming
part of the Czecho-Slovak State will obtain Czecho-Slovak nationality ipso facto and lose their German nationality.
ARTICLE 85.
Within a period of two years from the coming into force of the present Treaty, German
nationals over eighteen years of age habitually resident in any of the territories recognized as forming part
of the Czecho-Slovak State will be entitled to opt for German. nationality. Czecho-Slovaks who are German nationals
and are habitually resident in Germany will have a similar right to opt for Czecho-Slovak nationality.
Option by a husband will cover his wife and option by parents will cover their children
under eighteen years of age.
Persons who have exercised the above right to opt must within the succeeding twelve
months transfer their place of residence to the State for which they have opted.
They will be entitled to retain their landed property in the territory of the other
State where they had their place of residence before exercising the right to opt. They may carry with them
their movable property of every description. No export or import duties may be imposed upon them in connection
with the removal of such property.
Within the same period Czecho-Slovaks, who are German nationals and are in a foreign
country will be entitled, in the absence of any provisions to the contrary in the foreign law, and if they
have not acquired the foreign nationality, to obtain Czecho-Slovak nationality and lose their German nationality
by complying with the requirements laid down by the Czecho-Slovak State.
ARTICLE 86.
The Czecho-Slovak State accepts and agrees to embody in a Treaty with the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers such provisions as may be deemed necessary by the said Powers to protect the interests
of inhabitants of that State who differ from the majority of the population in race, language, or religion.
The Czecho-Slovak State further accepts and agrees to embody in a Treaty with the said
Powers such provisions as they may deem necessary to protect freedom of transit and equitable treatment of
the commerce of other nations.
The proportion and nature of the financial obligations of Germany and Prussia which
the Czecho-Slovak State will have to assume on account of the Silesian territory placed under its sovereignty
will be determined in accordance with Article 254 of Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the present Treaty.
Subsequent agreements will decide all questions not decided by the present Treaty
which may arise in consequence of the cession of the said territory.
SECTION VIII.
POLAND.
ARTICLE 87.
Germany, in conformity with the action already taken by the Allied and Associated Powers,
recognises the complete independence of Poland, and renounces in her favour all rights and title over the territory
bounded by the Baltic Sea, the eastern frontier of Germany as laid down in Article 27 of Part II (Boundaries
of Germany) of the present Treaty up to a point situated about 2 kilometres to the east of Lorzendorf, then
a line to the acute angle which the northern boundary of Upper Silesia makes about 3 kilometres north-west
of Simmenau, then the boundary of Upper Silesia to its meeting point with the old frontier between Germany
and Russia, then this frontier to the point where it crosses the course of the Niemen, and then the northern
frontier of East Prussia as laid down in Article 28 of Part II aforesaid.
The provisions of this Article do not, however, apply to the territories of East Prussia
and the Free City of Danzig, as defined in Article 28 of Part II (Boundaries of Germany) and in Article 10o
of Section XI (Danzig) of this Part.
The boundaries of Poland not laid down in the present Treaty will be subsequently determined
by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
A Commission consisting of seven members, five of whom shall be nominated by the Principal
Allied and Associated Powers, one by Germany and one by Poland, shall be constituted fifteen days after the
coming into force of the present Treaty to delimit on the spot the frontier line between Poland and Germany.
The decisions of the Commission will be taken by a majority of votes and shall be binding upon the parties
concerned.
ARTICLE 88.
In the portion of Upper Silesia included within the boundaries described below, the
inhabitants will be called upon to indicate by a vote whether they wish to be attached to Germany or to Poland:
starting from the northern point of the salient of the old province of Austrian Silesia situated about 8 kilometres
east of Neustadt, the former frontier between Germany and Austria to its junction with the boundary between
the Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor; thence in a northerly direction to a point about 2 kilometres south-east
of Katscher: the boundary between the Kreise of Leobschutz and Ratibor; thence in a south-easterly direction
to a point on the course of the Oder immediately south of the Ratibor-Oderberg railway: a line to be fixed
on the ground passing south of Kranowitz; thence the old boundary between Germany and Austria, then the old
boundary between Germany and Russia to its junction with the administrative boundary between Posnania and Upper
Silesia; thence this administrative boundary to its junction with the administrative boundary between Upper
and Middle Silesia, thence westwards to the point where the administrative boundary turns in an acute angle
to the south-east about 3 kilometres north-west of Simmenau: the boundary between Upper and Middle Silesia;
then in a westerly direction to a point to be fixed on the ground about 2 kilometres east of Lorzendorf: a
line to be fixed on the ground passing north of Klein Hennersdorf: thence southwards to the point where the
boundary between Upper and Middle Silesia cuts the Stadtel-Karlsruhe road: a line to be fixed on the ground
passing west of Hennersdorf, Polkowitz, Noldau, Steinersdorf, and Dammer, and east of Strehlitz, Nassadel,
Eckersdorf, Schwirz, and Stadtel; thence the boundary between Upper and Middle Silesia to its junction with
the eastern boundary of the Kreis of Falkenberg; then the eastern boundary of the Kreis of Falkenberg to the
point of the salient which is 3 kilometres east of Puschine; thence to the northern point of the salient of
the old province of Austrian Silesia situated about 8 kilometres east of Neustadt: a line to be fixed on the
ground passing east of Zulz.
The regime under which this plebiscite will be taken and given effect to is laid down
in the Annex hereto.
The Polish and German Governments hereby respectively bind themselves to conduct no
prosecutions on any part of their territory and to take no exceptional proceedings for any political action
performed in Upper Silesia during the period of the regime laid down in the Annex hereto and up to the settlement
of the final status of the country.
Germany hereby renounces in favour of Poland all rights and title over the portion of
Upper Silesia Iying beyond the frontier line fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers as the result
of the plebiscite.
ANNEX.
Within fifteen days from the coming into force of the present Treaty the German troops
and such officials as may be designated by the Commission set up under the provisions of paragraph 2 shall
evacuate the plebiscite area. Up to the moment of the completion of the evacuation they shall refrain from
any form of requisitioning in money or in kind and from all acts likely to prejudice the material interests
of the country.
Within the same period the Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils which have been constituted
in this area shall be dissolved. Members of such Councils who are natives of another region and are exercising
their functions at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty, or who have gone out of office
since March 1, 1919, shall be evacuated.
All military and semi-military unions formed in the said area by inhabitants of the
district shall be immediately disbanded All members of such military organisations who are not domiciled in
the said area shall be required to leave it.
The plebiscite area shall be immediately placed under the authority of an International
Commission of four members to be designated by the following Powers: the United States of America, France,
the British Empire, and Italy. It shall be occupied by troops belonging to the Allied and Associated Powers,
and the German Government undertakes to give facilities for the transference of these troops to Upper Silesia.
3.
The Commission shall enjoy all the powers exercised by the German or the Prussian Government,
except those of legislation or taxation. It shall also be substituted for the Government of the province and
the Regierungsbezirk.
It shall be within the competence of the Commission to interpret the powers hereby conferred
upon it and to determine to what extent it shall exercise them, and to what extent they shall be left in the
hands of the existing authorities.
Changes in the existing laws and the existing taxation shall only be brought into force
with the consent of the Commission.
The Commission will maintain order with the help of the troops which will be at its
disposal, and, to the extent which it may deem necessary, by means of gendarmerie recruited among the inhabitants
of the country.
The Commission shall provide immediately for the replacement of the evacuated German
officials and, if occasion arises, shall itself order the evacuation of such authorities and proceed to the
replacement of such local authorities as may be required.
It shall take all steps which it thinks proper to ensure the freedom, fairness, and
secrecy of the vote. In particular, it shall have the right to order the expulsion of any person who may in
any way have attempted to distort the result of the plebiscite by methods of corruption or intimidation.
The Commission shall have full power to settle all questions arising from the execution
of the present clauses. It shall be assisted by technical advisers chosen by it from among the local population.
The decisions of the Commission shall be taken by a majority vote.
4.
The vote shall take place at such date as may be determined by the Principal Allied
and Associated Powers, but not sooner than six months or later than eighteen months after the establishment
of the Commission in the area.
The right to vote shall be given to all persons without distinction of sex who:
(a) Have completed their twentieth year on the 1st January of the year in which the
plebiscite takes place-
(b) Were born in the plebiscite area or have been domiciled there since a date to be
determined by the Commission, which shall not be subsequent to January 1, 1919, or who have been expelled by
the German authorities and have not retained their domicile there.
Persons convicted of political offences shall be enabled to exercise their right of
voting.
Every person will vote in the commune where he is domiciled or in which he was born,
if he has not retained his domicile in the area.
The result of the vote will be determined by communes according to the majority of votes
in each commune.
5.
On the conclusion of the voting, the number of votes cast in each commune will be communicated
by the Commission to the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, with a full report as to the taking of the
vote and a recommendation as to the line which ought to be adopted as the frontier of Germany in Upper Silesia.
In this recommendation regard will be paid to the wishes of the inhabitants as shown by the vote, and to the
geographical and economic conditions of the locality.
6.
As soon as the frontier has been fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers,
the German authorities will be notified by the International Commission that they are free to take over the
administration of the territory which it is recognised should be German, the said authorities must proceed
to do so within one month of such notification and in the manner prescribed by the Commission.
Within the same period and in the manner prescribed by the commission, the Polish Government
must proceed to take over the administration of the territory which it is recognized should be Polish.
When the administration of the territory has been provided for by the German and Polish
authorities respectively, the powers of the Commission will terminate.
The cost of the army of occupation and expenditure by the Commission, whether in discharge
of its own functions or in the administration of the territory, will be a charge on the area.
ARTICLE 89.
Poland undertakes to accord freedom of transit to persons, goods, vessels, carriages,
wagons, and mails in transit between East Prussia and the rest of Germany over Polish territory, including
territorial waters, and to treat them at least as favourably as the persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons
and mails respectively of Polish or of any other more favoured nationality, origin importation, starting point,
or ownerships as regards facilities, restrictions and all other matters.
Goods in transit shall be exempt from all customs or other similar duties.
Freedom of transit will extend to telegraphic and telephonic services under the conditions
laid down by the conventions referred to in Article 98.
ARTICLE 90.
Poland undertakes to permit for a period of fifteen years the exportation to Germany
of the products of the mines in any part of Upper Silesia transferred to Poland in accordance with the present
Treaty.
Such products shall be free from all export duties or other charges or restrictions
on exportation.
Poland agrees to take such steps as may be necessary to secure that any such products
shall be available for sale to purchasers in Germany on terms as favourable as are applicable to like products
sold under similar conditions to purchasers in Poland or in any other country.
ARTICLE 91.
German nationals habitually resident in territories recognised as forming part of Poland
will acquire Polish nationality ipso facto and will lose their German nationality. German nationals, however,
or their descendants who became resident in these territories after January 1, 1908, will not acquire Polish
nationality without a special authorisation from the Polish State.
Within a period of two years after the coming into force of the present Treaty, German
nationals over 18 years of age habitually resident in any of the territories recognised as forming part of
Poland will be entitled to opt for German nationality.
Poles who are German nationals over 18 years of age and habitually resident in Germany
will have a similar right to opt for Polish nationality.
Option by a husband will cover his wife and option by parents will cover their children
under 18 years of age.
Persons who have exercised the above right to opt may within the succeeding twelve months
transfer their place of residence to the State for which they have opted.
They will be entitled to retain their immovable property in the territory of the other
State where they had their place of residence before exercising the right to opt.
They may carry with them their movable property of every description. No export or import
duties or charges may be imposed upon them in connection with the removal of such property.
Within the same period Poles who are German nationals and are in a foreign country will
be entitled, in the absence of any provisions to the contrary in the foreign law, and if they have not acquired
the foreign nationality, to obtain Polish nationality and to lose their German nationality by complying with
the requirements laid down by the Polish State.
In the portion of Upper Silesia submitted to a plebiscite the provisions of this Article
shall only come into force as from the definitive attribution of the territory.
ARTICLE 92.
The proportion and the nature of the financial liabilities of Germany and Prussia which
are to be borne by Poland will be determined in accordance with Article 254 of Part IX (Financial Clauses)
of the present Treaty.
There shall be excluded from the share of such financial liabilities assumed by Poland
that portion of the debt which, according to the finding of the Reparation Commission referred to in the above-mentioned
Article, arises from measures adopted by the German and Prussian Governments with a view to German colonisation
in Poland.
In fixing under Article 256 of the present Treaty the value of the property and possessions
belonging to the German Empire and to the German States which pass to Poland with the territory transferred
above, the Reparation Commission shall exclude from the valuation buildings, forests, and other State property
which belonged to the former Kingdom of Poland; Poland shall acquire these properties free of all costs and
charges.
In all the German territory transferred in accordance with the present Treaty and recognised
as forming definitively part of Poland, the property, rights, and interests of German nationals shall not be
liquidated under Article 297 by the Polish Government except in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) The proceeds of the liquidation shall be paid direct to the owner;
(2) If on his application the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal provided for by Section VI of
Part X (Economic Clauses) of the present Treaty, or an arbitrator appointed by that Tribunal, is satisfied
that the conditions of the sale or measures taken by the Polish Government outside its general legislation
were unfairly prejudicial to the price obtained, they shall have discretion to award to the owner equitable
compensation to be paid by the Polish Government.
Further agreements will regulate all questions arising out of the cession of the
above territory which are not regulated by the present Treaty.
ARTICLE 93.
Poland accepts and agrees to embody in a Treaty with the Principal Allied and Associated
Powers such provisions as may be deemed necessary by the said Powers to protect the interests of inhabitants
of Poland who differ from the majority of the population in race, language, or religion.
Poland further accepts and agrees to embody in a Treaty with the said Powers such provisions
as they may deem necessary to protect freedom of transit and equitable treatment of the commerce of other nations.
SECTION IX.
EAST PRUSSIA.
ARTICLE 94.
In the area between the southern frontier of East Prussia, as described in Article 28
of Part II (Boundaries of Germany) of the present Treaty, and the line described below, the inhabitants will
be called upon to indicate by a vote the State to which they wish to belong:
The western and northern boundary of Regierungsbezirk Allenstein to its junction with
the boundary between the Kreise of Oletsko and Angerburg; thence, the northern boundary of the Kreis of Oletsko
to its junction with the old frontier of East Prussia.
ARTICLE 95.
The German troops and authorities will be withdrawn from the area defined above within
a period not exceeding fifteen days after the coming into force of the present treaty. Until the evacuation
is completed they will abstain from all requisitions in money or in kind and from all measures injurious to
the economic interests of the country.
On the expiration of the above-mentioned period the said area will be placed under the
authority of an International Commission of five members appointed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
This Commission will have general powers of administration and, in particular, will be charged with the duty
of arranging for the vote and of taking such measures as it may deem necessary to ensure its freedom, fairness,
and secrecy. The Commission will have all necessary authority to decide any questions to which the execution
of these provisions may give rise. The Commission will make such arrangements as may be necessary for assistance
in the exercise of its functions by officials chosen by itself from the local population. Its decisions will
be taken by a majority.
Every person, irrespective of sex, will be entitled to vote who:
(a) Is 20 years of age at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty, and
(b) Was born within the area where the vote will take place or has been habitually resident
there from a date to be fixed by the Commission.
Every person will vote in the commune where he is habitually resident or, if not habitually
resident in the area, in the commune where he was born.
The result of the vote will be determined by communes (Gemeinde) according to the majority
of the votes in each commune.
On the conclusion of the voting the number of votes cast in each commune will be communicated
by the Commission to the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, with a full report as the taking of the vote
and a recommendation as to the line which ought to be adopted as the boundary of East Prussia in this region
. In this recommendation regard will be paid to the wishes of the inhabitants as shown by the vote and to the
geographical and economic conditions of the locality. The Principal Allied and Associated Powers will then
fix the frontier between East Prussia and Poland in this region.
If the line fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers is such as to exclude
from East Prussia any part of the territory defined in Article 94, the renunciation of its rights by Germany
in favour of Poland, as provided in Article 87 above, will extend to the territories so excluded.
As soon as the line has been fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, the
authorities administering East Prussia will be notified by the International Commission that they are free
to take over the administration of the territory to the north of the line so fixed, which they shall proceed
to do within one month of such notification and in the manner prescribed by the Commission. Within the same
period and as prescribed by the Commission, the Polish Government must proceed to take over the administration
of the territory to the south of the line. The administration of the territory by the East Prussian and Polish
authorities respectively has been provided for, the powers of the Commission will terminate.
Expenditure by the Commission, whether in the discharge of its own functions or in
the administration of the territory, will be borne by the local revenues East Prussia will be required to bear
such proportion of any deficit as may be fixed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers.
ARTICLE 96.
In the area comprising the Kreise of Stuhm and Rosenberg and the portion of the Kreis
of Marienburg which is situated east of the Nogat and that of Marienwerder east of the Vistula, the inhabitants
will be called upon to indicate by a vote, to be taken in each commune (Gemeinde), whether they desire the
various communes situated in this territory to belong to Poland or to East Prussia.
ARTICLE 97.
The German troops and authorities will be withdrawn from the area defined in Article
96 within a period not exceeding fifteen days after the coming into force of the present Treaty. Until the
evacuation is completed they will abstain from all requisitions in money or in kind and from all measures injurious
to the economic interests of the country.
On the expiration of the above-mentioned period, the said area will be placed under
the authority of an International Commission of five members appointed by the Principal Allied and Associated
Powers. This Commission, supported if occasion arises by the necessary forces, will have general powers of
administration and in particular will be charged with the duty of arranging for the vote and of taking such
measures as it may deem necessary to ensure its freedom, fairness, and secrecy. The Commission will conform
as far as possible to the provisions of the present Treaty relating to the plebiscite in the Allenstein area;
its decisions will be taken by a majority.
Expenditure by the Commission, whether in the discharge of its own functions or in the
administration of the territory, will be borne by the local revenues.
On the conclusion of the voting the number of votes cast in each commune will be communicated
by the Commission to the Principal Allied and Associated Powers with a full report as to the taking of the
vote and a recommendation as to the line which ought to be adopted as the boundary of East Prussia in this
region. In this recommendation regard will be paid to the wishes of the inhabitants as shown by the vote and
to the geographical and economic conditions of the locality. The Principal Allied and Associated Powers will
then fix the frontier between East Prussia and Poland in this region, leaving in any case to Poland for the
whole of the section bordering on the Vistula full and complete control of the river including the east bank
as far east of the river as may be necessary for its regulation and improvement, Germany agrees that in any
portion of the said territory which remains German, no fortifications shall at any time be erected. The Principal
Allied and Associated Powers will at the same time draw up regulations for assuring to the population of East
Prussia to the fullest extent and under equitable conditions access to the Vistula and the use of it for themselves,
their commerce, and their boats.
The determination of the frontier and the foregoing regulations shall be binding upon
all the parties concerned.
When the administration of the territory has been taken over by the East Prussian and
Polish authorities respectively, the powers of the Commission will terminate.
ARTICLE 98.
Germany and Poland undertake, within one year of the coming into force of this Treaty,
to enter into conventions of which the terms, in case of difference, shall be settled by the Council of the
League of Nations, with the object of securing, on the one hand, to Germany full and adequate railroad, telegraphic
and telephonic facilities for communication between the rest of Germany and East Prussia over the intervening
Polish territory, and on the other hand to Poland full and adequate railroad, telegraphic and telephonic facilities
for communication between Poland and the Free City of Danzig over any German territory that may, on the right
bank of the Vistula, intervene between Poland and the Free City of Danzig.
SECTION X.
MEMEL.
ARTICLE 99.
Germany renounces in favour of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers all rights
and title over the territories included between the Baltic, the north-eastern frontier of East Prussia as defined
in Article 28 of Part II (Boundaries of Germany) of the present Treaty and the former frontier between Germany
and Russia. Germany undertakes to accept the settlement made by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers
in regard to these territories, particularly in so far as concerns the nationality of the inhabitants. |
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