"الملف 35/85 III A 10 مسألة الأعلام الفرنسية" [و‎‎١‎١‎٠] (٦١٠/٢٣٠)

5
Whereas difficulties as to the scope of that Declaration have arisen In
relation to the issue, by the French Republic, to certain subjects of His Highness
the Sultan of Muscat of papers'authorizing them to fly the French flag, and also
as to the nature of the privileges and immunities claimed by subjects of His
Highness who are owners or masters of dhows and in possession of such papers
or are members of the crew of such dhows and their families, especially as to
the manner in which such privileges and immunities affect the jurisdiction of
His Highness the Sultan over his said subjects,
Whereas the two Governments have agreed by the Compromis of October
13, 1904, that these questions shall be determined by reference to arbitration, in
accordance with the provisions of article 1 of the Convention concluded between
the two Powers on the 14th of October 1903,
Whereas in virtue of that Compromis were named as Arbitrators,
by the Government of His Britannic Majesty :
Mr. Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the United States of America,
and
by the Government of the French Republic:
Jonkheer A. F. de Savornin Lohman, Doctor of Law, former Minister of the
Interior in the Netherlands, former Professor at the free University at Amsterdam,
Member of the 2nd Chamber of the States General,
Whereas the two Arbitrators not having agreed within one month from the
date of their appointment in the choice of an Umpire, and that choice having then
been intrusted in virtue of article 1 of the Compromis to the King of Italy, His
Majesty has named Umpire :
Mr. H. Lammasch, Doctor of Law, Professor at the. University at Vienna, .
Member of the Upper House of the Austrian Parliament,
Whereas the Cases, Counter-Cases and Arguments have been duly com
municated to the Tribunal and to the Parties,
Whereas the Tribunal has carefully examined these documents, and the
supplementary observations which were delivered to it by the jtwo Parties ;
AS TO THE FIRST QUESTION :
Wh areas generally speaking it belongs to every Sovereign to decide to
whom he will accord the right to fly his flag and to prescribe the rules governing
such grants, and whereas therefore the granting of the French flag to subjects
of His Highness the Sultan of Muscat in itself constitutes no attack on the
independence of the Sultan,
Whereas nevertheless a Sovereign may be limited by treaties in the exercise
of this right, and whereas the Tribunal is authorized in virtue of article 48 of the
Convention for the pacific settlement of international disputes of July 29, 1899
and of article 5 of the Compromis of October 13, 1904 " to declare ^ its comper
tence in interpreting the compromis as well as the other treaties which may be
invoked in the case, and in applying the principles of international law", and
whereas therefore the question arises, under what conditions Powers which have
acceded to the General Act of the Brussels Conference of July 2, 1890, relative
to the African Slave Trade, especially to article 32 of this Act, are entitled
to authorize native vessels to fly their flags,
Whereas by larticle 32 of this Act the faculty of the Signatory Powers
to grant their flag to native vessels has been limited for the purpose of sup
pressing slave trading and in the general interests of humaHity, irrespective |
of whether the applicant for the flag may belong to a state signatory of this Act I
or not, and whereas at any rate France is in relation to Great Britain bound to |
grant her flag only under the conditions prescribed by this Act,
Whereas in order to attain the above mentioned purpose, the Signatory
Powers of the Brussels Act haye agreed ip its article 33 that the authority