"التحكيم في قضية مراكب الداو الشراعية في مسقط. محكمة التحكيم الدائمة في لاهاي. السماح برفع الأعلام الفرنسية على مراكب الداو الشراعية في مسقط. القضية بالنيابة عن الحكومة البريطانية". [و‎‎٢‎١] (٢٠٨/٥٠)

PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS.
Before passing to the facts and arguments, it
is unfortunately again necessary to dispose of
certain preliminary allegations which, appear to
impugn the good faith of Great Britain.
The " Contre-Memoire " (pp. 3 to 7) deals with
the question of the appearance of the name
His Highness the Sultan as a party to the British
Case, In the British Counter-Case (p. 1) Great
Britain has, in deference to French wishes,
deleted the Sultan's name as a party. But it has
been pointed out in the Counter-Case (p. 1) and in
the correspondence (printed at pp. 39, 40, and 41
of the Counter-Case) that the French objection is
purely technical, and that His Highness has, in
fact, invoked the good offices of Great Britain. The
position assumed by Great Britain, and objected
to by France, is not that of legal guardian of the
Sultan, but of a friendly Power selected and
requested to lay before the Tribunal the Sultan's
experience of the effect on his authority of the
action of France with respect to his subjects.
His Majesty's Government are confident that, on
perusal of these documents, the Tribunal will be
satisfied of the correctness of the attitude assumed
by Great Britain, and that the statement made on
p. 4 of the French " Contre-Memoire " as to the
tardiness of the Sultan's assent is erroneous, and
that his assent was given so far back as 1903.
Whether the Sultan is or is not formally a party
to the arbitration, it is essential for the Tribunal
to determine the extent to which France is
entitled to confer immunity on the Sultan's
subjects from the jurisdiction of their natural
Sovereign within his own territory.
" Oontre-
It is suggested in the French "Contre-Memoire"
Memoire," p. 3. that the British Case is, both in substance and in
form, incompatible with the Declaration of 1862.
It is difficult to see how such a contention can
seriously be advanced. To admit its accuracy
would be to read the Declaration as precluding
Great Britain from ever questioning the propriety
of any act done by France as to Oman. If the
Sultan happens to agree with one of the two
Parties to the Declaration of 1862 that the other
is attacking his independence, is it to be said that
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