CONVENTION AND STATUTE ON THE REGIME OF NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN.
ALBANIA, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, BULGARIA, CHILE, CHINA, COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, CUBA, DENMARK, THE BRITISH EMPIRE (WITH NEW ZEALAND AND INDIA), SPAIN, ESTHONIA, FINLAND, FRANCE, GREECE, GUATEMALA, HAITI, HONDURAS, ITALY, JAPAN, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, LUXEMBOURG, NORWAY, PANAMA, PARAGUAY, THE NETHERLANDS, PERSIA, POLAND, PORTUGAL, ROUMANIA, THE SERB-CROAT-SLOVENE STATE, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, URUGUAY AND VENEZUELA:
Desirous of carrying further the development as regards the international regime of navigation on internal waterways, which began more than a century ago, and which has been solemnly affirmed in numerous treaties. Considering that General Conventions to which other Powers may accede at a later date constitute the best method of realising the purpose of Article 23 (e) of the Covenant of the League of Nations,
Recognising in particular that a fresh confirmation of the principle of Freedom of Navigation in a Statute elaborated by forty-one States belonging to the different portions of the world constitutes a new and significant stage towards the establishment of co-operation among States without in any way prejudicing their rights of sovereignty or authority,
Having accepted the invitation of the League of Nations to take part in a Conference at Barcelona which met on March 10th, 1921, and having taken note of the Final Act of such Conference,
Ancious to bring into force forthwith the provisions of the Statute relating to the Regime of Navigable Waterways of International Concern which has there been adopted, Wishing to conclude a Convention for this purpose, the HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:
The President of the Supreme Council of Albania:
Monsignor Fan S. NOLI,
Member of Parliament.
The President of the Republic of Austria:
M. Henri REINHARDT,
Ministerial Councillor.
His Majesty the King of the Belgians:
M. Xavier NEUJEAN,
Minister for Railways, Marine, Posts and Telegraphs.
The President of the Republic of Bolivia:
M. Trifon MELEAN,
Bolivian Consul in Spain.
The President of the Republic of Brazil:
His Majesty the King of Bulgaria,
M. Lubin BOCHKOFF,
Civil Engineer, Assistant to the Director-General of Railways and Ports.
The President of the Republic of Chile:
Seňor Manuel RIVAS VICUŇA,
Envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
The President of the Republic of China:
M. Ouang YONG-PAO,
Envoy extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
The President of the Republic of Colombia:
The President of the Republic of Costa Rica:
The President of the Republic of Cuba:
His Majesty the King of Denmark and of Iceland:
M. Peter Andreas HOLCK-COLDING,
Chef de Bureau in the Ministry of Public Works.
His Majesty, the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India:
Sir Hubert LLEWELLYN SMITH, G. C. B.,
Economic Adviser to the Government.
and for the Dominion of New Zealand:
Sir Hubert LLEWELLYN SMITH, G. C. B.
for India:
Sir Louis James KERSHAW, K. C. S. L, C. I. E.,
Secretary in the Revenue and Statistics Department in the India Office.
His Majesty the King of Spain:
Seňor Don Emilio ORTUŇO Y BERTE,
Member of the Chamber of Deputies, formerly Ministry of Public Works.
The President of the Esthonian Republic:
M. Charles Robert PUSTA,
Minister Plenipotentiary.
The President of the Republic of Finland:
M. Rolf THESLEFF,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
The President of the French Republic:
M. Maurice SIBILLE,
Deputy, Member of the Comite consultatif des Chemins de fer francais.
His Majesty the King of the Hellenes:
M. G. CARADJA,
Minister Plenipotentiary.
The President of the Republic of Guatemala:
Dr. Norberto GALVEZ,
Guatemalan Consul-General at Barcelona.
The President of the Republic of Haiti:
The President of the Republic of Honduras:
His Majesty the King of Italy:
M. Paolo BIGNAMI,
Engineer, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, former Under-Secretary of State.
His Majesty the Emperor of Japan:
The President of the Republic of Latvia:
The President of the Lithuanian Republic:
M. V. SIDZIKAUSKAS,
Charge d'Affaires at Berne.
Her Royal Highness the Grand-Duchess of Luxemburg:
M. Antoine LEFORT,
Charge d'Affaires at Berne.
His Majesty the King of Norway:
Dr. Fridtjof NANSEN,
Professor in Christiania University.
The President of the Republic of Panama:
Dr. Evenor HAZERA,
Consul-General for Panama in Spain, former Under-Secretary of State.
The President of the Republic of Paraguay:
Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands:
His Majesty the Shah of Persia:
The President of the Polish Republic:
M. Joseph WIELOVIEYSKI.
The President of the Portuguese Republic:
M. Alfredo FREIRE D'ANDRADE,
formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs.
His Majesty the King of Roumania:
His Majesty the King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes:
His Majesty the King of Sweden:
M. Fredrik V. HANSEN,
Director-General of Hydraulic Power and State Canals.
The Federal Council of the Swiss Confederation:
The President of the Czecho-Slovak Republic:
M. Bohuslav MÜLLER,
Engineer, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Public Works, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.
The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay:
M. Benjamin FERNANDEZ Y MEDINA,
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain.
The President of the United States of Venezuela:
Who, after communicating their full powers found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:
Article 1.
The High Contracting Parties declare that they accept the Statute on the Regime of Navigable Waterways of International Concern annexed hereto, adopted by the Barcelona Conference on April 19th, 1921.
This Statute will be deemed to constitute an integral part of the present Convention, Consequently, they hereby declare that they accept the obligations and undertakings of the said Statute in conformity with the terms and in accordance with the conditions set out therein.
Article 2.
The present Convention does not in any way affect the rights and obligations arising out of the provisions of the Treaty of Peace signed at Versailles on June 28th, 1919, or out of the provisions of the other corresponding Treaties, in so far as they concern the Powers which have signed, or which benefit by, such Treaties.
Article 3.
The present Convention, of which the French and English texts are both authentic, shall bear this days date and shall be open for signature until December 1st. 1921.
Article 4.
The present Convention is subject to ratification. The instruments of ratification shall be transmitted to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who will notify the receipt of them to the other Members of the League and to States admitted to sign the Convention. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited in the archives of the Secretariat.
In order to comply with the provisions of Article 18 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, the Secretary-General will register the present Convention upon the deposit of the first ratification.
Article 5.
Members of the League of Nations which have not signed the present Convention before December 1st, 1921, may accede to it.
The same applies to States not Members of the League to which the Council of the League may decide officially to communicate the present Convention.
Accession will be notified to the Secretary-General of the League, who will inform all Powers concerned of the accession and of the date on which it was notified.
Article 6.
The present Convention will not come into force until it has been ratified by five Powers. The date of its coming into force shall be the ninetieth day after the receipt by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations of the fifth ratification. Thereafter the present Convention will take effect in the case of each Party ninety days after the receipt of its ratification or of the notification of its accession.
Upon the coming into force of the present Convention, the Secretary-General will address a certified copy of it to the Powers not Members of the League which are bound under the Treaties of Peace to accede to it.
Article 7.
A special accord shall be kept by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, showing which of the Parties have signed, ratified, acceded to or denounced the present Convention. This record shall open to the Members of the League, at all times; it shall be published as often as possible in accordance with the directions of the Council.
Article 8.
Subject to the provisions of Article 2 of the present Convention, the latter may be denounced by any Party thereto after the expiration of five years from the date when it came into force in respect of that Party. Denunciation shall be effected by notification in writhing addressed to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations. Copies of such.
notification shall be transmutable forthwith by him to all the other Parties, informing them of the date on which it was received. The denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on which it was notified to the Secretary-General, and shall operate only in respect of the notifying Power. It shall not, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, prejudice engagements entered into before the denunciation relating to a programme of works.
Article 9.
A request for the revision of the present Convention may be made at any time by one third of the High Contracting Parties.
In faith whereof the above-named Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention. Done at Barcelona the twentieth day of April one thousand nine hundred and twenty-one, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the League of Nations. [Here follows the list of States Members of the League of Nations which have signed the Convention or which have the right to adhere to it.]
South Africa:
Albania:
(L. S.) Fan S. Noli.
Argentina:
Australia:
Austria:
(L. S.) Reinhardt.
Belgium:
(L. S.) Xavier Neujean.
Bolivia:
(L. S.) Trifon Melean.
Brazil:
Bulgaria:
(L. S.) L. Bochkoff.
Canada:
Chile:
(L. S.) Manuel Ravas Vicuňa.
China:
(L. S.) Ouang Yong-Pao.
Colombia:
Costa-Rica:
Cuba:
Denmark:
(L. S.) A. Holck-Colding.
British Empire:
(L. S.) Hubert Llewellyn Smith.
Subject to the declaration inserted in the Proces verbal of the meeting of April 19th, 1921, as to the British Dominions which have not been represented at the Barcelona Conference.
New Zealand:
(L. S.) H. Llewellyn Smith:
India:
(L. S.) Kershaw.
Spain:
(L. S.) E. Ortuno.
Esthonia:
(L. S.) C. R. Pusta.
Finland:
(L. S.) Rolf Thesleff.
France:
(L. S.) Maurice Sibille.
Greece:
(L. S.) G. Garadja.
Guatemala:
(L. S.) N. Galvez S.
Haiti:
Honduras:
Italy:
(L. S.) Paolo Bignami.
Japan:
Latvia:
Lithuania:
(L. S.) V. Sidzikaukas.
Luxemburg:
(L. S.) Lefort.
Nicaragua:
Norway:
(L. S.) Fridtjof Hansen.
Panama:
(L. S.) Evenor Hazera.
Paraguay:
Netherlands:
Peru:
Persia:
Poland:
(L. S.) Joseph Wielovieyski.
Portugal:
(L. S.) A. Freire D'Andrade.
Roumania:
Salvador:
Serb-Croat-Slovene State:
Siam:
Sweden:
(L. S.) Frederik Hansen.
Switzerland
Czecho-Slovakia:
(L. S.) Ing. Bohuslav Müller.
Uruguay:
(L. S.) B. Fernandez y Medina.
Venezuela:
Statute on the Regime of Navigable Waterways of international Concern.
Article 1.
In the application of the Statute, the following are declared to be navigable water ways of international concern
1. All parts which are naturally navigable to and from the sea of a waterway which in its course, naturally navigable to and from the sea, separates or traverses different States, and also any part of any other waterway naturally navigable to and from the sea, which connects with the sea a waterway naturally navigable which separates or traverses different States.
It is understood that:
a) Transhipment from one vessel to another is not excluded by the words "navigable to and from the sea";
b) Any natural waterway or part of a natural waterway, is termed "naturally navigable" if now used for ordinary commercial navigation, or capable by reason of its natural conditions of being so used; by "ordinary commercial navigation" is to be understood navigation which, in view of the economic condition of the riparian countries, is commercial and normally practicable;
c) Tributaries are to be considered as separate waterways;
d) Lateral canals constructed in order to remedy the defects of a waterway included in the above definition are assimilated thereto;
e) The different States separated or traversed by a navigable waterway of international concern, including its tributaries of international concern, are deemed to be "riparian States".
2. waterways, or parts of waterways, whether natural or artificial, expressly declared to be placed under the regime of the General Convention regarding navigable waterways of international concern either in unilateral Acts of the States under whose sovereignty or authority these waterways or parts of waterways are situated, or in agreements made with the consent, in particular, of such States.
Article 2.
For the purpose of Articles 5, 10, 12 and 14 of this Statute, the following shall form a special category of navigable waterways of international concern
a) Navigable waterways for which there are international Commissions upon which non-riparian States are represented
b) Navigable waterways which may hereafter be placed in this category, either in pursuance of unilateral Acts of the States under whose sovereignty or authority they are situated, or in pursuance of agreements made with the consent, in particular, of such States.
Article 3.
Subject to the provisions contained in Articles 5 and 17, each of the Contracting States shall accord free exercise of navigation to the vessels flying the flag of any one of the other Contracting States on those parts of navigable waterways specified above which may be situated under its sovereignty or authority.
Article 4.
In the exercise of navigation referred to above, the nationals; property and flags of all Contracting States shall be treated in all respects on a footing of perfect equality. No distinction shall be made between the nationals, the property and the flags of the different riparian States, including the riparian State exercising sovereignty or authority over the portion of the navigable waterway in question: similarly, no distinction shall be made between the nationals, the property and the flags of riparian and non-riparian States. It is understood, in consequence, that no exclusive right of navigation shall be accorded on such navigable waterways to companies or to private persons.
To distinction shall be made in the said exercise, by reason of the point of departure or of destination, or of the direction of the traffic.
Article 5.
As an exception to the two preceding Articles, and in the absence of any Convention or obligation to the contrary:
1. A riparian State has the right of reserving for its own flag the transport of passengers and goods loaded at one port situated under its sovereignty or authority and unloaded at another port also situated under its sovereignty or authority. A State which does not reserve the above-mentioned transport to its own flag may, nevertheless, refuse the benefit of equality of treatment with regard to such tr ansport to a co-riparian which does reserve it.
On the navigable waterways referred to in Article 2, the Act of Navigation shall onl allow to riparian States the right of reserving the local transport of passengers or of goods which are of national origin or are nationalised. In every case, however, in which greater freedom of navigation may have been already established, in a previous Act of Navigation, this freedom shall not be reduced.
2. When a natural system of navigable waterways of international concern which does not include waterways of the kind referred to in Article 2 separates or traverses two States only, the latter have the right to reserve to their flags by mutual agreement the transport of passengers and goods loaded at one port of this system and unloaded at another port t the same system, unless this transport takes place between two ports which are not situated under the sovereignty or authority of the same State in the course of a voyage, effected without transhipment on the territory of either of the said States, involving;- a sea-passage or passage over a navigable waterway of international concern which does not belong to the said system.
Article 6.
Each of the Contracting States maintains its existing right, on the navigable waterways or parts of navigable waterways referred to in Article 1 and situated under its sovereignty or authority, to enact the stipulations and to take the measures necessary for policing the territory and for applying the laws and regulations relating to customs, public health, precautions against the diseases of animals and plants, emigration or immigration, and to the import or export of prohibited goods, it being understood that such stipulations and measures must be reasonable, must be applied on a footing of absolute equality between the nationals, property and flags of any one of the Contracting States, including the State which is their author, and must not without good reason impede the freedom of navigation.
Article 7.
No dues of any kind may he levied anywhere on the course or at the mouth of a navigable waterway of international concern, other than dues in the nature of payment for services rendered and intended solely to cover in an equitable manner the expenses of maintaining and improving the navigability of the waterway and its approaches, or to met expenditure incurred in the interest of navigation. These dues shall be fixed in accordance with such expenses, and the tariff of dues shall be posted in the ports. These dues shall be levied in such a manner as to render unnecessary a detailed examination of the cargo, except in cases of suspected fraud or infringement of regulations, and so as to facilitate international traffic as much as possible, both as regards their rates and the method of their application.
Article 8.
The transit of vessels and of passengers and goods on navigable waterways of international concern shall, so far as customs formalities are concerned, be governed by the conditions laid down in the Statute of Barcelona on Freedom of Transit. Whenever transit taken place without transhipment the following additional provisions shall be applicable:
a) When both banks of a waterway of international concern are within one and the same State, the customs formalities imposed on goods in transit after they have been declared and subjected to a summary inspection shall be limited to placing them under coal or padlock or in custody of customs officers.
b) When a navigable waterway of international concern forms the frontier between two States, vessels, passengers and goods in transit shall while "en route" be exempt from any customs formality, except in cases in which there are valid reasons of a practical character for carrying out customs formalities at a place on the part of the river which forms the frontier, and this can be done without interfering with navigation facilities.
The transit of vessels and passengers, as well as the transit of goods without transhipment, on navigable waterways of international concern, must not give rise to the levying of any duties whatsoever, whether prohibited by the Statute of Barcelona on Freedom of Transit or authorised by Article 3 of that Statute. It is nevertheless understood that vessels in transit may be made responsible for the board and lodging of any customs officers who are strictly required for supervision.
Article 9
Subject to the provisions of Articles 5 and I7, the nationals, property and flags of all the Contracting States shall, in all ports situated on a navigable waterway of international concern, enjoy, in all that concerns the use of the port, including port dues and charges, a treatment equal to that accorded to the nationals, property and flag of the riparian State under whose sovereignty or authority the port is situated. It is understood that he property to which the present paragraph relates is property originating in, coming from or destined for, one or other of the Contracting States.
The equipment of ports situated on a navigable waterway of international concern, and the facilities afforded in these ports to navigation, must not be withheld from public use to an extent beyond w hat is reasonable and fully compatible with the free exercise of navigation.
In the application of customs or other analogous duties, local octoroon or consumption duties, or incidental charges, levied on the occasion of the importation or exportation of goods through the aforesaid ports, no difference shall be made by reason of the flag of the vessel on which the transport has been or is to be accomplished, whether this flag be the national flag or that of any of the Contracting States.
The State under whose sovereignty or authority a port is situated may withdraw the benefits of the preceding paragraph from any vessel if it is proved that the owner of the vessel discriminates systematically against the nationals of that State, including companies controlled by such nationals.
In the absence of special circumstances justifying an exception on the ground of economic necessities, the customs duties must not be higher than those levied on the other customs frontiers of the State interested, on goods o the same kind, source and destination. All facilities accorded by the Contracting States to the importation or exportation of goods by other land or water routes, or in oilier ports, shall be equally accorded to importation or exportation under the same conditions over the navigable waterway and through the ports referred to above.
Article 10.
1. Each riparian State is bound, on the one hand, to refrain from all measures likely to prejudice the navigability of the waterway, or to reduce the facilities for navigation, and, on the other hand, to take as rapidly as possible all necessary steps for removing any obstacles, and dangers which may occur to navigation.
2. If such navigation necessitates regular upkeep of the waterway, each of the riparian States is bound as towards the others to take such steps and to execute such works on its territory as are necessary for the purpose as quickly as possible, taking account at all times of the conditions of navigation, as well as of the economic state of the regions served by al navigable waterway.
In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, any riparian State will have the right, on valid reason being shown, to demand from the other riparian a reasonable contribution towards the cost of upkeep.
3. In the absence of legitimate grounds far opposition by one of riparian States, including the State territorially interested, based either on the actual conditions of navigability in its territory, or on other interests such as, inter ail, the maintenance of the normal water-conditions, requirements for irrigation, the use of water-power, or the necessity for constructing other and more advantageous ways of communication, a riparian State may not refuse to carry out works necessary for the improvement of the navigability which are asked for by another riparian State, if the latter State offers to pay the cost of the works and a fair share of the additional cost of upkeep. It is understood, however, that such works cannot be undertaken so long as the State of the territory on which they are to be carried out objects on the ground of vital interests.
4. In the absence of any agreement to the contrary, a State which is obliged to carry out works of upkeep is entitled to free itself from the obligation, if, with the consent of all the co-riparian States, one or more of them agree to carry out the works instead of it; as regards works for improvement, a State, which is obliged to carry them out shall be freed from the obligation, if it authorises the State which made the request to carry them out instead of it. The carrying out of works by States than the State territorially interested, or the sharing by such States in the cost of works, shall be so arranged as not to prejudice the rights of the State territorially interested as regards the supervision and administrative control oven the works or its sovereignty and authority over the navigable waterway.
5. On the waterways referred to in Article 2, the provisions of the present Article are to be applied subject to the terms of the Treaties, Conventions or Navigation Acts which determine the powers and responsibilities of the International Commission in respect of works.
Subject to any special provisions in the said Treaties, Conventions, or Navigation Acts, which exist or may be concluded:
a) Decisions in regard to works will be made by the Commission.
b) The settlement, under the conditions laid down in Article 22 below, of any dispute which may arise as a result of these decisions, may always be demanded on the grounds that these decisions are ultra vireos, or that they infringe international conventions governing; navigable waterways. A request for a settlement under the aforesaid conditions based on any other grounds can only be put forward by fhe State which is territorially interested.
The decisions of this Commission shall b^ in conformity with the provisions of the present Article.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, a riparian State may, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, close a waterway wholly or in part to navigation, with the consent of all the riparian States or of all the States represented on the International Commission in the case of magical waterways referred to in Article 2. As an exceptional case one of the riparian State of a navigable waterway of international concern not referred to in Article 2 may claw the waterway to navigation, if the navigation on it is of very small importance, and if the State in question can justify its action on the ground f an economic interest clearly sweater than that of navigation. In this case the closing to navigation may only tale place after a years notice and subject to an appeal on the pant of any other riparian State under the conditions laid down in Article 22. If necessary, the judgement shall prescribe the conditions under which the closing to navigation may be carried into effect.
7. Should access to the sea be afforded by a navigable waterway of international interest through several branches, all of which are situated in the territory of one and the same State, the provisions of paragraph 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall apply only to the principal branches deemed necessary for providing free access to the sea.
Article 11.
If on a waterway of international concern ore far more of the riparian States are not parties to this Statute, the financial obligations undertaken by each of the Contracting States in pursuance of Article 10 shall not exceed those to which they would have been subject if all the riparian States had been Parties.