ARTICLE 2 Russian subjects, as formerly, shall enjoy the right at all times to import and export, without payment of import and export dues, every kind of product of the soil and industry of Russia, Mongolia and China, and other countries, and to trade freely in it without payment of any duties, taxes, or other dues. The enactments of this (2nd) article shall not extend to combined Russo-Chinese undertakings, or to Russian subjects falsely declaring themselves to be owners of wares not their property. ARTICLE 3 Russian credit institutions shall have the right to open branches in Mongolia, and to transact all kinds of financial and other business, whether with individuals, institutions, or companies. ARTICLE 4 Russian subjects may conclude purchases and sales in cash or by an exchange of wares (barter), and they may conclude agreements on credit. Neither "khoshuns" nor the Mongolian Treasury shall be held responsible for the debts of private individuals. ARTICLE 5 The Mongolian authorities shall not preclude Mongolians or Chinese from completing any kind of commercial agreement with Russian subjects, from entering into their personal service, or into commercial and industrial undertakings formed by them. No rights of monopoly as regards commerce or industry shall be granted to any official or private companies, institutions, or individuals in Mongolia. It is, of course, understood that companies and individuals who have already received such monopolies from the Mongolian Government previous to the conclusion of this agreement shall retain their rights and privileges until the expiry of the period fixed. ARTICLE 6 Russian subjects shall be everywhere granted the right, whether in towns or "khoshuns," to hold allotments on lease, or to acquire them as their own property for the purpose of organizing commercial indus trial establishments, and also for the purpose of constructing houses, shops, and stores. In addition, Russian subjects shall have the right to lease vacant lands for cultivation. It is, of course, understood that these allotments shall be obtained and leased for the above-specified purposes, and not for speculative aims. These allotments shall be assigned by agreement with the Mongolian Government in accordance with existing laws of Mongolia, everywhere excepting in sacred places and pasture lands. ARTICLE 7 Russian subjects shall be empowered to enter into agreements with the Mongolian Government respecting the working of minerals and timber, fisheries, etc. ARTICLE 8 The Russian Government shall have the right, in agreement with the Government of Mongolia, to appoint consuls in those parts of Mongolia it shall deem necessary. Similarly, the Mongolian Government shall be empowered to have government agents at those frontier parts of the empire where, by mutual agreement, it shall be found necessary. ARTICLE 9 At points where there are Russian consulates, as also in other localities of importance for Russian trade, there shall be allotted, by mutual agreement between Russian consuls and the Mongolian Government, special "factories" for various branches of industry and the residence. of Russian subjects. These "factories" shall be under the exclusive control of the above-mentioned consuls, or of the heads of Russian commercial companies if there be no Russian consul. ARTICLE 10 Russian subjects, in agreement with the Mongolian Government, shall retain the right to institute, at their own costs, a postal service for the dispatch of letters and the transit of wares between various localities in Mongolia and also between specified localities and points on the Russian frontier. In the event of the construction of "stages" and other necessary buildings, the regulations set forth in Article 6 of this protocol must be duly observed. ARTICLE 11 Russian consuls in Mongolia, in case of need, shall avail themselves of Mongolian Government postal establishments and messengers for the dispatch of official correspondence, and for other official requirements, provided that the gratuitous requisition for this purpose shall not exceed one hundred horses and thirty camels per month. On every occasion, a courier's passport must be obtained from the Government of Mongolia. When travelling, Russian consuls, and Russian officials in general, shall avail themselves of the same establishments upon payment. The right to avail themselves of Mongolian Government "stages" shall be extended to private individuals, who are Russian subjects, upon payment for the use of such "stages" of amounts which shall be determined in agreement with the Mongolian Government. ARTICLE 12 Russian subjects shall be granted the right to sail their own merchantvessels on, and to trade with the inhabitants along the banks of, those rivers and their tributaries which, running first through Mongolia, subsequently enter Russian territory. The Russian Government shall afford the Government of Mongolia assistance in the improvement of navigation on these rivers, the establishment of the necessary beacons, etc. The Mongolian Government authorities shall assign on these rivers places for the berthing of vessels, for the construction of wharves and warehouses, for the preparation of fuel, etc., being guided on these occasions by the enactments of Article 6 of the present protocol. ARTICLE 13 Russian subjects shall have the right to avail themselves of all land and water routes for the carriage of wares and the droving of cattle, and, upon agreement with the Mongolian authorities, they may construct, at their own cost, bridges, ferries, etc., with the right to exact a special due from persons crossing over. ARTICLE 14 Travelling cattle, the property of Russian subjects, may stop for the purpose of resting and feeding. In the event of prolonged halts being necessary, the local authorities shall assign proper pasturage areas along travelling cattle routes, and at cattle markets. Fees shall be exacted for the use of these pasturing areas for periods exceeding three months. ARTICLE 15 The established usage of the Russian frontier population harvesting (hay), as also hunting and fishing, across the Mongolian border shall remain in force in the future without any alteration. ARTICLE 16 Agreements between Russian subjects and institutions on the one side and Mongolians and Chinese on the other may be concluded verbally or in writing, and the contracting parties may present the agreement concluded to the local government authorities for certification. Should the latter see any objection to certifying the contract, they must immediately notify the fact to a Russian consul, and the misunderstanding which has arisen shall be settled in agreement with him. It is hereby laid down that contracts respecting real estate must be in written form, and presented for certification and confirmation to the proper Mongolian Government authorities and a Russian consul. Documents bestowing rights to exploit natural resources require the confirmation of the Government of Mongolia. In the event of disputes arising over agreements concluded verbally or in writing, the parties may settle the matter amicably with the assistance of arbitrators selected by each party. Should no settlement be reached by this method, the matter shall be decided by a mixed legal commission. There shall be both permanent and temporary mixed legal commissions. Permanent commissions shall be instituted at the places of residence of Russian consuls, and shall consist of the consul, or his representative, and a delegate of the Mongolian authorities of corresponding rank. Temporary commissions shall be instituted at places other than those already specified, as cases arise, and shall consist of representatives of a Russian consul and the prince of that "khoshun" to which the defendant belongs or in which he resides. Mixed commissions shall be empowered to call in as experts persons with a knowledge of the case from among Russian subjects, Mongolians, and Chinese. The decisions of mixed legal commissions shall be put into execution without delay, in the case of Russian subjects through a Russian consul, and in the case of Mongolians and Chinese through the prince of the "khoshun" to which the defendant belongs or in which he is resident. ARTICLE 17 The present protocol shall come into force from the date of its signature. In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries, finding, upon comparison of the two parallel texts of the present protocol - Russian and Mongol — drawn up in duplicate, that the texts correspond, have signed each of them, affixed their seals, and exchanged texts. Executed at Urga, the 21st October, 1912 (o. s.), and by the Mongolian calendar, on the twenty-fourth day of the last autumn moon, in the second year of the administration of the "Unanimously Proclaimed." [In the original follow the signature of M. Korostovets, Minister Plenipotentiary; and in the Mongol language the signatures of the President of the Mongolian Council of Ministers, and the plenipotentiaries, the Ministers of the Interior, Foreign Affairs, War, Finance, and of Justice.] DECLARATION BY NORWAY, DENMARK AND SWEDEN RELATIVE TO THE 1 ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM RULES OF NEUTRALITY December 21, 1912 The Governments of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, with a view to establishing uniform rules of neutrality in accord with the conventional stipulations signed at The Hague, having entered into negotiations which have resulted in an agreement upon all matters of principle, as is proved by the accompanying texts of the rules severally adopted by the three respective governments. And fully appreciating how important it is that the agreement which so fortunately exists shall continue to remain in force, Have agreed that no one of the three governments shall make changes in the rules approved by it without having previously notified the two others in ample time to admit of an exchange of views upon the matter. 1 Translated from Archives Diplomatiques, January-March, 1913, pp. 125–128. |