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eigners by the law promulgated on the 7th of Sepher 1284, (January 18, 1867) have authorized:

The President of the United States of America George H. Boker, Minister Resident of the United States of America near the Sublime Porte, and

His Imperial Majesty the Sultan His Excellency A. Aarifi Pasha, His Minister of Foreign Affairs, to sign the Protocol which follows:

PROTOCOL.

The law granting foreigners the right of holding real estate does not interfere with the immunities specified by the treaties, and which will continue to protect the person and the movable property of foreigners who may become owners of real estate.

As the exercise of this right of possessing real property may induce foreigners to establish themselves in larger numbers in the Ottoman Empire, the Imperial Government thinks it proper to anticipate and to prevent the difficulties to which the application of this law may give rise in certain localities. Such is the object of the arrangements which follow.

The domicile of any person residing upon the Ottoman soil being inviolable, and as no one can enter it without the consent of the owner, except by virtue of orders emanating from competent authority and with the assistance of the magistrate or functionary invested with the necessary powers, the residence of foreigners is inviolable on the same principle, in conformity with the treaties, and the agents of the public force cannot enter it without the assistance of the Consul or of the delegate of the Consul of the Power on which the Foreigner depends.

By residence we understand the house of inhabitation and its dependencies: that is to say, the out houses, courts, gardens and neighboring enclosures, to the exclusion of all other parts of the property.

In the localities distant by less than nine hours journey from the consular residence, the agents of the public force cannot enter the residence of a foreigner without the assistance of a Consul, as was before said.

On his part the Consul is bound to give his immediate assistance to the local authority, so as not to let six hours elapse between the moment which he may he informed and the moment of his departure, or the departure of his delegate, so that the action of the authorities may never be suspended more than twenty four hours.

In the localities distant by nine hours or more than nine hours of travel from the residence of the Consular agent, the agents of the public force may on the request of the local authority and with the assistance of three members of the Council of the Elders of the Commune, enter into the residence of a foreigner, without being assisted by the Consular Agent, but only in case of urgency, and for the search and the proof of the crime of murder, of attempt at murder; of incendiarism, of armed robbery either with infraction or by night in an inhabited house, of armed rebellion and of the fabrication of counterfeit money, and this entry may be made whether the crime was committed by a foreigner or by an Ottoman subject, and whether it took place in the residence of a foreigner or not in his residence, or in any other place.

These regulations are not applicable but to the parts of the real estate which constitute the residence, as it has been heretofore defined.

Beyond the residence, the action of the police shall be exercised freely and without reserve; but in case a person charged with crime or offence, should be arrested, and the accused shall be à foreigner, the immunities attached to his person shall be observed in respect to him.

The functionary or the officer charged with the accomplishment of a domiciliary visit, in the exceptional circumstances determined before, and the members of the Council of Elders who shall assist him, will be obliged to make out a procès-verbal of the domiciliary visit, and to communicate it immediately to the superior authority under whose jurisdiction they are, and the latter shall transmit it to the nearest Consular agent without delay.

A special regulation will be promulgated by the Sublime Porte, to determine the mode of action of the local police in the several cases provided heretofore. In localities more distant than nine hours' travel from the residence of the Consular agent, in which the law of the judicial organization of the Velayet may be in force, foreigners shall be tried, without the assistance of the Consular delegate by the Council of Elders fulfilling the function of justices of the peace, and by the tribunal of the canton, as well for actions not exceeding one thousand piastres as for offences entailing a fine of five hundred piastres only at the maximum.

Foreigners shall have, in any case, the right of appeal to the tribunal of the

Arrondissement against the judgments issued as above stated, and the appeal shall be followed and judged with the assistance of the Consul, in conformity with the treaties.

The appeal shall always suspend the execution of a sentence.

In all cases the forcible execution of the judgments, issued on the conditions determined heretofore shall not take place without the coöperation of the Consul or of his delegate.

The Imperial Government will enact a law which shall determine the rules of procedure to be observed by the parties, in the application of the preceding regulations.

Foreigners, in whatever locality they may be, may freely submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the Council of Elders or of the tribunal of the canton without the assistance of the Consul in cases which do not exceed the competency of these councils or tribunals, reserving always the right of appeal before the tribunal of the Arrondissement, where the case may be brought and tried with the assistance of the Consul or his delegate.

The consent of a foreigner to be tried as above stated, without the assistance of his Consul, shall always be given in writing and in advance of all procedure.

It is well understood that all these restrictions do not concern cases which have for their object questions of real estate, which shall be tried and determined under the conditions established by the law.

The right of defence and the publicity of the hearings shall be assured in all cases to foreigners who may appear before the Ottoman tribunals, as well as to Ottoman subjects.

The preceding dispositions shall remain in force until the revision of the ancient treaties,- -a revision which the Sublime Porte reserves to itself the right to bring about hereafter by an understanding between it and the friendly Powers.

In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the Protocol and have affixed thereto their seals.

Done at Constantinople the eleventh of August, one thousand eight hundred and seventy four.

[SEAL.] [SEAL.]

[Translation.]

GEO. H. BOKER.
A. AARIFI.

Law Conceding to Foreigners the right of holding Real Estate in the Ottoman

Empire.
Imperial rescript.

Let it be done in conformity with the contents. 7 Sepher, 1284. (Jan. 18, 1867.) With the object of developing the prosperity of the country, to put an end to the difficulties, to the abuses and to the uncertainties which have arisen on the subject of the right of foreigners to hold property in the Ottoman Empire, and to complete, in accordance with a precise regulation, the safeguards which are due to financial interests and to administrative action, the following legislative enactments have been promulgated by the order of His Imperial Majesty the Sultan.

ART. I.

Foreigners are admitted, by the same privilege as Ottoman subjects, and without any other restriction, to enjoy the right of holding Real Estate whether in the city or the country, throughout the Empire, with the exception of the Province of the Hédjaz, by submitting themselves to the laws and the regulations which govern Ottoman subjects, as is hereafter stated.

This arrangement does not concern subjects of Ottoman birth who have changed their nationality, who shall be governed in this matter by a special law.

ART. II.

Foreigners, proprietors of Real Estate in town or in country, are in consequence placed upon terms of equality with Ottoman subjects in all things that concern their landed property.

The legal effect of this equality is

1o To oblige them to conform to all the laws and regulations of the police or of the municipality which govern at present or may govern hereafter the enjoyment, the transmission, the alienation and the hypothecation of landed property.

2o To pay all charges and taxes under whatever form or denomination they may be, that are levied, or may be levied hereafter, upon city or country property.

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3o To render them directly amenable to the Ottoman civil tribunals in all questions relating to landed property, and in all real actions, whether as plaintiffs or as defendants, even when either party is a foreigner. In short, they are in all things to hold Real Estate by the same title, on the same condition and under the same forms as Ottoman owners and without being able to avail themselves of ther personal nationality, except under the reserve of the immunities attached to their persons and their movable goods, according to the treaties.

ART. III.

In case of the bankruptcy of a foreigner possessing real estate, the assignees of the bankrupt may apply to the authorities and to the Ottoman civil tribunals requiring the sale of the real estate possessed by the bankrupt, and which by its nature and according to law is responsible for the debts of the owner.

The same course shall be followed when a foreigner shall have obtained against another foreigner owning real estate a judgment of condemnation before a foreign tribunal.

For the execution of this judgment against the real estate of his debtor, he shall apply to the competent Ottoman authorities, in order to obtain the sale of that real estate which is responsible for the debts of the owner; and this judgment shall be executed by the Ottoman authorities and tribunals only after they have decided that the real estate of which the sale is required really belongs to the category of that property which may be sold for the payment of debt.

ART. IV.

Foreigners have the privilege to dispose, by donation or by testament, of that real estate of which such disposition is permitted by law.

As to that real estate of which they may not have disposed, or of which the law does not permit them to dispose by gift or testament, its succession shall be governed in accordance with Ottoman law.

ART. V.

All foreigners shall enjoy the privileges of the present law, as soon as the Powers on which they depend shall agree to the arrangements proposed by the Sublime Porte for the exercise of the right to hold real estate.

PARAGUAY.

1859.

CLAIMS CONVENTION.

Concluded February 4, 1859; ratification advised by the Senate Febru ary 16, 1860; ratified by the President March 7, 1860; ratifications exchanged March 7, 1860; proclaimed March 12, 1860. (Treaties and Conventions, 1889, p. 828.)

By this convention the claim of the United States and Paraguay Navigation Company against Paraguay was submitted to a commission of two, who met in Washington June 22, 1860, and adjourned August 13, 1860, deciding against the claim.

1859.

TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP, COMMERCE, AND NAVIGATION.

Concluded February 4, 1859; ratification advised by the Senate February 27, 1860; ratified by the President March 7, 1860; ratifications exchanged March 7, 1860; proclaimed March 12, 1860. (Treaties and Conventions, 1889, p. 830.)

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In the name of the most Holy Trinity.

The Governments of the two Republics, the United States of America and of Paraguay in South America being mutually disposed to cherish more intimate relations and intercourse than those which have heretofore subsisted between them, and believing it to be of mutual advantage to adjust the conditions of such relations by signing a "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation,"-for that object have nominated their respective Plenipotentiaries, that is to say:

His Excellency the President of the United States of America has nominated James B. Bowlin a Special Commissioner of the United States of America at Assumption,

And His Excellency the President of the Republic of Paraguay has nominated the Paraguayan citizen Nicolas Vasquez Secretary of State and Minister of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Paraguay.

Who after having communicated competent authorities, have agreed upon, and concluded the following Articles.

ARTICLE I.

There shall be perfect peace and sincere friendship between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Paraguay, and between the citizens of both States and without exception of persons or places. The high contracting parties shall use their best endeavors that this friendship and good understanding may be constantly and perpetually maintained.

ARTICLE II.

The Republic of Paraguay, in the exercise of the sovereign right which pertains to her, concedes to the merchant flag of the citizens of the United States of America the free navigation of the river Paraguay as far as the dominions of the Empire of Brazil, and of the right side of the Paraná throughout all its course belonging to the Republic, subject to police and fiscal regulations of the Supreme Government of the Republic in conformity with its concessions to the commerce of friendly nations. They shall be at liberty, with their ships and cargoes, freely and securely to come to, and to leave all the places and ports which are already mentioned, to remain and reside in any part of the said territories; hire houses and warehouses, and trade in all kinds of produce, manufactures and merchandize of lawful commerce, subject to the usages and established customs of the country. They may discharge the whole or a part, of their cargoes at the ports of Pilar, and where commerce with other nations may be permitted, or proceed with the whole or part, of their cargo to the port of Assumption, according as the Captain, owner or other duly authorized person shall deem expedient

In the same manner shall be treated and considered such Paraguayan citizens as may arrive at the ports of the United States of America with cargoes in Paraguayan vessels or vessels of the United States of America

ARTICLE III

The two high contracting parties hereby agree that any favor, privilege or immunity whatever, in matters of commerce or navigation which either contracting party has actually granted, or may hereafter grant to the citizens or subjects of any other State shall extend in identity of cases and circumstances, to the citizens of the other contracting party gratuitously, if the concession in favor of that other state shall have been gratuitous, or in return for an equivalent compensation, if the concession shall have been conditional:

ARTICLE IV.

No other or higher duties shall be imposed on the importation or exportation of any article of the growth produce or manufacture of the two contracting States, than are or shall be payable on the like article being the growth, produce or manufacture of any other foreign

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