1920 "Franco-British Convention on Certain Points Connected with the Mandates for Syria and the Lebanon, Palestine and Mesopotamia"

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122 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

FRANCO-BRITISH CONVENTION ON CERTAIN POINTS CONNECTED WITH THE

MANDATES FOR STRIA AND THE LEBANON, PALESTINE AND MESOPOTAMIA *

Signed at Paris, December 28, 1920

The British and French Governments, respectively represented by the

undersigned Plenipotentiaries, wishing to settle completely the problems

raised by the attribution to Great Britain of the mandates for Palestine and

Mesopotamia and by the attribution to France of the mandate over Syria

and the Lebanon, all three conferred by the Supreme Council at San Remo,

have agreed on the following provisions: —

article 1

The boundaries between the territories under the French mandate of Syria

and the Lebanon on the one hand and the British mandates of Mesopotamia

and Palestine on the other are determined as follows: —

On the east, the Tigris from Jeziret-ibn-Omar to the boundaries of the

former vilayets of Diarbeki/r and Mosul.

On the south-east and south, the aforesaid boundary of the former vilayets

southwards as far as Roumelan Koeui; thence a line leaving in the territory

under the French mandate the entire basin of the western Kabur and passing

in a straight line towards the Euphrates, which it crosses at Abu Kemal,

thence a straight line to Imtar to the south of Jebul Druse, then a line to the

south of Nasib on the Hedjaz Railway, then a line to Semakh on the Lake of

Tiberias, traced to the south of the railway, which descends towards the lake

and parallel to the railway. Deraa and its environs will remain in the terri-

tory under the French mandate; the frontier will in principle leave the

valley of the Yarmuk in the territory under the French mandate, but will be

drawn as close as possible to the railway in such a manner as to allow the con-

struction in the valley of the Yarmuk of a railway entirely situated in the

territory under the British mandate. At Semakh the frontier will be fixed in

such a manner as to allow each of the two High Contracting Parties to con-

struct and establish a harbour and railway station giving free access to the

Lake of Tiberias.

On the west, the frontier will pass from Semakh across the Lake of Tiberias

to the mouth of the Wadi Massadyie. It will then follow the course of this

river upstream, and then the Wadi Jeraba to its source. From that point it

will reach the track from El Kuneitra to Banias at the point marked Skek,

thence it will follow the said track, which will remain in the territory under

the French mandate as far as Banias. Thence the frontier will be drawn west-

wards as far as Metullah, which will remain in Palestinian territory. This

portion of the frontier will be traced in detail in such a manner as to ensure

for the territory under the French mandate easy communication entirely

1 British Parliamentary Command Papers, Misc. No. 4 (1921).

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 123

within such territory with the regions of Tyre and Sidon, as well as continuity

of road communication to the west and to the east of Banias.

From Metullah the frontier will reach the watershed of the valley of the

Jordan and the basin of the Litani. Thence it will follow this watershed

southwards. Thereafter it will follow in principle the watershed between the

Wadis Farah-Houroun and Kerkera, which will remain in the territory under

the British mandate, and the Wadis El Doubleh, El Aioun and Es Zerka,

which will remain in the territory under the French mandate. The frontier

will reach the Mediterranean Sea at the port of Ras-el-Nakura, which will

remain in the territory under the French mandate.

ABTICLE 2

A commission shall be established within three months from the signature

of the present convention to trace on the spot the boundary line laid down in

article 1 between the French and British mandatory territories. This com-

mission shall be composed of four members. Two of these members shall be

nominated by the British and French Governments respectively, the two

others shall be nominated, with the consent of the mandatory Power, by the

local Governments concerned in the French and British mandatory terri-

tories respectively.

In case any dispute should arise in connection with the work of the com-

mission, the question shall be referred to the Council of the League of Nations

whose decision shall be final.

The final reports by the commission shall give the definite description of

the boundary as it has been actually demarcated on the ground; the necessary

maps shall be annexed thereto and signed by the commission. The reports,

with their annexes, shall be made in triplicate; one copy shall be deposited in

the archives of the League of Nations, one copy shall be kept by the manda-

tory, and one by the other Government concerned.

article 3

The British and French Governments shall come to an agreement regard-

ing the nomination of a commission, whose duty it will be to make a prelimi-

nary examination of any plan of irrigation formed by the Government of the

French mandatory territory, the execution of which would be of a nature to

diminish in any considerable degree the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates

at the point where they enter the area of the British mandate in Mesopotamia.

article 4

In virtue of the geographic and strategic position of the island of Cyprus,

off the Gulf of Alexandretta, the British Government agrees not to open any

negotiations for the cession or alienation of the said island of Cyprus without

the previous consent of the French Government.

124 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OP INTERNATIONAL LAW

ARTICLE 5

1. The French Government agrees to facilitate by a liberal arrangement

the joint use of the section of the existing railway between the Lake of Tibe-

rias and Nasib. This arrangement shall be concluded between the railway

administrations of the areas under the French and British mandates respec-

tively as soon as possible after the coming into force of the mandates for

Palestine and Syria. In particular the agreement shall allow the administra-

tion in the British zone to run their own trains with their own traction and

train crews over the above section of the railway in both directions for all

purposes other than the local traffic of the territory under the French man-

date. The agreement shall determine at the same time the financial, ad-

ministrative and technical conditions governing the running of the British

trains. In the event of the two administrations being unable to reach an

agreement within three months from the coming into force of the two above-

mentioned mandates, an arbitrator shall be appointed by the Council of the

League of Nations to settle the points as to which a difference of opinion

exists and immediate effect shall be given as far as possible to those parts of

the agreement on which an understanding has already been reached.

The said agreement shall be concluded for an indefinite period and shall be

subject to periodical revision as need arises.

2. The British Government may carry a pipe line along the existing railway

track and shall have in perpetuity and at any moment the right to transport

troops by the railway.

3. The French Government consents to the nomination of a special com-

mission, which, after having examined the ground, may readjust the above-

mentioned frontier line in the valley of the Yarmuk as far as Nasib in such a

manner as to render possible the construction of the British railway and pipe

line connecting Palestine with the Hedjaz Railway and the valley of the

Euphrates, and running entirely within the limits of the areas under the

British mandate. It is agreed, however, that the existing railway in the Yar-

muk valley is to remain entirely in the territory under the French mandate.

The right provided by the present paragraph for the benefit of the British

Government must be utilised within a maximum period of ten years.

The above-mentioned commission shall be composed of a representative of

the French Government and a representative of the British Government, to

whom may be added representatives of the local Governments and experts as

technical advisers to the extent considered necessary by the British and

French Governments.

4. In the event of the track of the British railway being compelled for

technical reasons to enter in certain places the territory under French man-

date, the French Government will recognise the full and complete extra-

territoriality of the sections thus lying in the territory under the French man-

date, and will give the British Government or its technical agents full and

easy access for all railway purposes.

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 125

5. In the event of the British Government making use of the right

mentioned in paragraph 3 to construct a railway in the valley of the Yarmuk,

the obligations assumed by the French Government in accordance with

paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present article will determine three months after

the completion of the construction of the said railway.

6. The French Government agrees to arrange that the rights provided for

above for the benefit of the British Government shall be recognised by the

local Governments in the territory under the French mandate.

article 6

It is expressly stipulated that the facilities accorded to the British Govern-

ment by the preceding articles imply the maintenance for the benefit of

France of the provisions of the Franco-British Agreement of San Remo re-

garding oil.

ARTICLE 7

The French and British Governments will put no obstacle in their respec-

tive mandatory areas in the way of the recruitment of railway staff for any

section of the Hedjaz Railway.

Every facility will be given for the passage of employees of the Hedjaz

Railway over the British and French mandatory areas in order that the work-

ing of the said railway may be in no way prejudiced.

The French and British Governments agree, where necessary, and in

eventual agreement with the local Governments, to conclude an arrangement

whereby the stores and railway material passing from one mandatory area to

another and intended for the use of the Hedjaz Railway will not for this rea-

son be submitted to any additional customs dues and will be exempted so far

as possible from customs formalities.

ARTICLE 8

Experts nominated respectively by the Administrations of Syria and

Palestine shall examine in common within six months after the signature of

the present convention the employment, for the purposes of irrigation and

the production of hydro-electric power, of the waters of the Upper Jordan

and the Yarmuk and of their tributaries, after satisfaction of the needs of the

territories under the French mandate.

In connection with this examination the French Government will give its

representatives the most liberal instructions for the employment of the sur-

plus of these waters for the benefit of Palestine.

In the event of no agreement being reached as a result of this examination,

these questions shall be referred to the French and British Governments for

decision.

To the extent to which the contemplated works are to benefit Palestine, the

Administration of Palestine shall defray the expenses of the construction of

126 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

all canals, weirs, dams, tunnels, pipe lines and reservoirs or other works of a

similar nature, or measures taken with the object of reafforestation and the

management of forests.

article 9

Subject to the provisions of Articles 15 and 16 of the mandate for Palestine,

of Articles 8 and 10 of the mandate for Mesopotamia, and of Article 8 of the

mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, and subject also to the general right of

control in relation to education and public instruction, of the local Adminis-

trations concerned, the British and French Governments agree to allow the

schools which French and British nationals possess and direct at the present

moment in their respective mandatory areas to continue their work freely;

the teaching of French and English will be freely permitted in these

schools.

The present article does not in any way imply the right of nationals of

either of the two parties to open new schools in the mandatory area of the

other.

The present convention has been drawn up in English and French, each of

the two texts having equal force.

Done at Paris, the 23rd December, 1920, in a double copy, one of which

will remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French

Republic, and the other in those of the Government of His Britannic

Majesty.

Hardinge of Penshtjrst.

G. Leygtjes.

TREATY BETWEEN THE ALLIED POWERS AND GREECE RELATIVE TO THRACE 1

Signed at Sevres, August 10, 1920

The British Empire, France, Italy and Japan, the Principal Allied and

Associated Powers, of the one part, and Greece, of the other part, being agreed

to recognize the sovereignty of Greece over the territories in Thrace over

which Bulgaria, by Article 48 of the Treaty of Peace signed at Neuilly-sur-

Seine on November 27, 1919, renounced all rights and title in favour of the

Principal Allied and Associated Powers, and being desirous of ensuring the

economic outlets of Bulgaria to the Mge&n Sea, for this purpose the High

Contracting Parties have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:

His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India:

The Right Honourable Edward George Villiers, Earl of Derby, K.G., P.O.,

K.C.V.O., C.B., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of His

Britannic Majesty at Paris;

1 British Treaty Series, 1921, No. 13.