6. Withdrawal of any H.C.P. or termination of the present Convention shall not release any H.C.P. from the obligations resulting under Art. III. from any acquisition made during the currency hercof. 7. During the currency of this Convention, full force and effect shall be given to the "Arbitration Treaty, including vital interests and national honour"; but termination of the present Convention shall not entail or imply termination of the said Treaty of Arbitration. In faith of which the Plenipotentiaries, etc. 6. CLAUSE AS TO NOTIFICATION OF AREA OF HOSTILITIES On the outbreak of war the belligerents shall fix the limits of the area and distance from the seat of war within which they will exercise their right of search. This area shall be known as the "area of hostilities." Its limits shall be notified to neutral Powers, and be forthwith binding on them. Outside this area or beyond this distance, production to the belligerent commander of the ship's papers, with a certificate delivered by the public authorities at the neutral port or ports of lading declaring that the destination of the ship is not a belligerent port, and that there are neither unconditional contraband nor belligerent troops on board, shall be an absolute bar to further stoppage.1 1 See pp. 71-72. See also Draft Clauses on Neutrality and Contraband, pp. 160 et seq. and 168. The area may be modified or extended by either belligerent, and on notice being given to neutral Powers, it shall be forthwith binding upon them.2 2 The worst that could happen is that a belligerent should claim the present right of visit and search without restriction of area or distance. See observations Lord Lansdowne addressed to the Russian Government in 1904 (see p. 72) and Prince Bülow to the British Government in 1900 (see p. 71), showing how disturbing to ocean-borne trade is the present absence of any system of notification. 8. CLAUSES FOR REFERENCE, AS TO EFFECT OF "MOST-FAVOURED= NATION" CLAUSE, TO THE HAGUE COURT1 Whereas any varying interpretation of the most-favoured nation clause must give rise to instability in the trade relations of co-contracting countries, It is agreed that 1. Any State holding itself to be aggrieved by any such interpretation is entitled to cite the co-contracting party before The Hague Court. 2. The signatories hereby accept without reservation the jurisdiction of the said Hague Court in all such matters.1 1 See p. 137 et seq. |