ECONOMIC AVIATION CONVENTION RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF AERIAL NAVIGATION Rumania In a communication dated January 7, 1931, the Secretary General of the International Commission for Air Navigation informed the Secretary of State that the protocol of June 15, 1929, relative to amendments to the air navigation convention of October 13, 1919, was ratified by Rumania on December 18, 1930.1 COPYRIGHT INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE PROTECTION OF LITERARY AND ARTISTIC WORKS On January 13, 1931, the House of Representatives passed a bill entitled "An Act to amend and consolidate the Acts respecting copyright and to permit the United States to enter the Convention of Berne for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works" (H. R. 12549, 71st Cong., 2d sess.) The bill was sent to the Senate on January 14, 1931. It is designed to revise the statute law of the United States in such a way as to eliminate any conflict that may exist between American law and the provisions of the convention. The texts of this convention as revised at Berlin and of the additional protocol signed at Berne, March 20, 1914, are given in full beginning on page 47 of this issue of the Bulletin. FINANCE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR THE UNIFICATION OF LAWS ON BILLS OF EXCHANGE, PROMISSORY NOTES, AND CHECKS Mr. Martin H. Kennedy, United States Trade Commissioner at London, has been designated to participate in an expert and advisory capacity in the second session of the International Conference for the Unification of Laws on Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, and Checks, to be convened at Geneva on February 23, 1931.2 POSTAL ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND HUNGARY PROVIDING FOR COLLECT-ON-DELIVERY SERVICE On January 21, 1931, the President of the United States approved and ratified an arrangement between the United States and Hungary providing for collect-on-delivery service. The arrangement was signed at Budapest, December 15, 1930, and at Washington, January 15, 1931, and will come into force on February 1, 1931. RADIO INTERNATIONAL RADIOTELEGRAPH CONVENTION The City of the Vatican By a note of January 3, 1931, the British Ambassador at Washington notified the Secretary of State as follows: I have the honour to inform you that His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who has agreed to use the good offices of His Majesty's Government to secure the accession of the Vatican State to the International Radiotelegraph Convention concluded at Washington on November 25th, 1927, has instructed me to notify you of the desire of the Vatican State to accede to the Convention and to be registered in the sixth class for the purposes of contribution to the expenses of the International Bureau of the Telegraph Union in Berne. CHANGE TO BE NOTED IN THE LIST OF ECONOMIC TREATIES OF THE UNITED STATES On page 74 of the Third Supplement of the Bulletin of Treaty Information, August 31, 1929, there should be added the following: Hungary: Arrangement between the United States and Hungary providing for collect on delivery service Signed at Budapest, December 15, 1930, and at Washington, January 15, 1931. Effective February 1, 1931. * See Bulletin No. 12, September, 1930, p. 13. MISCELLANEOUS CLAIMS PROTOCOL OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND EGYPT FOR THE ARBITRATION OF THE CLAIM OF GEORGE J. SALEM A protocol for the arbitration of a claim on behalf of George J. Salem for alleged damages resulting from acts of the Egyptian Government was signed at Cairo on behalf of the United States and Egypt on January 20, 1931. The protocol provides that the arbitral tribunal shall be composed of three members, one appointed by the Government of the United States, one appointed by the Government of Egypt, and one jointly appointed. The members of the tribunal will be appointed within thirty days and will hold their meetings at Vienna. In a message to the United States Senate dated January 26, 1931, the President requested that an appropriation be authorized in order that the expenditures which it will be necessary to incur on the part of the Government of the United States in the prosecution of the claim to final settlement may be made.1 SPECIAL CLAIMS COMMISSION-UNITED STATES AND MEXICO On January 6, 1931 the President of the United States appointed the Honorable Fred K. Nielson of Nebraska as American Commissioner on the Special Claims Commission constituted under the special claims convention between the United States and Mexico, signed at Mexico City, September 10, 1923.2 Mr. Nielson, who replaced Judge Ernest B. Perry of Nebraska on the Special Claims Commission, is also American Commissioner on the General Claims Commission, having received this appointment on July 31, 1926. CLAIMS CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND PANAMA By a telegram of January 19, 1931, from the American Minister at Panama, the Secretary of State was informed that a decree ratifying the claims convention between the United States and Panama, signed at Washington on July 28, 1926, was published in the Official Gazette of Panama on January 13, 1931. TEXTS OF CONVENTIONS DRAFT CONVENTION OF THE PREPARATORY COMMISSION FOR THE DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE1 ARTICLE 1 The High Contracting Parties agree to limit and, so far as possible, to reduce their respective armaments as provided in the present Convention. [41. The Turkish delegation reserved its Government's right to submit to the future Disarmament Conference the proposal it made with regard to standards for the reduction and limitation of armaments, and to require any modification of the text which might be rendered necessary in the event of the adoption of this proposal. Footnote to Paragraph 41.-See Minutes of the Sixth Session (First Part), pp. 206-208. 42. The German delegation reserved its Government's right to submit to the future Disarmament Conference any proposals regarding the standards of reduction and limitation of armaments which it might consider likely to promote these aims. Footnote to Paragraph 42.-See Minutes of the Sixth Session (First Part), pp. 203-206. 43. Norway not having taken part in the earlier work of the Commission, in particular the first part of the second reading of the draft Convention, the Norwegian delegate made a general reservation concerning the attitude his Government might adopt at the Conference. The delegate of the Irish Free State made a similar statement.] PART I-PERSONNEL [79. The German delegation has made the following general reservation on the whole of Part I and the annexed table: "The stipulations do not provide either directly or by a reduction in the number of the annual contingent, or by a strict determination of the period of active service-for a reduction or limitation of trained reserves who, after having completed their service with the colours, continue to be registered and liable by law for military service, notwithstanding the fact that these reserves, though they do not exist in professional armies in the strict sense of the term, constitute the main body of the personnel in countries possessing conscript armies. 'League of Nations Document No. C.687.M.288.1930.IX. For convenience, paragraphs of the Final Report of the Commission (League Document No. C.690.M.289.1930.IX) relating to reservations of the delegations have been inserted within brackets beneath the portions of the convention to which they relate. Throughout the convention, symbols have been used to distinguish footnotes appearing in the League of Nations text. "Moreover, the stipulations do not provide for any method whereby the effectives of conscript armies serving with the colours and in reserve, and professional effectives, whose military value is naturally not capable of comparison, could be reduced to comparable units of calculation."] CHAPTER A.-Effectives ARTICLE 2 The average daily effectives in the land, sea and air armed forces and formations organised on a military basis of each of the High Contracting Parties shall not exceed, in each of the categories of effectives defined in the tables annexed to this Chapter, the figure laid down for such party in the corresponding column of the said tables. ARTICLE 3 The average daily effectives are reckoned by dividing the total number of days' duty performed in each year by the number of days in such year. ARTICLE 4 By formations organised on a military basis shall be understood police forces of all kinds, gendarmerie, Customs officials, forest guards, which, whatever their legal purpose, are, in time of peace, by reason of their staff of officers, establishment, training, armament, equipment, capable of being employed for military purposes without measures of mobilisation, as well as any other organisation complying with the above condition. By mobilisation, within the meaning of the present article, shall be understood all the measures for the purpose of providing the whole or part of the various corps, services and units with the personnel and material required to pass from a peace-time footing to a war-time footing. TABLES ANNEXED TO CHAPTER A OF PART I [65. The French delegation stated that it could not accept specific limitation of professional soldiers in land or air forces unless provision was made for similar limitation in the case of sea forces. 73. In regard to Tables I, II, and III, the German and Italian delegations made the following statement: "In connection with the distinction between the effectives and armaments of the home country and those stationed overseas, the German and Italian delegations formulated a general reservation to the effect that, for the purposes of the reduction and limitation of armaments, the importance of the forces and materials which one contracting party assigns to its oversea territories may vary, in relation to another contracting party, by reason of the geographical situation of its territory in relation to the home territories of the two contracting parties. Consequently, one contracting party will have every reason to regard the oversea forces of another contracting party as forming part of the latter's home forces, if the proximity of the oversea territories in relation to the home territories of the two parties justifies such an assumption." 74. The German delegation again draws attention to this reservation in connection with Tables V, IX and XII. 38213-31- -3 |