I would call attention especialty to Article VI on jurisdiction. This
treaty acknowledges the Bangkok Siamese court of appeals, as does the
French treaty. An endeavor was made to secure a Danish legal adviser to
sit in this court when Danish interests were involved, but did not
succeed. As indicating the tendency of the treaty powers toward Siam
just now this treaty is of interest, following, as it does, so soon
after the ratification of the Franco-Siamese treaty of December 9, 1904,
* * *
The general adviser for the Siamese Government informs me that the
attitude of Denmark throughout these negotiations has been most cordial.
And I can discover in the several concessions made on the part of
Denmark evidence of nothing but a desire to assist the Siamese
Government and to take as advanced a position in this direction as any
of the treaty-making powers. * * *
In this connection it is to be observed that the signatory for Denmark,
Mr. A. E. Olarovsky, is the Russian minister resident at this court.
[Inclosure.]
New treaty between Siam and Denmark.—System of
jurisdictions.
With the exception of the treaties with England and France, no plan
of jurisdiction is provided by the present treaties. Most of those
treaties contain merely an article to the effect that where a
question is at issue between a Siamese and a foreigner the consul of
the foreigner and a Siamese functionary should come together and try
to settle the matter amicably. Such a provision is of course
entirely impracticable under present conditions and is virtually a
dead letter. It therefore becomes necessary to establish a definite
system of jurisdiction with all the treaty powers, and the treaty
with Denmark which was signed yesterday is the first of a series
which will be negotiated by the Siamese Government for this
purpose.
Article I of the treaty restricts the right of protection to those
persons to whom the Danish law gives Danish nationality.
Articles II to V, providing for a joint inquiry, follow closely the
English treaty of 1899. The last paragraph of Article III, however,
providing for the submission of this question to a third person
where there is a difference between the consular officer and the
Siamese representative, is new.
[Page 840]
Articles V to—, regarding jurisdiction, follow closely the recent
French treaty. Where the defendant is a Dane, the case is brought
before the Danish consul; where a Siamese, before the Siamese court
of foreign causes. In the North the number of provinces in which the
international court is to have jurisdiction includes the provinces
mentioned both in the English treaty and the late French treaty,
with the addition of Pray, which is not included in either the
English or the French treaty. The articles in the Danish treaty are
also fuller and clearer and provide that the international court
shall have jurisdiction not only over questions between Danes and
Siamese, but also in cases where a Dane is a defendant and the
plaintiff a foreigner.
It will also be noticed that in the Danish treaty, as in the French
treaty, appeals from the North are to the Siamese court of appeals
of Bangkok.
text of treaty.
The following is the full text of the new treaty:
His Majesty Somdetch Phra Paramindr Maha Chulalongkorn, King of Siam
and all its dependencies, Laos Chiang, Laos Kao, Malays, Kareans,
etc., and His Majesty Christian the Ninth, King of Denmark, of the
Vandals and Goths, Duke of Schleswig Holstein, Stormarn, the
Ditmarshes, Lauenburg, and Oldenburg;
Desiring to facilitate and extend the relations of friendship and
good understanding between their respective countries, have resolved
to conclude a convention concerning the registration of and
jurisdiction over Danish subjects in Siam, and have to that end
appointed the following plenipotentiaries:
His Majesty the King of Siam, His Royal Highness Prince Devawongse
Varoprakar, minister for foreign affairs;
And His Majesty the King of Denmark, A. E. Olarovsky, esquire,
minister resident of his Majesty the Emperor of Russia, charged with
Danish interests in Siam, commander of the Royal Danish Order of
Danebrog;
Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full
powers and found them to be in good and due form, have agreed upon
and concluded the following articles:
I. The registration of Danish subjects residing in Siam shall
comprise all persons residing in Siam upon whom the Danish laws
confer Danish nationality, and no other person shall be entitled to
any protection from the Danish Government.
II. The lists of registration shall be open to the inspection of the
Siamese Government on proper notice being given.
III. If any question arises as to the right of any person to be
registered at the Danish consulate or as to the validity of a
certificate of registration issued by that consulate, a joint
inquiry shall be held by the consul for Denmark and a duly
authorized representative of the Siamese Government, who will settle
the question, giving due regard to the evidence to be produced in
behalf of the validity of the certificate or of the right of the
person to be registered.
If the representative of the Siamese Government and the consul for
Denmark can not agree, they shall be entitled to submit the evidence
in the case to a third person to be agreed upon by them both, whose
decision shall be final.
IV. Should any action, civil or criminal, be pending while such
inquiry is going on which by its nature can not be deferred until
the result of the inquiry is known, the question of the court in
which such action shall be heard shall be determined conjointly by
the Danish consul and the representative of the Siamese
Government.
If the person in respect of whom the inquiry is held come within the
conditions for registration laid down in Article I of this agreement
he may, if not yet registered, forthwith be registered as a Danish
subject and provided with a certificate of registration at the
Danish consulate; otherwise he will be recognized as falling under
Siamese jurisdiction, and if already on the lists of the Danish
consulate his name shall be erased therefrom.
VI. With regard to the jurisdiction to which in the future without
any exception all Danish subjects in Siam will be subjected the two
governments agree:
A. (1) In criminal matters if the offender be a Danish subject, he
shall be tried and punished by the Danish consular officer.
(2) In civil matters all actions brought by a Siamese against a
Danish subject shall be heard before the Danish consular court. If
the defendant is a Siamese, the action shall be heard by the Siamese
court for foreign causes.
B. (1) But all civil or criminal cases arising in the provinces of
Chiengmai, Lakhon, Lampoon, Pray, and Nan brought or instituted
either by the Siamese Government or by Siamese or foreign subjects,
in which a Danish subject may be a defendant, and likewise all civil
and criminal cases in which a Danish subject may be the plaintiff or
complainant, the defendant being a person under Siamese
jurisdiction, shall be heard before the Siamese international
court.
[Page 841]
(2) In any of the cases mentioned in the last preceding paragraph the
Danish consul shall have the right to be present at the trial or to
be represented there by a duly authorized delegate and to make any
observation which he may deem proper in the interest of justice.
(3) In cases where the defendant is a Danish subject, the Danish
consul may, at any stage of the proceedings, if he thinks proper, by
means of a written requisition evoke the case before him. Such case
shall then be transferred to the Danish consular court, which shall
from that time alone be competent to try the case, and to which the
Siamese authorities shall be bound to give their assistance.
(4) In all criminal cases where the law allows bail, the accused
shall be admitted to bail instead of being imprisoned.
VII. Appeals from the judgments rendered by the court for foreign
causes, as well as by the international court established in the
provinces of Chiengmai, Lakhon, Lampoon, Pray, and Nan, shall be
brought before the court of appeal of Bangkok.
VIII. All enactments in former treaties, agreements, or conventions
between Denmark and Siam that are not modified by the present
convention remain in full force.
IX. The present convention shall be ratified and the ratifications
shall be exchanged within six months from date of its signature.
In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the
present convention and have affixed their seals.
Done at Bangkok
in two copies in English as the language of communication
between the high contracting parties on this the 24th day of
March, in the year 1905 of the Christian
era.
- Devawongse
Varoprakar.
- A. E. Olarovsky.
