12. Agreement between Germany, Belgium, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, India, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Roumania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, regarding the complete and final settlement of the question of reparations, signed at The Hague, January 20, 19301

Signed at The Hague, January 20, 1930; in force in virtue of fulfilment of the conditions stipulated in the Final Clause May 17, 1930; in force subsequently to that date by deposit of ratifications [Page 928] for other signatories as follows: Yugoslavia, May 31, 1930; Roumania, June 23, 1930; Greece, June 25, 1930; Canada, July 12, 1930; Australia, India, and New Zealand, July 21, 1930; Union of South Africa, July 26, 1930; Poland, April 21, 1931; Portugal, July 11, 1931; Japan, October 29, 1931

The Representatives of Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan, meeting at Geneva on the 16 September, 1928, expressed their determination to make a complete and final settlement of the question of reparations and, with a view to attaining this object, provided for the constitution of a Committee of Financial Experts.

With this object the Experts met at Paris and their report was made on the 7 June 1929. Approval in principle was given to this report by The Hague Protocol of the 31 August, 1929.

The duly authorised representatives of the Government of the German Reich, the Government of His Majesty the King of the Belgians, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government of Canada, the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Government of New Zealand, the Government of the Union of South Africa, the Government of India, the Government of the French Republic, the Government of the Greek Republic, the Government of His Majesty the King of Italy, the Government of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, the Government of the Republic of Poland, the Government of the Republic of Portugal, the Government of His Majesty the King of Roumania, the Government of the Czecho-Slovak Republic and the Government of His Majesty the King of Yugoslavia have reached the following agreement:

Article I.

The Experts’ Plan of the 7 June, 1929, together with this present agreement and the Protocol of the 31 August, 19291 (all of which are hereinafter described as the New Plan) is definitely accepted as a complete and final settlement, so far as Germany is concerned, of the financial questions resulting from the War. By their acceptance the Signatory Powers undertake the obligations and acquire the rights resulting for them respectively from the New Plan.

[Page 929]

The German Government gives the Creditor Powers the solemn undertaking to pay the annuities for which the New Plan provides in accordance with the stipulations contained therein.

Article II.

As from the date when the New Plan is put into execution as provided in the final clause of this present Agreement, Germany’s previous obligation is entirely replaced, except in respect of the German External Loan 1924, by the obligation laid down in the New Plan. The payment in full of the annuities there mentioned, in so far as the same are due to the Creditor Powers, is accepted by those Powers as a final discharge of all the liabilities of Germany still remaining undischarged referred to in Section XI of Part I of the Dawes Plan1 as interpreted by the decisions of the interpretation Tribunal set up under the London Agreement of the 30 August, 1924.

Article III.

A. The signatory Governments recognise that the accounts between the Reparation Commission and Germany relating to transactions prior to the period of the Dawes Plan, together with all accounts involving credits to Germany either now or in the future, against the original capital debt are henceforth obsolete and without practical effect and declare them closed in their present condition.

B. (a) In execution of paragraph 1432 of the Experts’ Report of the 7 June, 1929, on the understanding that the following declaration [Page 930] is to be considered as a full compliance with the requirements of that paragraph as to a waiver, Germany declares that she waives every claim as defined by the following list, whether for a payment or for property, which she may have addressed or might hereafter address to the Reparation Commission or to any Creditor Power signatory of the present Agreement for any transaction prior in date to the signature of this Agreement, connected with the World War, the Armistice Conventions, the Treaty of Versailles or any agreements made for their execution:

(1)

Claims relating to property or pecuniary rights of prisoners of war in so far as they have not already been settled by special agreements;

(2)

Claims seeking to obtain the reimbursement of payments made under paragraph 11 of the Annex to Article 296 of the Treaty of Versailles;

(3)

Claims relating to loans issued by the former German Colonies;

(4)

Any claims, whether for a payment or for property, which the German Government has presented or might present for its own account other than State claims notified, under the clearing procedure provided for under Articles 296 and 72 of the Treaty of Versailles, by the Creditor to the Debtor Office.

(b) By way of reciprocity the Creditor Powers accept in conformity with the recommendation of paragraph 961 of the Experts’ Report of the 7 June, 1929, the payment in full of the annuities fixed thereby as a final discharge of all the liabilities of Germany still remaining undischarged and waive every claim additional to [Page 931] those annuities, either for a payment or for property, which has been addressed or might be addressed to Germany for any past transaction falling under the same heads of claims as those appearing under (1) to (4) above.

(c) The provisions of the present Article do not affect the execution of agreements later in date than the 10 January, 1920, for the abandonment of the liquidation of German private property, rights or interests or the restitution either of those properties, rights or interests or the proceeds of their liquidation.

C. (a) The Creditor Governments undertake, as from the date of the acceptance of the Experts’ Report of the 7 June, 1929, to make no further use of their right to seize, retain and liquidate the property, rights and interests of German nationals or companies controlled by them, in so far as not already liquid or liquidated or finally disposed of, including the rights of the signatory Creditor Powers under Article 306, paragraphs (5), (6) and (7) of the Treaty of Versailles.

(b) The execution of this undertaking will be regulated by special agreements between the German Government and each of the Governments concerned.

(c) The Signatory Governments will use every effort to clear up definitely all outstanding questions relating to the execution of this undertaking within one year after the coming into force of the New Plan.

(d) This undertaking has no application in cases where special settlements have already been made.

D. All or some of the questions mentioned in the present Article as to the waiver of claims and the cessation of liquidation are governed, as between the German Government on the one hand and the following Governments respectively on the other hand, by the Agreements concluded on the following dates, that is to say: Belgium, 13 July, 1929 and 16 January, 1930; Great Britain, 28 December, 1929; Canada 14 January, 1930; Commonwealth of Australia, 17 January 1930; New Zealand, 17 January 1930; France, 31 December, 1929; Italy, 20 January, 1930; Poland, 31 October, 1929.

Article IV.

From and after the date on which the New Plan comes into force, the Office for Reparation Payments and the organisations in Berlin connected therewith shall be abolished and the relations [Page 932] with Germany of the Reparation Commission shall come to an end.

Under the régime of the New Plan only those of the functions of these organisations the maintenance of which is necessitated by the New Plan will continue in existence; these functions will be transferred to the Bank for International Settlements by the “Small Special Committee”;1 the Bank for International Settlements will exercise them within the conditions and limits of the New Plan in conformity with the provisions of its Statutes.

Under the régime of the New Plan the powers of the Creditor Powers in relation to Germany will be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Plan.

In regard hereto the Representatives of the Belgian, British, French, Italian and Japanese Governments and the Representatives of the German Government have made the declarations contained in Annex I.

The other measures necessary in view of the change from the present system to that of the New Plan, are those provided for in Annex II.

Article V.

The annuities mentioned in the present Agreement include the amounts required for the German External Loan, 1924. These annuities do not include the amounts which the Experts’ Plan of the 7. June, 1929, assigns to the United States of America.2

Article VI.

The Contracting Parties recognise the necessity, with a view to putting into force the New Plan, of the constitution of the Bank for International Settlements. They recognise the corporate existence of the Bank to take effect as soon as it is constituted in accordance with the Statutes annexed to the law incorporating the Bank which is the subject of the Convention concluded with the Government of the Swiss Confederation.3

Article VII.

The Government of the Reich will deliver to the Bank for International Settlements, as Trustee for the Creditor Powers, the Debt Certificates referred to in Annex III.

[Page 933]

Further, the German Government guarantees that the German Railway Company (Deutsche Reichsbahngesellschaft) will deliver to the Bank for International Settlements the Certificate mentioned in Annex IV.

Article VIII.

With a view to facilitating the successful working of the New Plan the German Government declares spontaneously that it is firmly determined to make every possible effort to avoid a declaration of postponement and not to have recourse thereto until it has come to the conclusion in good faith that Germany’s exchange and economic life may be seriously endangered by the transfer in part or in full of the postponable portion of the annuities. It remains understood that Germany alone has authority to decide whether occasion has arisen for declaring a postponement as provided by the New Plan.

Article IX.

The German Government undertakes to take the measures necessary for the enactment of the special laws required for the application of the New Plan, that is to say:

(a)

The law for the amendment of the Bank Law of the 30 August, 1924, in accordance with Annex V;

(b)

The law for the amendment of the law of the Deutsche Reichsbahngesellschaft, in accordance with Annex VI.

These laws may only be amended in the conditions and in accordance with the procedure laid down by Annexes Va and VIa.

The German Government further undertakes to apply the provisions contained in Annexes VII and XI relating to the assignment of the proceeds of certain taxes by way of collateral security for the service of the several parts of the German annuities.

Article X.

The Contracting Parties will take in their respective territories the measures necessary for securing that the funds and investments of the Bank, resulting from the payments by Germany, shall be freed from all national or local fiscal charges.

The Bank, its property and assets, and also the deposits of other funds entrusted to it, on the territory of, or dependent on the administration of the Parties shall be immune from any disabilities and from any restrictive measures such as censorship, requisition, seizure or confiscation, in time of peace or war, reprisals, prohibition or restriction of export of gold or currency and other similar interferences, restrictions or prohibitions.

[Page 934]

Article XI.

The Governments of the Creditor Powers have settled the text of a Trust Agreement, appearing in Annex VIII, for the receipt, management and division of the German annuities.

The Bank for International Settlements upon its establishment will be invited to give its adhesion to the Agreement, and the Governments referred to will appoint Delegates with the powers necessary to sign.

The German Government declares that it has been informed of the text of the Agreement.

Article XII.

The system of deliveries in kind will be governed by the provisions contained in Annex IX hereto and in the second Annex to the Protocol of the 31 August, 1929.

The methods of administering the law of Great Britain entitled “The German Reparation (Recovery) Act 1921” and the levy on German imports into France have been settled by Agreements between the German Government on the one hand, the British and French Governments respectively on the other; the text of these Agreements is set out in Annex X.

Article XIII.

The German Government confirms all the priorities, securities and rights hitherto created by the benefit of the German External Loan, 1924, and declares that nothing in the New Plan or in consequence of the termination of the Dawes Plan, diminishes or varies the nature and extent of its prior obligations and engagements assumed under the General Bond securing said Loan, all of which are preserved in their integrity. The Governments of the other Signatory Powers similarly confirm and recognise the absolute prior position of the service of the German External Loan, 1924, and declare, in so far as they are concerned, that all the priorities, securities and rights hitherto granted said Loan remain unimpaired including those under the London Protocol dated 30 August, 1924. In particular, but without limiting the foregoing general declarations, the Governments of the German Reich and of the other Signatory Powers recognise that the specific first prior charge for the benefit of the said Loan continues to attach to all payments hereafter to be made by Germany for Reparation or other Treaty costs, including not only the nonpostponable portion of the German annuities to be paid [Page 935] into the Annuity Trust Account but also the postponable portion of the German annuities to be paid into the Annuity Trust Account; and the said Powers accordingly agree that the amounts currently required for the service of said Loan shall be paid out of said annuities to or upon the order of the Trustees of said Loan in priority to any other disbursements made therefrom. The Government of the German Reich further accepts and confirms the provisions for the security of the German External Loan, 1924, which are contained in Annex XI, of which the English text is alone authentic.

Article XIV.

The Creditor Powers recognise that their acceptance of the solemn undertaking of the German Government replaces all controls, special securities, pledges or charges existing at the present time, with the exception of those specially mentioned in Article XIII and in Annexes VI, VII and XI.

Article XV.

1. Any dispute, whether between the Governments signatory to the present Agreement or between one or more of those Governments and the Bank for International Settlements, as to the interpretation or application of the New Plan shall, subject to the special provisions of Annexes I, Va, VIa and IX be submitted for final decision to an arbitration tribunal of five members appointed for five years, of whom one, who will be the Chairman, shall be a citizen of the United States of America, two shall be nationals of States which were neutral during the late war; the two others shall be respectively a national of Germany and a national of one of the Powers which are creditors of Germany.

For the first period of five years from the date when the New Plan takes effect this Tribunal shall consist of the five members who at present constitute the Arbitration Tribunal established by the Agreement of London of the 30 August, 1924.

2. Vacancies on the Tribunal, whether they result from the expiration of the five-yearly periods or occur during the course of any such period, shall be filled, in the case of a member who is a national of one of the Powers which are creditors of Germany, by the French Government, which will first reach an understanding for this purpose with the Belgian, British, Italian and Japanese Governments; in the case of the member of German nationality, by the German Government; and in the cases of the three other members by the [Page 936] six Governments previously mentioned acting in agreement, or in default of their agreement, by the President for the time being of the Permanent Court of International Justice.

3. In any case in which either Germany or the Bank is plaintiff or defendant, if the Chairman of the Tribunal considers, at the request of one or more of the Creditor Governments parties to the, proceedings, that the said Government or Governments are principally concerned, he will invite the said Government or Governments to appoint—and in the case of more Governments than one by agreement—a member, who will take the place on the Tribunal of the member appointed by the French Government.

In any case in which, on the occasion of a dispute between two or more Creditor Governments, there is no national of one or more of those Governments among the Members of the Tribunal, that Government or those Governments shall have the right to appoint each a Member who will sit on that occasion. If the Chairman considers that some of the said Governments have a common interest in the dispute, he will invite them to appoint a single member. Whenever, as a result of this provision, the Tribunal is composed of an even number of members, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.

4. Before and without prejudice to a final decision, the Chairman of the Tribunal, or, if he is not available in any case, any other Member appointed by him, shall be entitled, on the request of any Party who makes the application, to make any interlocutory order with a view to preventing any violation of the rights of the Parties.

5. In any proceedings before the Tribunal the Parties shall always be at liberty to agree to submit the point at issue to the Chairman or any one of the Members of the Tribunal chosen as a single arbitrator.

6. Subject to any special provisions which may be made in the Submission—provisions which may not in any event affect the right of intervention of a Third Party—the procedure before the Tribunal or a single arbitrator shall be governed by the rules laid down in Annex XII.

The same rules, subject to the same reservation, shall also apply to any proceedings before this Tribunal for which the Annexes to the present Agreement provide.

7. In the absence of an understanding on the terms of Submission any Party may seize the Tribunal directly by a proceeding ex parte, and the Tribunal may decide, even in default of appearance, any question of which it is thus seized.

[Page 937]

8. The Tribunal, or the single arbitrator, may decide the question of their own jurisdiction, provided always that, if the dispute is one between Governments and a question of jurisdiction is raised, it shall, at the request of either Party, be referred to the Permanent Court of International Justice.

9. The present provisions shall be duly accepted by the Bank for the settlement of any dispute which may arise between it and one or more of the signatory Governments as to the interpretation or application of its Statutes or the New Plan.

Final Clause. M. Henri Jaspar, Prime Minister of Belgium, as Chairman of the Hague Conference of 1930, will deliver to each of the signatory Governments a certified copy of the present Agreement (which expression here, and in all places where the context admits, includes the Annexes hereto) immediately after signature. The French and English texts are both, in the absence of special provision to the contrary, authentic, provided that, for the Certificates mentioned in Article VII and the German Laws mentioned in Article IX of the present Agreement the German text, and for the provisions of Annex XI the English text, alone will be authentic.

The present Agreement shall be ratified and the deposit of ratifications shall be made at Paris with the French Government.

The Powers of which the seat of government is outside Europe will be entitled merely to inform the French Government through their diplomatic representatives at Paris that their ratification has been given, in that case they must transmit the instrument of ratification as soon as possible.

The New Plan will come into force and will be considered as having been put into execution on the date on which the Reparation Commission and the Chairman of the Kriegslastenkommission have agreed in reporting:

(1)

The ratification of the present Agreement by Germany and the enactment of the German laws in accordance with the relative Annexes.

(2)

The ratification of the present Agreement by four of the following Powers, that is to say, Belgium, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan.

(3)

The constitution of the Bank for international Settlements and the acceptance by the Bank of the undertakings by it for which the present Agreement provides, and also its receipt of the Certificate of the German Government and the Certificate of the German Railway Company as provided in Annexes III and IV.

The report of the Reparation Commission shall require a unanimous [Page 938] vote of the members of the Commission as constituted for the purposes of the Treaty of Versailles when a question concerning Germany is under consideration, the Japanese Delegate nevertheless taking part in the discussion and giving his vote.

The report of the Reparation Commission and the Chairman of the Kriegslastenkommission will be notified to all the Powers signatory of the present Agreement.

Provided always that the substitution of the obligations and annuities of the New Plan for those of the Experts’ Plan of the 9 April, 1924, shall date from the 1 September, 1929, regard being had to the provisions of The Hague Protocol of the 31 August, 1929, and in Annex II to the present Agreement.

The present Agreement will come into force for each Government other than the four of those mentioned above by name who first ratify on the date of notification or deposit of ratification.

Provided always that any such ratification shall have the same effect as if it had taken place before the report of the Reparation Commission and the Chairman of the Kriegslastenkommission.

The French Government will transmit to all the signatory Governments a certified copy of the procès-verbaux of the deposit.

Done in a single copy at The Hague, the 20th day of January, 1930.

• Curtius.
• Wirth.
• Schmidt.
• Moldenhauer.
• Henri Jaspar.
• Paul Hymans.
• E. Francqui.
• Philip Snowden.
• Peter Larkin.
• Granville Ryrie.
• E. Toms.
• Philip Snowden.
• Philip Snowden.
• Henri Chéron.
• Loucheur.
• N. Politis.
• A. Mosconi.
• A. Pirelli.
• Suvich.
• M. Adatci.
• K. Hirota.
• J. Mrozowski.
• R. Ulrich.
• Tomaz Fernandes.
• G. G. Mironesco.
• N. Titulesco.
• J. Lugosiano.
• Al. Zeuceano.
• Dr. Eduard Beneš.
• Stefan Osusky.
• Dr. V. Marinkovitch.
• Const. Fotitch.

[Page 939]

ANNEX I.

Exchange of Declarations between the Belgian, British, French, Italian and Japanese Governments on the one hand and the German Government on the Other.

The Representatives of the Belgian, British, French, Italian and Japanese Governments make the following declaration:

The New Plan rests on the principle that the complete and final settlement of the reparation question is of common interest to all the countries which this question concerns and that the Plan requires the collaboration of all these countries. Without mutual good will and confidence the object of the Plan would not be attained.

It is in this sense that the Creditor Governments have in The Hague Agreement of January 1930, accepted the solemn undertaking of the German Government to pay the annuities fixed in accordance with the provisions of the New Plan as the guarantee for the fulfilment of the German Government’s obligations. The Creditor Governments are convinced that, even if the execution of the New Plan should give rise to differences of opinion or difficulties, the procedures provided for by the Plan itself would be sufficient to resolve them.

It is for this reason that The Hague Agreement of January 1930 provides that, under the régime of the New Plan, the powers of the Creditor Powers shall be determined by the provisions of the Plan.

There remains, however, a hypothesis outside the scope of the Agreements signed to-day. The Creditor Governments are forced to consider it without thereby wishing to cast doubt on the intentions of the German Government. They regard it as indispensable to take account of the possibility that in the future a German Government, in violation of the solemn obligation contained in The Hague Agreement of January 1930, might commit itself to actions revealing its determination to destroy the New Plan.

It is the duty of the Creditor Governments to declare to the German Government that if such a case arose, imperilling the foundations of their common work, a new situation would be created in regard to which the Creditor Governments must, from the outset, formulate all the reservations to which they are rightfully entitled.

However, even on this extreme hypothesis, the Creditor Governments, [Page 940] in the interests of general peace, are prepared, before taking any action, to appeal to an international jurisdiction of incontestable authority to establish and appreciate the facts. The Creditor Power or Powers which might regard themselves as concerned, would therefore submit to the Permanent Court of International Justice the question whether the German Government had committed acts revealing its determination to destroy the New Plan.

Germany should forthwith declare that, in the event of an affirmative decision by the Court, she acknowledges that it is legitimate that, in order to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations of the Debtor Power resulting from the New Plan, the Creditor Power or Powers should resume their full liberty of action.

The Creditor Governments are convinced that such a hypothetical situation will never in fact arise and they feel assured that the German Government shares this conviction. But they consider that they are bound in loyalty and by their duty to their respective countries to make the above declaration in case this hypothetical situation should arise.

II

The representatives of the German Government, on their side, make the following declaration:

The German Government takes note of the above declaration of the Creditor Governments whereby, even if the execution of the New Plan should give rise to differences of opinion or difficulties in regard to the fulfilment of the New Plan, the procedures provided for in the Plan would be sufficient to resolve them.

The German Government take note accordingly that under the regime of the New Plan the powers of the Creditor Powers will be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Plan.

As regards the second part of the declaration and the hypothesis formulated in this declaration, the German Government regrets that such an eventuality, which for its part it regards as impossible, should be contemplated.

Nevertheless, if one or more of the Creditor Powers refer to the Permanent Court of International Justice the question whether acts originating with the German Government reveal its determination to destroy the New Plan, the German Government, in agreement with the Creditor Governments, accepts the proposal that the Permanent Court should decide the question, and declares that it acknowledges that it is legitimate, in the event of an affirmative decision by the Court, that, in order to ensure the fulfilment of the [Page 941] financial obligations of the Debtor Power resulting from the New Plan, the Creditor Power or Powers should resume their full liberty of action.

The French, German and English texts of the present Annex are equally authoritative.

• Curtius.
• Wirth.
• Schmidt.
• Moldenhauer.
• Henri Jaspar.
• Paul Hymans.
• E. Francqui.
• Philip Snowden.
• Henri Chéron.
• Loucheur.
• A. Mosconi.
• A. Pirellt.
• Suyich.
• Adatci.
• K. Hirota.

The following annexes not reprinted:

II.

Measures of Transition

III.

Debt Certificate of the German Reich

IV.

Certificate of the German Railway Company

V.

Provisions to be inserted or maintained in the German Bank Law

Va.

Procedure for the modification of certain provisions of the German Bank Law

VI.

Law for the amendment of the Law on the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft

VIa.

Procedure for the amendment of the Law on the Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft

VII.

Assignment by way of “collateral guarantee” of certain revenues of the German Reich

VIII.

Trust Agreement

IX.

Rules for Deliveries in Kind

X.

Agreements between Germany and Great Britain and between Germany and France as to the “German Reparation (Recovery) Act” and corresponding French legislation

Xa.

Agreement regarding the Method of administering the Levy on the Value of German Imports into France

XI.

Securities for the German External Loan

XII.

Rules of Procedure of the Arbitral Tribunal.