Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1932, The American Republics, Volume V

Protocol Concerning the Convention of June 18, 1932, Extending the Duration of the Special Claims Commission Provided for in the Convention of September 10, 1923

June 18, 1932

J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Mexico, and Manuel C. Téllez, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, duly authorized have agreed to sign the following Protocol:

In proceeding to the signature of the Convention providing for a further extension of the Special Claims Convention (signed September 10, 1923) for a period which shall expire two years from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the Convention signed this date, it is expressly agreed between the two Governments as follows:

1. —All meetings of the Special Claims Commission shall be held in Mexico City.

2. —With a view to establishing for the future assistance of the two Governments in their mutual relations a spirit of broad cordiality, it is agreed that the two Governments will instruct their respective Commissioners to admit the terms of the renewed Claims Conventions between Mexico, on the one hand, and France, Great Britain, and Spain, respectively, on the other hand, as one clear interpretation of the Convention which is being renewed today, in the terms common to this Convention and to the Conventions between Mexico, on the one hand, and France, Great Britain, and Spain, on the other hand, as originally signed, to consult together on the points of law and matters of fact involved in the cases in which such interpretation may be invoked, with a view to reaching such an agreement regarding the disposition of such cases as shall be consistent with the principles of international law and comity recognized among nations, and to give to the decisions of the recent Commissions between Mexico, on the one hand, and France, Germany, and Great Britain, respectively, on the other hand, the same consideration which they give to the decisions of other Commissions and tribunals to which they may refer or be referred in the consideration of the cases presented to them for determination and award.

3. —The Presiding Commissioner shall be requested to have the Commission sit continuously, with only short and occasional vacations.

4. —The Agents of the respective Governments shall be instructed to amend, with the approval of the Commission, the rules of procedure to the following effect:

A As to the memorializing of claims:

(a) Within one year from the date on which the joint secretariat begins its work, under the renewed Convention, memorials shall be filed on all claims to be memorialized, provided the joint secretariat shall remain open for the filing of memorials for a continuous year from the date on which it opens for work.

(b) At the expiration of said year, claims that have not been memorialized shall be adjudicated by decisions based only on the memoranda filed, and on no other document, it being understood that in each of said cases the defendant Government denies all responsibility upon the facts alleged or arguments made in the various memoranda.

B At the expiration of the year provided for the memorialization of cases, either Agent may ask the Commission to dispose of any case on which a memorial has not been filed.

C With a view to curtailing oral arguments as much as possible, having in mind an adequate presentation of the facts and of the principles of law involved in the cases, so as to expedite the work of the Commission, a plan shall be elaborated by which:

(a) General oral arguments shall be curtailed as much as possible, consistent with the due and adequate presentation of the cases;

(b) Oral arguments in cases involving points of law already determined by the Commission, shall be omitted and the case be decided upon the written record, except in those cases in which either Government, through its Agent or otherwise, shall request permission for the making of a further oral argument, and in such an instance the request shall specify the particular points on which oral argument is desired.

D Where there are a group of claims which, as to their facts and as to the points of law involved, are the same, and where one of such cases has been dismissed by the Commission, the two Agents will consult together with a view to having the other claims of the group determined by the Commission, without argument. When the Agents are unable to agree on any given case, either Government may, if it wishes, bring that case directly to the attention of the other Government with a view to reaching an agreement as to its disposition. If an agreement as to the dismissal of any claim be reached, either by the Agents or by the two Governments, such agreement shall be reported to the Commission with a request that the case be dismissed by the Commission in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The two Governments will request their respective Commissioners to give effect to such agreements by making awards in accordance with the terms of such agreements. If the two Agents are unable to agree, and neither of the two Governments intervenes, or either or both of the Governments intervene and are unable to agree, the case shall go before the Commission for decision.

E Where one of a group of claims that as to their facts and as to the points of law involved are the same, has been decided affirmatively by the Commission, the two Agents will consult together regarding all the other claims of the same group, with a view to reaching an agreement as to the amount of the award which should be made in each of such cases. If the Agents are unable, as to any such case, to agree upon an award, either Government may, if it desires, bring such case to the attention of the other Government with a view to reaching an agreement on an award thereon. If an agreement as to an award be reached either by the Agents or by the Governments, such an agreement shall be reported to the Commission with a request that an award be made in such case in consonance with the agreement. The two Governments will request their respective Commissioners to give effect to such agreements by making awards in accordance with the terms of such agreements. If no agreement is reached regarding any case, the case shall then go before the Commission in due course.

Done in duplicate at the City of Mexico in the Spanish and English languages, this eighteenth day of June, one thousand nine hundred and thirty two.

[seal]

J. Reuben Clark, Jr.

[seal]

Manuel C. Téllez