Lausanne Peace Treaty
Part II.
Financial Clauses
Section I.
Ottoman Public Debt.
Article 46
The Ottoman Public Debt, as defined in the
Table annexed to the present Section, shall be distributed under the
conditions laid down in the present Section between Turkey, the States in
favour of which territory has been detached from the Ottoman Empire after the
Balkan wars of 1912-13, the States to which the islands referred to in
Articles 12 and 15 of the present Treaty and the territory referred to in the
last paragraph of the present Article have been attributed, and the States
newly created in territories in Asia which are detached from the Ottoman
Empire under the present Treaty. All the above States shall also participate,
under the conditions laid down in the present Section, in the annual charges
for the service of the Ottoman Public Debt from he dates referred to in
Article 53.
From the dates laid down in Article 53,
Turkey shall not be held in any way whatsoever responsible for the shares of
the Debt for which other States are liable.
For the purpose of the distribution of the
Ottoman Public Debt, that portion of the territory of Thrace which was under
Turkish sovereignty on the 1st August, 1914, and lies outside the
boundaries of Turkey as laid down by Article 2 of the present Treaty, shall be
deemed to be detached from the Ottoman Empire under the said Treaty.
Article 47
The Council of the Ottoman Public Debt shall,
within three months from the coming into force of the present Treaty,
determine, on the basis laid down by Articles 50 and 51. the amounts of the
annuities for the loans referred to in Part A of the Table annexed to the
present Section which are payable by each of the States concerned, and shall
notify to them this amount.
These States shall be granted an opportunity
to send to Constantinople delegates to check the calculations made for this
purpose by the Council of the Ottoman Public Debt.
The Council of the Debt shall exercise the
functions referred to in Article 134 of the Treaty of Peace with Bulgaria of
the 27th November, 1919.
Any disputes which may arise between the
parties concerned as to the application of the principles laid down in the
present Article shall be referred, not more than one month after the
notification referred to in the first paragraph, to an arbitrator whom the
Council of the League of Nations will be asked to appoint; this arbitrator
shall give his decision within a period of not more than three months. The
remuneration of the arbitrator shall be determined by the Council of the
League of Nations, and shall, together with the other expenses of the
arbitration, be borne by the parties concerned. The decisions of the
arbitrator shall be final. The payment of the annuities shall not be suspended
by the reference of any disputes to the above mentioned arbitrator.
Article 48
The States, other than Turkey, among which
the Ottoman Public Debt, as defined in Part (A) of the Table annexed to this
Section, is attributed shall, within three months from the date on which they
are notified, in accordance with Article 47, of their respective shares in the
annual charges referred to in that Article, assign to the Council of the Debt
adequate security for the payment of their share. If such security is not
assigned within the above mentioned period; or in the case of any disagreement
as to the adequacy of the security assigned, any of the Governments signatory
to the present Treaty shall be entitled to appeal to the Council of the League
of Nations.
The Council of the League of Nations shall be
empowered to entrust the collection of the revenues assigned as security to
international financial organisations existing in the countries (other than
Turkey) among which the Debt is distributed. The decisions of the Council of
the League of Nations shall be final.
Article 49
Within one month from the date of the final
determination under Article 47 of the amount of the annuities for which each
of the States concerned is liable, a Commission shall meet in Paris to
determine the method of carrying out the distribution of the nominal capital
of the Ottoman Public Debt as defined in Part (A) of the Table annexed to this
Section. This distribution shall be made in accordance with the proportions
adopted for the division of the annuities, and account shall be taken of the
terms of the agreements governing the leans and of the provisions of this
Section.
The Commission referred to in the first
paragraph shall consist of a representative f the Turkish Government, a
representative of the Council of the ottoman Public Debt, a representative of
the debt other than the Unified Debt and the Lots Turcs; each of the
Governments concerned shall also be entitled to appoint a representative. All
questions in regard to which the Commission may be unable to reach agreement
shall be referred to the arbitrator referred to in the fourth paragraph of
Article 47.
If Turkey shall decide to create new
securities in respect of her share, the distribution of the capital of the
Ottoman Public Debt shall be made in the first instance as it affects Turkey
by a Committee consisting of the representative of the Turkish Government, the
representative of the Council of the Ottoman Public Debt and the
representative of the debt other than the Unified Debt and the Lots Turcs. The
now securities shall be delivered to the Commission, which shall ensure their
delivery to the bondholders upon such terms as will provide for the release of
Turkey from liability and the rights of the bondholders towards the other
States which are liable for a share of the Ottoman Public Debt. The securities
issued in respect of the share of each State in the Ottoman Public Debt shall
be exempt in the territory of the High Contracting Parties from all stamp
duties or other taxes which would be involved by such issue.
The payment of the annuities for which each
of the States concerned is liable shall not be postponed as a consequence of
the provisions of the present Article in regard to the distribution of the
nominal capital.
Article 50
The distribution of the annual charges
referred to in Article 47 and of the nominal capital of the Ottoman Public
Debt mentioned in Article 49 shall be effected in the following manner:
(1)The loans prior to the 17th
October, 1912, and the annuities of such loans shall be distributed between
the Ottoman Empire as it existed after the Balkan wars of 1912-13, the Balkan
States in favour of which territory was detached from the Ottoman Empire after
those wars, and the States to which the islands referred to in Articles 12 and
15 of the present Treaty have been attributed; account shall be taken of the
territorial changes which have taken place after the coming into force of the
treaties which ended those wars or subsequent treaties.
(2)The residue of the loans for which the
Ottoman Empire remained liable after this first distribution and the residue
of the annuities of such loans, together with the loans contracted by that
Empire between the 17th October, 1912, and the 1st
November, 1914, and the annuities of such loans shall be distributed between
Turkey, the newly created States in Asia in favour of which a territory has
been detached from the Ottoman Empire under the present. Treaty and the State
to which the territory referred to in the last paragraph of Article 46 of the
said Treaty has been attributed.
The distribution of the capital shall in the
case of each loan be based on the capital amount outstanding at the date of
the coming into force of the present Treaty.
Article 51
The amount of the share in the annual charges
of the Ottoman Public Debt for which each State concerned is liable in
consequence of the distribution provided for by Article 50 shall be determined
as follows:
(1)As regards the distribution provided for
by Article 50(1), in the first place the share of the islands referred to in
Articles 12 and 15 and of the territories detached from the Ottoman Empire
after the Balkan wars, taken together, shall be fixed. The amount of this
share shall bear the same proportion to the total sum of the annuities to be
distributed in accordance with Article (50)1 as the average total revenue of
the above-mentioned islands and territories, taken as a whole, bore to the
average total revenue of the Ottoman Empire in the financial years 1910-1911
and 1911-1912, including the proceeds of the customs surtaxes established in
1907.
The amount thus determined shall then be
distributed among the States to which the territories referred to in the
preceding paragraph have been attributed, and the share for which each of
these States will thus be made liable shall bear the same proportion to the
total amounts so distributed as the average total revenue of the territory
attributed to each State bore in the financial years 1910-11 and 1911-12 to
the average total revenue of the territories detached from the Ottoman Empire
after the Balkan Wars and the islands referred to in Articles 12 and 15. In
calculating the revenues referred to in this paragraph, customs revenues shall
be excluded.
(2)As regards the territories detached from
the Ottoman Empire under the present Treaty (including the territory referred
to in the last paragraph of Article 46), the amount of the share of each State
concerned shall bear the same proportion to the total sum of the annuities to
be distributed in accordance with Article 50(2) as the average total revenue
of the detached territory (including the proceeds of the Customs surtax
established in 1907) for the financial years 1910-11 and 1911-12 bore to the
average total revenue of the Ottoman Empire, excluding the territories and
islands referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article.
Article 52
The advances refereed to in Part (B) of the
Table annexed to the present Section shall be distributed between Turkey and
the other States referred to in Article 46 under the following conditions:
(1)As regards the advances referred to in the
Table which existed on the 17th October, 1912, the capital amount,
if any, outstanding at the date of the coming into force of the present
Treaty, together with the interest from the dates mentioned in the first
paragraph of Article 53 and the repayments made since those dates, shall be
distributed in accordance with the provisions of Article 50 (1) and Article
51(1).
(2)As regards the amounts for which the
Ottoman Empire remains liable after the first distribution and the advances
referred to in the Table which were contracted by the said Empire between the
17th October, 1912, and the 1st November, 1914, the
capital amount, if any, outstanding at the date of the coming into force of
the present Treaty, together with the interest from the 1st March,
1920, and the repayments made since that date, shall be distributed in
accordance with the provisions of Article 50(2) and Article 51 (2).
The Council of the ottoman Public Debt shall,
within three months from the coming into force of the present Treaty,
determine the amount of the share in these advances for which each of the
States concerned is liable, and notify them of such amount.
The sums for which States other than Turkey
are liable shall be paid by those States to the Council of the Debt and shall
be paid by the Council to the creditors, or credited to the Turkish Government
up to the amount paid by Turkey, by way of interest or repayment, for the
account of those States.
The payments referred to in the preceding
paragraph shall be made by five equal annuities from the coming into force of
the present Treaty. Such portion of these payments as is payable to the
creditors of the Ottoman Empire shall bear interest at the rates laid down in
the contracts governing the advances; the portion to be credited to the
Turkish Government shall be paid without interest.
Article 53
The annuities for the service of the loans of
the Ottoman Public Debt (as defined in Part A of the Table annexed to this
Section) due by the States in favour of which a territory has been detached
from the ottoman Empire after the Balkan wars, shall be payable as from the
coming into force of the treaties by which the respective territories were
transferred to these States. In the case of the islands referred to in Article
12. the annuity shall be payable as from the 1st - 14th
November, 1913, and, in the case of the islands referred to in Article 15, as
from the 17th October, 1912.
The annuities due by the States newly created
in territories in Asia detached from the Ottoman Empire under the present
Treaty, and by the State to which the territory referred to in the last
paragraph of Article 46 has been attributed, shall be payable as from the 1st
March, 1920.
Article 54
The Treasury Bills of 1911, 1912 and 1913
included in Part A of the Table annexed to his Section shall be repaid, with
interest at the agreed rate, within ten years from the dates fixed by the
contracts.
Article 55
The States referred to in Article 46,
including Turkey, shall pay to the Ottoman Debt Council the amount of the
annuities required for the service of their share of the Ottoman Public Debt
(as defined in Part A of the Table annexed to this Section) to the extent that
such annuities have remained unpaid as from the dates laid down by Article 53.
This payment shall be made, without interest, by means of twenty equal
annuities from he coming into force of the present Treaty.
The amount of the annuities paid to the
Council of the Debt by the States other than Turkey shall, to the extent that
they represent payments made by Turkey for the account of these States, be
credited to Turkey on account of the arrears with which she is debited.
Article 56
The Council of the Administration of the
Ottoman Public Debt shall no longer include delegates of the German, Austrian
and Hungarian bondholders.
Article 57
Limits of time fixed for the presentation of
coupons of or claims for interest upon the loans and advances of the Ottoman
Public Debt and the Turkish Loans of 1855, 1891 and 1894 secured on the
Egyptian tribute, and the limits of time fixed for the presentation of
securities of these loans drawn for repayment, shall, on the territory of the
High Contracting Parties, be considered as having been suspended from the 29th
October, 1914, until three months after the coming into force of the present
Treaty.
Section II
Miscellaneous Clauses
Article 58
Turkey, on the one hand, and the other
Contracting Powers (expect Greece) on the other hand, reciprocally renounce
all pecuniary claims for the loss and damage suffered respectively by Turkey
and the said Powers and by their nationals (including juridical persons)
between the 1st August, 1914, and the coming into force of the
present Turkey, as the result of acts of war, or measures of requisition,
sequestration, disposal or confiscation.
Nevertheless, the above provisions are
without prejudice to the provisions of Part III (Economic Clauses) of the
present Treaty.
Turkey renounces in favour of the other
Contracting Parties (except Greece) any right in the sums in gold transferred
by Germany and Austria under Article 259 (1) of the Treaty of Peace of the 28th
June, 1919, with Germany, and under Article 210 (1) of the Treaty of Peace of
the 10th September, 1919, with Austria.
The Council of the Administration of the
Ottoman Public Debt is freed from all liability to make the payments which it
was required to make by the Agreement of the 20th June, 1331 (3rd
July, 1915) relating to the first issue of Turkish currency notes or by the
words inscribed on the back of such notes.
Turkey also agrees not to claim from the
British Government or its nationals the repayment of the sums paid for the
warships ordered in England by the Ottoman government which were requisitioned
by the British Government in 1914, and renounces all claims in the matter.
Article 59
Greece recognises her obligation to make
reparation for the damage caused in Anatolia by the acts of the Greek army or
administration which were contrary to the laws of war.
On the other hand, Turkey, in consideration
of the financial situation of Greece resulting from the prolongation of the
war and from its consequences, finally, renounces all claims for reparation
against the Greek Government.
Article 60
The States in favour of which territory was
or is detached from the Ottoman Empire after the Balkan wars or by the present
Treaty shall acquire, without payment, all the property and possessions of the
Ottoman Empire situated therein.
It is understood that the property and
possessions of which the transfer from the Civil List to the State was laid
down by the Irades of the 26th August, 1324 (8th
September, 1908) and the 20th April, 1325 (2nd May,
1909), and also those which, on the 30th October, 1918, were
administered by the Civil List for the benefit of a public service, are
included among the property and possessions referred to in the preceding
paragraph, the aforesaid States being subrogated to the Ottoman Empire in
regard to the property and possessions in question. The Wakfs created on such
property shall be maintained.
The dispute which has arisen between the
Greek and Turkish Governments relating to property and possessions which have
passed from the Civil List to the State and are situated in territories of the
former Ottoman Empire transferred to Greece either after the Balkan wars, or
subsequently, shall be referred to an arbitral tribunal at The Hague, in
accordance with the special protocol No.2 annexed to the Treaty of Athens of
the 1st - 14th November, 1913. The terms of reference
shall be settled between the two Governments.
The provisions of this Article will not
modify the juridical nature of the property and possessions registered in the
name of the Civil List or administered by it, which are not referred to in the
second and third paragraphs above.
Article 61
The recipients of Turkish civil and military
pensions who acquire under the present Treaty the nationality of a State other
than Turkey, shall have no claim against the Turkish Government in respect of
their pensions.
Article 62
Turkey recognises the transfer of any claims
to payment or repayment which Germany, Austria, Bulgaria or Hungary may have
against her in accordance with Article 264 of the Treaty of Peace concluded at
Versailles on the 28th June, 1919, with Germany, and the
corresponding articles of the Treaties of Peace of the 10th
September, 1919, with Austria; of the 27th November, 1919, with
Bulgaria; and of the 4th June, 1920, with Hungary.
The other Contracting Powers agree to release
Turkey from the debts for which she is liable on this account.
The claims which Turkey has against Germany,
Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary, are also transferred to the aforesaid
Contracting Powers.
Article 63
The Turkish Government, in agreement with the
other Contracting Powers, hereby releases the Germany Government from the
obligation incurred by it during the war to accept Turkish Government currency
notes at a specified rate of exchange in payment for goods to be exported to
Turkey from Germany after the war.
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