THE TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE ALLIED AND ASSOCIATED POWERS
AND TURKEY
SIGNED AT SÈVRES
AUGUST 10, 1920

Index | Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

PART XI.

PORTS, WATERWAYS AND RAILWAYS.

SECTION I.

GENERAL PROVISIONS.

ARTICLE 328.

Turkey undertakes to grant freedom of transit through her territories on the routes most convenient for international transit, either by rail, navigable waterway or canal, to persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and mails coming from or going to the territories of any of the Allied Powers, whether contiguous or not; for this purpose the crossing of territorial waters shall be allowed. Such persons, goods, vessels, carriages, wagons and mails shall not be subjected to any transit duty or to any undue delays or restrictions, and shall be entitled in Turkey to national treatment as regards charges, facilities and all other matters.

Goods in transit shall be exempt from all customs or other similar duties.

All charges imposed on transport in transit shall be reasonable having regard to the conditions of the traffic. No charge, facility or restriction shall depend directly or indirectly on the ownership or the nationality of the ship or other means of transport on which any part of the through journey has been, or is to be, accomplished.

ARTICLE 329.

Turkey undertakes neither to impose nor to maintain any control over transmigration traffic through her territories beyond measures necessary to ensure that passengers are bonâ fide in transit; nor to allow any shipping company or any other private body, corporation or person interested in the traffic to take any part whatever in, or to exercise any direct or indirect infiuence over, any administrative service that may be necessary for this purpose.

ARTICLE 330.

Turkey undertakes to make no discrimination or preference, direct or indirect, in the duties, charges and prohibitions relating to importations into or exportations from her territories, or, subject to any special provisions in the present Treaty, in the charges and conditions of transport of goods or persons entering or leaving her territories, based on the frontier crossed, or on the kind, ownership or fiag of the means of transport (including aircraft) employed, or on the original or immediate place of departure of the vessel, wagon or aircraft or other means of transport employed, or its ultimate or intennediate destination, or on the route of or places of trans-shipment on the journey, or on whether any port through which the goods are imported or exported is a Turkish port or a port belonging to any foreign country, or en whether the goods are imported or exported by sea, by land or by air.

Turkey particularly undertakes not to establish against the ports and vessels of any of the Allied Powers any surtax or any direct or indirect bounty for export or import by Turkish ports or vessels, or by those of another Power, for example, by means of combined tariffs. She further undertakes that persons or goods passing through a port or using a vessel of any of the Allied Powers shall not be subjected to any formality or delay whatever to which such persons or goods would not be subjected if they passed through a Turkish port or a port of any other Power, or used a Turkish vessel or a vessel of any other Power.

ARTICLE 331.

All necessary administrative and technical measures shall be taken to expedite, as much as possible, the transmission of goods across the Turkish frontiers and to ensure their forwarding and transport from such frontiers irrespective of whether such goods are coming from or going to the territories of the Allied Powers or are in transit from or to those territories, under the same material conditions in such matters as rapidity of carriage and care ent route as are enjoyed by other goods of the sarme kind carried on Turkish territory under similar conditions of transport .

In particular, the transport of perishable goods shall be promptly and regularly carried out, and the customs formalities shall be effected in such a way as to allow the goods to be carried straight through by trains which make connection.

ARTICLE 332.

The seaports of the Allied Powers are entitled to all favours and to all reduced tariffs granted on Turkish railways or navigable waterways for the benefit of Turkish ports (without prejudice to the rights of concessionaires) or of any port of another Power.

ARTICLE 333

Subject to the rights of concessionaires, Turkey may not refuse to participate in the tariffs or combinations of tariffs intended to secure for ports of any of the Allied Powers advantages similar to those granted by Turkey to her own ports or the ports of any other Power.

SECTION II.

NAVIGATION.

CHAPTER I.

FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION.

ARTICLE 334.

The nationals of any of the Allied Powers as well as their vessels and property shall enjoy in all Turkish ports and on the inland navigation routes of Turkey at least the same treatment in all respects as Turkish nationals, vessels and property.

In particular, the vessels of any one of the Allied Powers shall be entitled to transport goods of any description and passengers to or from any ports or places in Turkish territory to which Turkish vessels may have access, under conditions which shall not be more onerous than those applied in the case of national vessels, they shall be treated on a footing of equality with national vessels as regards port and harbour facilities and charges of every description, including facilities for stationing, loading and unloading, tonnage duties and charges, harbour, pilotage, lighthouse, quarantine and all analogous duties and charges of whatsoever nature levied in the name of or for the profit of the Government, public functionaries, private individuals, corporations or establishments of any kind.

In the event of Turkey granting a preferential regime to any of the Allied Powers or to any other foreign Power, this regime shall be extended immediately and unconditionally to all the Allied Powers.

There shall be no restrictions on the movement of persons or vessels other than those arising from prescriptions concerning customs, police, public health, emigration, and immigration and those relating to the import and export of prohibited goods. Such regulations must be reasonable and uniform and must not impede traffic unnecessarily.

CHAPTER II.

PORTS OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

ARTICLE 335.

The following Eastern ports are declared ports of international concern and placed under the regime defined in the following Articles of this section;

Constantinople, from St. Stefano to Dolma Bagtchi;

Haidar Pasha;

Smyrna;

Alexandretta;

Haifa;

Basra;

Trebizond (in the conditions laid down in Article 352);

Batum (subject to conditions to be subsequently fixed).

Free zones shall be provided in these ports.

Subject to any provisions to the contrary in the present Treaty, the regime laid down for the above ports shall not prejudice the territorial sovereignty.

(1) Navigation.

ARTICLE 336

In the ports declared of international concern the nationals goods and flags of all States Members of the League of Nations shall enjoy complete freedom in the use of the port. In this connection and in all respects they shall be treated on a footing of perfect equality, particularly as regards all port and quay facilities and charges, including facilities for berthing, loading and discharging, tonnage dues and charges, quay, pilotage, lighthouse, quarantine and all similar dues and charges of whatsoever nature, levied in the name of or for the profit of the Government, public functionaries, private individuals, corporations or establishments of every kind, no distinction being made between the nationals, goods and flags of the different States and those of the State under whose sovereignty or authority the port is placed.

There shall be no restrictions on the movement of persons or vessels other than those arising from regulations concerning customs, police, public health, emigration and immigration and those relating to the import and export of prohibited goods. Such regulations must be reasonable and uniform and must not impede traffic unnecessarily.

(2) Dues and Charges.

ARTICLE 337.

All dues and charges for the use of the port or of its approaches, or for the use of facilities provided in the port, shall be levied under the conditions of equality prescribed in Article 336, and shall be reasonable both as regards their amount and their application, having regard to the expenses incurred by the port authority in the administration, upkeep and improvement of the port and of the approaches thereto, or in the interests of navigation.

Subject to the provisions of Article 54, Part III (Political Clauses) of the present Treaty all dues and charges other than those provided for in the present Article or in Articles 338, 342, or 343 are forbidden.

ARTICLE 338.

All customs, local octroi or consumption dues, duly authorised, levied on goods imported or exported through a port subject to the international regime shall be the same, whether the flag of the vessel which effected or is to effect the transport be the flag of the State exercising sovereignty or authority over the port or any other flag. In the absence of special circumstances justifying an exception on account of economic needs, such dues must be fixed on the same basis and at the same tariffs as similar duties levied on the other customs frontiers of the State concerned. All facilities which may be accorded by such State over other land or water routes or at other ports for the import or export of goods shall be equally granted to imports and exports through the port subject to the international regime.

(3) Works.

ARTICLE 339.

In the absence of any special arrangement relative to the execution of works for maintaining and improving the port, it shall be the duty of the State under whose sovereignty or authority the port is placed to take suitable measures to remove any obstacle or danger to navigation and to secure facilities for the movements of ships in the port.

ARTICLE 340.

The State under whose sovereignty or authority the port is placed must not undertake any works liable to prejudice the facilities for the use of the port or of its approaches.

(4) Free Zones

ARTICLE 341.

The facilities granted in a free zone for the erection or use of warehouses and for packing and unpacking goods shall be in accordance with trade requirements for the time being. All goods allowed to be consumed in the free zone shall be exempt from customs, excise and all other duties of any description whatsoever apart from the statistical duty provided for in Article 342. Unless otherwise provided in the present Treaty, it shall be within the discretion of the State under whose sovereignty or authority the port is placed to permit or to prohibit manufacture within the free zone. There shall be no discrimination in regard to any of the provisions of this Article either between persons belonging to different nationalities or between goods of different origin or destination.

ARTICLE 342.

No duties or charges, other than those provided for in Article 336, shall be levied on goods arriving in the free zone or departing therefrom, from whatever foreign country they come or for whatever foreign country they are destined, other than a statistical duty which shall not exceed 1 per mille ad valorem. The proceeds of this statistical duty shall be devoted exclusively to the maintenance of the service dealing with the statistics relating to the traffic of the free zone.

ARTICLE 343.

Subject to the provisions of Article 344, the duties referred to in Article 338 may be levied under the conditions laid down in that Article on goods coming from or going to the free zone on their importation into the territory of the State under whose sovereignty or authority the port is placed or on their exportation from such territory respectively.

ARTICLE 344.

Persons, goods, postal services, ships, vessels, carriages, wagons and other means of transport coming from or going to the free zone, and crossing the territory of the State under whose sovereignty or authority the port is placed, shall be deemed to be in transit across that State if they are going to or coming from the territory of any other State whatsoever.

(5) Dispute

ARTICLE 345.

Subject to the provisions contained in Article 61, Part III (Political Clauses), differences which may arise between interested States with regard to the interpretation or to the application of the dispositions contained in Articles 335 to 344, as well as, in general, any differences between interested States with regard to the use of the ports, shall be settled in accordance vvith the conditions laid down by the League of Nations.

Differences with regard to the execution of works liable to prejudice the facilities for the use of the port or of its approaches shall be dealt with by an accelerated procedure, and may be the object of an expression of opinion, or of a provisional decision which may prescribe the suspension or the immediate suppression of the said works, without prejudice to the ultimate opinion or decision in the case.

CHAPTER III.

CLAUSES RELATING TO THE MARITSA AND THE DANUBE

ARTICLE 346.

On a request being made by one of the riparian States to the Council of the League of Nations, the Maritsa shall be declared an international river, and shall be subject to the regime of international rivers laid down in Articles 332 to 338 of the Treaty of Peace concluded with Germany on June 28, 1919.

ARTICLE 347

On a request being made to the Council of the League of Nations by any riparian State, the Maritsa shall be placed under the administration of an International Commission, which shall comprise one representative of each riparian State and one representative of Great Britain, one of France and one of Italy.

ARTICLE 348.

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 133, Part III (Political Clauses), Turkey hereby recognises and accepts all the dispositions relating to the Danube inserted in the Treaties of Peace concluded with Germany, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria and the regime for that river resulting therefrom.

CHAPTER IV.

CLAUSES GIVING TO CERTAIN STATES THE USE OF CERTAIN PORTS.

ARTICLE 349

In order to ensure to Turkey free access to the Mediterranean and Agean Seas, freedom of transit is accorded to Turkey over the territories and in the ports detached from Turkey.

Freedom of transit is the freedom defined in Article 328, until such time as a General Convention on the subject shall have been concluded, whereupon the dispositions of the new Convention shall be substituted therefor.

Special conventions between the States or Administrations concerned will lay down, as regards Turkey with the assent of the Financial Commission, the conditions of the exercise of the right accorded above, and will settle in particular the method of using the ports and the free zones existing in them, the establishment of international (joint) services and tariffs, including through tickets and way-bills, and the application of the Convention of Berne of October 14, 1890, and its supplementary provisions, until its replacement by a new Convention.

Freedom of transit will extend to postal, telegraphic and telephonic services.

ARTICLE 350.

In the port of Smyrna Turkey will be accorded a lease in perpetuity, subject to determination by the League of Nations, of an area which shall be placed under the general regime of free zones laid down in Articles 341 to 344, and shall be used for the direct transit of goods coming from or going to that State.

The delimitation of the area referred to in the preceding paragraph, its connection with existing railways, its equipment and exploitation, and in general all the conditions of its utilisation, including the amount of the rental, shall be decided by a Commission consisting of one delegate of Turkey, one delegate of Greece, and one delegate appointed by the League of Nations. These conditions shall be susceptible of revision every ten years in the same manner.

ARTICLE 351.

Free access to the Black Sea by the port of Batum is accorded to Georgia, Azerbaijan and Persia, as well as to Armenia. This right of access will be exercised in the conditions laid down in Article 349.

ARTICLE 352.

Subject to the decision provided for in Article 89, Part III (Political Clauses), free access to the Black Sea by the port of Trebizond is accorded to Armenia. This right of access will be exercised in the conditions laid down in Article 349.

In that event Armenia will be accorded a lease in perpetuity, subject to determination by the League of Nations, of an area in the said port which shall be placed under the general regime of free zones laid down in Articles 34x to 344, and shall be used for the direct transit of goods coming from or going to that State.

The delimitation of the area referred to in the preceding paragraph, its connection with existing railways, its equipment and exploitation, and in general all the conditions of its utilisation, including the amount of the rental, shall be decided by a Commission consisting of one delegate of Armenia, one delegate of Turkey, and one delegate appointed by the League of Nations. These conditions shall be susceptible of revision every ten years in the same manner.

SECTION III .

RAILWAYS.

CHAPTER I.

CLAUSES RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT

ARTICLE 353.

Subject to the rights of concessionaire companies, goods coming from the territories of the Allied Powers and going to Turkey and vice versa, or in transit through Turkey from or to the territories of the Allied Powers, shall enjoy on the Turkish railways as regards charges to be collected (rebates and drawbacks being taken into account), facilities and all other matters, the most favourable treatment applied to goods of the same kind carried on any Turkish lines, either in internal trafffic or for export, import or in transit, under similar conditions of transport, for example as regards length of route.

International tariffs established in acordance with the rates referred to in the preceding paragraph and involving through way bills shall be established when one of the Allied Powers shall require it from Turkey.

ARTICLE 354

From the coming into force of the present Treaty Turkey agrees, under the reserves indicated in the second paragraph of this Article, to subscribe to the conventions and arrangements signed at Berne on October 14, 1890, September 20, 1893, July 16, 1895, June 16, 1898, and September 19, 1906, regarding the transportation of goods by rail.

If within five years from the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty a new convention for the transportation of passengers, luggage and goods by rail shall have been concluded to replace the Berne Convention of October 14, 1890, and the subsequent additions referred to above, this new convention and the supplementary provisions for international transport by rail which may be based on it shall bind Turkey, even if she shall have refused to take part in the preparation of the convention or to subscribe to it. Until a new convention shall have been concluded, Turkey shall conform to the provisions of the Berne Convention and the subsequent additions referred to above, and to the current supplementary provisions.

ARTICLE 355.

Subject to the rights of concessionaire companies, Turkey shall be bound to co-operate in the establishment of through-ticket services (for passengers and their luggage) which shall be required by any of the Allied Powers to ensure their communication by rail with each other and with all other countries by transit across the territories of Turkey; in particular Turkey shall, for this purpose, accept trains and carriages coming from the territories of the Allied Powers and shall forward them with a speed at least equal to that of her best long-distance trains on the same lines. The rates applicable to such through services shall not in any case be higher than the rates collected on Turkish internal services for the same distance, under the same conditions of speed and comfort.

The tariffs applicable under the same conditions of speed and comfort to the transportation of emigrants going to or coming from ports of the Allied Powers and using the Turkish railways shall not be at a higher kilometric rate than the most favourable tariffs (drawbacks and rebates being taken into account) enjoyed on the said railways by emigrants going to or coming from any other ports.

ARTICLE 356.

Turkey shall not apply specially to such through services, or to the transportation of emigrants going to or coming from the ports of the Allied Powers, any technical, fiscal or administrative measures, such as measures of customs examination, general police, sanitary police, and control, the result of which would be to impede or delay such services.

ARTICLE 357

In case of transport partly by rail and partly by internal navigation, with or without through way-bill, the preceding Articles shall apply to the part of the journey performed by rail.

CHAPTER II.

ROLLING STOCK.

ARTICLE 358.

Turkey undertakes that Turkish wagons used for international traffic shall be fitted with apparatus allowing: (1) Of their inelusion in goods trains on the lines of such of the Allied Powers as are parties to the Berne Convention of May 15, 1886, as modified on May 18, 1907, without hampering the action of the continuous brake which may be adopted in such countries within ten years of the coming into force of the present Treaty and

(2) Of the acceptance of wagons of such countries in all goods trains on the Turkish lines.

The rolling-stock of the Allied Powers shall enjoy on the Turkish lines the same treatment as Turkish rolling stock as regards movement, upkeep and repair.

CHAPTER III.

TRANSFERS OF RAILWAY LINES.

ARTICLE 359.

Subject to any special provisions concerning the transfer of ports and railways, whether owned by the Turkish Government or private companies, situated in the territories detached from Turkey under the present Treaty, and to the financial conditions relating to the concessionaires and the pensioning of the personnel, the transfer of railways will take place under the following conditions:

(1) The works and installations of all the railroads shall be left complete and in as good condition as possible.

(2) When a railway system possessing its own roiling stock is situated in its entirety in transferred territory, such stock shall be left complete with the railway, in accordance with the last inventory before October 30, 1918, and in a normal state of upkeep, Turkey being responsible for any losses due to causes within her control.

(3) As regards lines, the administration of which will in virtue of the present Treaty be divided, the distribution of the rolling stock shall be made by agreement between the administrations taking over the several parts thereof. This agreement shall have regard to the amount of the material registered on those lines in the last inventory before October 30, 1918, the length of track (sidings included) and the nature and amount of the trafffic. Failing agreement the points in dispute shall be settled by an arbitrator designated by the League of Nations who shall also, if necessary, specify the locomotives, carriages and wagons to be left on each section, the conditions of their acceptance, and such provisional arrangements as he may judge necessary to ensure for a limited period the current maintenance in existing workshops of the transferred stock.

(4) Stocks of stores, fittings and plant shall be left under the same conditions as the rolling stock.

ARTICLE 360.

The Turkish Government abandons whatever rights it possesses over the Hedjaz railway, and accepts such arrangements as shall be made for its working, and for the distribution of the property belonging to or used in connection with the railway, by the Governments concerned. In any such arrangements the special position of the railway from the religious point of view shall be fully recognised and safeguarded.

CHAPTER IV.

WORKING AGREEMENTS.

ARTICLE 361.

When, as a result of the fixing of new frontiers, a railway connection between two parts of the same country crosses another country, or a branch line from one country has its terminus in another, the conditions of working, if not specifically provided for in the present Treaty, shall be laid down in a convention between the railway administrations concerned. If the administrations cannot come to an agreement as to the terms of such convention, the points of difference shall be decided by an arbitrator appointed as provided in Article 359.

The establishment of all new frontier stations between Turkey and the contiguous Allied States or new States, as well as the working of the lines between those stations, shall be settled by agreements similarly concluded.

ARTICLE 362

A standing conference of technical representatives nominated by the Governments concerned shall be constituted with powers to agree upon the necessary joint arrangements for through traffic working, wagon exchange, through rates and tariffs and other similar matters affecting railways situated on territory forming part of the Turkish Empire on August 1, 1914.

SECTION IV.

MISCELLANEOUS.

CHAPTER I.

HYDRAULIC SYSTEM.

ARTICLE 363

In default of any provision to the contrary, when as the result of the fixing of a new frontier the hydraulic system (canalisation inundation, irrigation, drainage or similar matters) in a State is dependent on works executed within the territory of another State, or when use is made on the territory of a State, in virtue of pre-war usage, of water or hydraulic power the source of which is on the territory of another State, an agreement shall be made between the States concerned to safeguard the interests and rights acquired by each of them.

Failing an agreement, the matter shall be regulated by an arbitrator appointed by the Council of the League of Nations.

CHAPTER II.

TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES.

ARTICLE 364

Turkey undertakes on the request of any of the Allied Powers to grant facilities for the erection and maintenance of trunk telegraph and telephone lines across her territories.

Such facilities shall comprise the grant to any telegraph or telephone company nominated by any of the Allied Powers of the right:

(a) To erect a new line of poles and wires along any line of railway or other route in Turkish territory;

(b) To have access at all times to such poles and wires or wires placed by agreement on existing poles, and to take such steps as may be necessary to ma nta n them in good working order;

(c) To utilise the services of their own staff for the purpose of working such wires.

All questions relating to the establishment of such lines, especially as regards compensation to private individuals, shall be settled in the same conditions as are applied to telegraph or telephone lines established by the Turkish Government itself.

ARTICLE 365.

Notwithstanding any contrary stipulations in existing treaties, Turkey undertakes to grant freedom of transit for telegraphic eorrespondence and telephonic communications coming from or going to any one of the Allied Powers, whether contiguous with her or not, over such lines as may be most suitable for international transit and in accordance with the tariffs in force. This correspondence and these communications shall be subjected to no unnecessary delay or restriction; they shall enjoy in Turkey national treatment in regard to every kind of facility, and especially in regard to rapidity of transmission. No payment, facility or restriction shall depend directly or indirectly on the nationality of the transmitter or the addressee.

Where, in consequence of the provisions of the present Treaty, lines previously entirely on Turkish territory traverse the territory of more than one State, pending the revision of telegraph rates by a new international telegraphic convention, the through charges shall not be higher than they would have been if the whole of the territory traversed had remained under Turkish sovereignty, and the apportionment of the through charges between the States traversed shall be dealt with by agreement between the administrations concerned.

CHAPTER III.

SUBMARINE CABLES.

ARTICLE 366.

Turkey agrees to transfer the landing rights at Constantinople for the Constantinople-Constanza cable to any administration or company which may be designated by the Allied Powers.

ARTICLE 367.

Turkey renounces on her own behalf and on behalf of her nationals in favour of the Principal Allied Powers all rights, titles or privileges of whatever nature over the whole or part of the Jeddah-Suakin and Cyprus-Latakia submarine cables.

If the cables or portions thereof transferred under the preceding paragraph are privately owned, the value, calculated on the basis of the original cost less a suitable allowance for depreciation, shall be credited to Turkey.

CHAPTER IV.

EXECUTORY PROVISIONS.

ARTICLE 368.

Turkey shall carry out the instructions given her, in regard to transport, by an authorised body acting on behalf of the Allied Powers:

(I) For the carriage of troops under the provisions of the present Treaty, and of material, ammunition and supplies for army use;

(2) As a temporary measure, for the transportation of supplies for certain regions, as well as for the restoration, as rapidly as possible, of the normal conditions of transport, and for the organisation of postal and telegraphic services.

SECTION V.

DISPUTES AND REVISION OF PERMANENT CLAUSES.

ARTICLE 369.

Unless otherwise specifically provided for in the present Treaty, disputes which may arise between interested Powers with regard to the interpretation and application of this Part of the present Treaty shall be settled as provided by the League of Nations.

ARTICLE 370.

At any time the League of Nations may recommend the revision of such of these Articles as relate to a permanent administrative regime.

ARTICLE 371.

The stipulations of Articles 328 to 334, 353 and 355 to 357 shall be subject to revision by the Council of the League of Nations at any time after three years from the coming into force of the present Treaty.

Subject to the provisions of Article 373 no Allied Power can claim the benefit of any of the stipulations of the Articles enumerated above on behalf of any portion of its territories in which reciprocity is not accorded in respect of such stipulations.

SECTION VI.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS.

ARTICLE 372.

Without prejudice to the special obligations imposed on her by the present Treaty for the benefit of the Allied Powers, Turkey undertakes to adhere to any General Conventions regarding the international regime of transit, waterways, ports or railways which may be concluded, with the approval of the League of Nations, within five years of the coming into force of the present Treaty.

ARTICLE 373.

Unless otherwise expressly provided in the present Treaty, nothing in this Part shall prejudice more extensive rights conferred on the nationals of the Allied Powers by the Capitulations or by any arrangements which may be substituted therefor.