the Republic, after due authorization by the National Congress, and is as follows: The Government of the Republic of the United States of Brazil and the Government of the Argentine Republic, desiring to establish upon firm, permanent bases the relations of ancient friendship and neighborliness that happily exist between the two countries, have determined to celebrate a general treaty of arbitration, and, for this end, have nominated plenipotentiaries, to wit: "His excellency Mr. Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil; Mr. José Maria da Silva Paranhos do Rio-Branco, minister of state for foreign relations of the same Republic; and "His Excellency Mr. Manoel Quintana, President of the Argentine Republic; Mr. Manuel Gorostiagra, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in Brazil; "Who, duly authorized, have agreed upon the following articles: "ARTICLE I. "The high contracting parties bind themselves to submit to arbitration the controversies that may arise between them and that could not be settled by direct negotiations or by any other way of deciding amicable international disputes, insofar as such controversies do not turn upon questions involving constitutional rules of the one or the other of the two countries. "ARTICLE II. "The consideration of passed questions, that have been the subject of definite agreements between the two parties, will not by virtue of this treaty, be reopened, it being possible to submit to arbitration only the questions regarding the interpretation and execution of the same. "ARTICLE III. "The high contracting parties will sign a special agreement for each case that occurs. "ARTICLE IV. "The points agreed upon will be fixed with due clearness by the high contracting parties who should also determine the scope of the powers of the arbitrator or arbitrators and the procedure governing them. "ARTICLE V. "In the absence of special stipulations between the parties, it is the duty of the arbitrator or arbitrators to designate the time and the place of the sessions, outside of the territories of the contracting States, selecting the language that must be used, determining the manner of presentation of the case, the formalities and periods of time to which the parties should adhere, the procedure to follow, and, in general, take all the necessary steps to fulfill their duties and solve all the difficulties that may arise in the course of the discussion. "The two Governments bind themselves to place at the disposition of the arbitrator or arbitrators all the sources of information at their disposal. "ARTICLE VI. "The designation of the arbitrator or arbitrators will be made in the special agreement or in a separate instrument, after the nominee or nominees declare that they accept the mission. "ARTICLE VII. "If it is agreed that the question shall be submitted to an arbitral tribunal, each of the high contracting parties will nominate an arbitrator and they will try to agree upon a third, who will be, by right, president of the tribunal. In the case of disagreement over the election of a third, the two Governments will request the President of the Swiss Confederation to nominate the president of the tribunal. "ARTICLE VIII. "Each one of the parties may appoint one or more representatives to defend their cause before the arbitrator or arbitrators. "ARTICLE IX. "The arbitrator, or the arbitral tribunal, is competent to decide as to the validity of the agreement and the interpretation of the same. Consequently it is also competent to decide the controversies between the parties as to whether certain questions that arise are or are not proper material to be submitted to the arbitral jurisdiction according to the terms of the agreement. "The arbitral tribunal is competent to decide as to the regularity of its own formation. "ARTICLE X. "The arbitrator or the arbitral tribunal should decide according to the principles of international law, according to the special rules that the two parties may have established, or ex æquo et bono in accordance with the powers that may have been conferred upon them by the agreement. "ARTICLE XI. "The decisions of the tribunal will be taken with the presence of the three arbitrators and by unanimity or majority of votes. "The concordant votes of the two arbitrators first chosen will solve the question or questions submitted to the tribunal. If there is a difference between the two, the president, or third arbitrator, will adopt one of the votes or will give his own, which will decide the question. "In the absence of one of the arbitrators, the session will be postponed until his appearance or while he is absent for sufficient reason. If, however, after having been duly summoned, the absentee without just reason does not care to take part in the decisions or in other acts of the tribunal, the tribunal may continue with the two present, inserting upon the minutes that the absence of the other is voluntary and without justification. "ARTICLE XII. "The sentence must decide finally all the points in litigation and will be made in duplicate, signed by the single arbitrator or by the three members of the arbitral tribunal. If any of these refuse to sign, the other two will make mention of this in a special act signed by them. "The decisions will or will not give the reasons therefor according to the provisions of each special agreement. "ARTICLE XIII. "The arbitrator or the arbitral tribunal must notify the representative of each of the two parties of the sentence. "ARTICLE XIV. "The sentence legally pronounced will decide, within the limits of its application, the litigation between the parties. It will indicate the time within which it must be executed. "ARTICLE XV. "Each one of the contracting States binds itself to observe and carry out loyally the arbitral decision. "ARTICLE XVI. "The questions that arise regarding the execution of the sentence will be decided by arbitration and, whenever it may be possible, by the same arbitrator which gave it. "ARTICLE XVII. "If, before the execution of the sentence, either of the two parties interested have knowledge of the falsity or forgery of any document upon which the sentence was based, or can prove that this. in whole or in part, is caused by an error as to fact, he may appeal for a rehearing to same arbitral tribunal. "ARTICLE XVIII. "Each one of the parties will pay the expenses of its representation and half of the general expenses of the arbitration. "ARTICLE XIX. "After the approval by the legislative power of each one of the two Republics, this treaty will be ratified by the respective Governments, and the ratifications will be exchanged in the city of Rio de Janeiro or in Buenos Aires in the shortest possible time. "ARTICLE XX. "The present treaty will be in force for ten years, counting from the day upon which the ratifications are exchanged. If it is not denounced six months before the end of this time, it will be continued for another period of ten years, and so on. "In faith that, we, the plenipotentiaries above nominated, signed the present instrument in duplicate, one in the Portuguese and the other in the Castillian languages, we affix thereto our seals. "Done in the City of Rio de Janeiro, on the seventh day of the month of September, in the year nineteen hundred and five." [L. 8.] [L. 8.] RIO-BRANCO. TREATY BETWEEN BRAZIL AND THE NETHERLANDS REGARDING THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN SURINAM AND BRAZIL. File No. 15101/3-4. No. 260.] Chargé Janes to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN EMBASSY, Petropolis, September 25, 1908. SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith translation and copies of the original of a treaty, concluded on May 5, 1906, between Holland and Brazil, providing for the marking of the exact boundary between the territory of this Republic and Dutch Guiana. This treaty was promulgated as a law of the Republic on the 24th of this month, the ratifications having been exchanged at The Hague on the 15th. The general boundary agreed upon in the treaty is that formed by the watershed separating the drainage basin of the Amazon on the south from the region to the north in which the rivers that empty into the Atlantic have their source. The task of making the final surveys for the exact boundary line is to be intrusted to commissioners who will at some future time be appointed by the Governments. It is interesting to note that the two parties bind themselves to submit to the permanent court of arbitration at The Hague all questions as to the application or interpretation of the provisions of the treaty on which no agreement can be reached. Should other causes of conflict develop, the treaty provides that a special agreement shall be entered into for the arbitration of the matter. This portion of the Brazilian frontier, previous to the present convention, was the only region that had not been the subject of a boundary treaty. With its promulgation, the entire national boundery of Brazil has been provided for through international agreements. Where the final line of demarcation has not already been run, commissioners are at work on the survey or are to begin their labors. I have, etc., HENRY S. JANES. [Inclosure. Translation.] Presidential decree No. 7133 of September 24, 1908, promulgating a treaty fixing the boundary between Brazil and Surinam. The President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil: Whereas the resolution of the National Congress of the 22nd of June, 1907, approving the treaty concluded in this capital on May 5, 1906, by the plenipotentiaries of the United States of Brazil and the Netherlands, establishing the boundary between Brazil and the colony of Surinam, has been sanctioned by decree No. 1659, of June 25 of the past year; and whereas the respective ratifications have been exchanged in the city of The Hague on the 15th of the current month: Decrees that said treaty shall be executed and carried out in every part of its provisions. Rio de Janeiro, September 24, 1908; 20th of the Republic. AFFONSO AUGUSTO MOREIRA PENNA. TREATY. The President of the United States of Brazil and Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, led by the wish of drawing tighter the bonds of friendship which happily exist between the two nations and to avoid conflicts which may arise if the frontier between Brazil and the colony of Surinam was not determined by convention, have resolved to conclude a treaty and to this end have appointed their plenipotentiaries, that is to say: The President of the United States of Brazil, Senor José Maria da Silva Paranhos do Rio-Branco, minister of state for foreign affairs; and Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, M. Frederic Palm, minister of the Netherlands in Brazil; Who, having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles: ARTICLE I. The boundary between the United States of Brazil and the colony of Surinam is formed, starting from the French boundary towards the British boundary, by the watershed separating the Amazon basin, in the south, from the basin of water courses, that, running to the north, empty into the Atlantic Ocean. ARTICLE II. As soon as they deem it convenient, the two Governments will name commissioners to mark the boundary. ARTICLE III. The high contracting parties bind themselves to submit to the permanent court of arbitration at The Hague disagreements that may arise regarding the application or interpretation of the present convention. In each particular case, the high contracting parties will sign a special agreement precisely determining the object of the litigation, the extent of the powers of the arbiter or of the arbiter tribunal, the mode of the designation of this, as well as the rules to be observed regarding the formalities and delays of procedure. ARTICLE IV. The present treaty, after the fulfilment of the constitutional formalities in the two countries, will be ratified and the ratifications will be exchanged at Rio de Janeiro or at The Hague with the shortest possible delay. Made in duplicate, at Rio de Janeiro, the fifth day of May, nineteen hundred and six. [L. 8.] [L. 8.] RIO-BRANCO. F. PALM. |