(3) The Bangkok International Court has in the monthon of Bangkok jurisdiction over all civil and criminal actions exceeding the jurisdiction of the Borispah Court I and in other parts of the Kingdom to which its jurisdiction extends full jurisdiction over all civil and criminal actions.

ART. 14. Subject to the provisions of the present rules, the ordinary rules for procedure, bail, and fees in use in the Siamese courts shall be applied in international courts. The fees shall be paid according to the rules of the court where the case is entered.

ART. 15. In every case falling within the jurisdiction of an international court the French consul shall have the right of being present at the trial or of being represented by an European official of the consulate duly authorized and of making all observations which may appear to him to be required in the interests of justice.

ART. 16. In any case in which the defendant is a French Asiatic subject or protégé the French consul may at any time during the proceedings, if he thinks fit and upon a written requisition, claim to hear the case. The case shall then be transferred to the French consular court, which from this moment shall alone be competent and to which the Siamese authorities are bound to give their assistance and good offices.

ART. 17. Transfer, as mentioned in the preceding article, may only be exercised in the court of first instance and before judgment. It may be exercised as a matter of right, provided these conditions and those of article 16 are satisfied.

Nevertheless this right shall cease to be exercised in all matters which shall be the subject of codes of laws regularly promulgated as soon as the communication of such codes or laws shall have been made to the Legation of France and they have been put into force.

ART. 18. Before coming to a final decision in cases pending before them international courts shall bring their intended decision to the notice of the French consul.

ART. 19. When a judgment has been agreed upon or read by an international court in the presence of the French consul, he shall indorse the original judgment as evidence that he was present.

CHAPTER III.

CASES ARISING IN THE MUANG IN WHICH AN INTERNATIONAL COURT SITS.

ART. 20. Civil or commercial claims shall be entered and notified to the opposite party in the usual way.

International courts shall notify the consul of their district of all claims and defenses entered with them and the date of the hearing of the case.

ART. 21. In criminal matters offenses may be prosecuted:

(1) By the injured party or by any person deriving from him a legal right to prosecute.

(2) By the representative of the Crown.

(3) By the consul resident in the district of the court.

ART. 22. In prosecutions before the Borispah Court I notice of the nature of the offense, the names and nationalities of the parties, and the date of hearing shall be given to the consul either by the police or by the court.

ART. 23. In prosecutions before other international courts a similar notice shall be given to the consul by the court.

ART. 24. The consul shall be informed without delay whenever a warrant for the arrest of or a search warrant affecting a French Asiatic subject or protégé is granted by an international court.

ART. 25. The hearing and judgment of a case shall take place in the presence of the consul, or in his absence, provided he has been duly notified as mentioned in articles 20, 22, and 23 and does not attend.

ART. 26. The consul may at any time inspect the files. Copies of the proceedings will be furnished to him by the court whenever desired.

CHAPTER IV.

CASES ARISING OUTSIDE THE MUANG IN WHICH AN INTERNATIONAL COURT SITS.

ART. 27. Cases which arise outside the muang in which an international court sits may, at the option of the claimant or of the Crown, be entered:

(1) Direct at the international court, or

(2) At the muang or monthon court in the jurisdiction of which the cases have arisen, having regard to the difference of the power of these courts as prescribed by Siamese procedure.

ART. 28. When a case is entered direct at an international court that court shall, in conjunction with the consul (or in his absence, provided he has been duly notified), decide according to the circumstances what course shall be taken in each case; that is to say, the court may—

(1) Retain the case.

(2) Send the case to the muang or monthon court for trial only.

(3) Send the case to the muang or monthon court for trial and judgment. ART. 29. When an international court retains the case it shall be tried and adjusted as if it had arisen in the muang where the international court sits. ART. 30. When an international court sends a case to a muang or monthon court for trial only, the trial shall take place according to the ordinary rules of Siamese procedure as altered by these rules, and the consul may exercise in respect of the muang or monthon court all the powers which he possesses in the international court.

When the trial has been completed, the file shall be returned to the international court, which shall notify the consul, and place the file at his disposal for a reasonable time before giving judgment.

Judgment may be read at the option of the international court or by the muang or monthon court where the case was tried.

ART. 31. When an international court sends a case to a muang or monthon court for trial and judgment that court may exercise all the powers of an international court.

The muang and monthon court shall try the case and give judgment according to the ordinary rules of Siamese procedure as altered by these rules, and the consul may exercise in respect of the muang or monthon court all the powers which he possesses in the international court.

ART. 32. When a civil or criminal case is entered at a muang or monthon court as mentioned in article 27, paragraph 2, the court shall proceed as follows: (1) If a civil case, the court shall receive the claim, notify the defendant and receive the answer, and then send the whole file up to the international court of its district.

(2) If a criminal case, the court shall at once notify the international court of the names, occupations, and nationalities of the accused and of the injured party, the nature of the offense, and any other circumstances necessary to put the international court in possession of the facts.

Whenever communication by post to the infernational court will take longer than 48 hours, the notification as above shall be telegraphed.

ART. 33. The international court being then cognizant of the case shall, in conjunction with the consul or in his absence, provided he has been duly notified, decide what course it will adopt, that is, whether it will retain the case or return it for trial only or for trial and judgment, as mentioned in articles 28 to 31 above.

ART. 34. Whenever an international court has sent a case to another court for trial or for trial and judgment, it may at any time make an order transferring further proceedings to itself, either at the request of the consul or of its own accord.

ART. 35. The provisions of articles 21, 23, 24, 25, and 26 apply to muang and monthon courts when acting in matters within the jurisdiction of an international cour".

ART. 36. In any event, even in connection with cases arising in the muang in which an international court sits, international courts may by commission or otherwise require other Siamese courts to make inquiries, inspections, take answers to interrogatories, or to take any other steps which may be of use in the trial of the case or for the purpose of eliciting the truth.

CHAPTER V.

THE COURT OF APPEAL.

ART. 37. Judgments of international courts of first instance may be appealed against to the court of appeal at Bangkok.

Interlocutory orders can only be appealed after judgment and together with an appeal from the judgment.

ART. 38. Appeals shall be filed at the court which read the judgment.

ART. 39. The petition on appeal shall be filed within the limits of time provided by Siamese procedure.

ART. 40. The appellant shall, within the same limits of time, pay all fees due and payable, otherwise the appeal shall be null and void.

ART. 41. When an appeal is filed with an international court, the latter shall give the ordinary notice of appeal to the opposite party, and receive the reply. It shall then notify the consul, and shall place the file at the disposal of the consul, in order that the consul may take advantage of the power conferred on him by Clause V of the protocol of the 23d March, 1907, of giving a written opinion on the case. The international court shall annex any opinion to the file and send the whole to the court of appeal.

ART. 42. When an appeal is filed with a muang or monthon court the latter shall give the ordinary notice of appeal to the opposite party, receive the reply, and send the file to the international court, which shall then proceed as mentioned in article 41.

ART. 43. The judgment of appeal shall bear the signature of two European judges.

CHAPTER VI.

THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL.

ART. 44. An appeal on a question of law may be made against Judgments of the appeal court to the supreme, or dika, court.

The grounds of this appeal may be want of jurisdiction or abuse of power, or in general for every violation of the law.

ART. 45. The appeal to the dika court shall be filed before the court in which the judgment on appeal was read within the limits of time provided by Siamese procedure.

ART. 46. The petition on dika shall set out the grounds of the dika, and all fees due and payable shall be paid therewith, otherwise the dika shall be null and void.

ART. 47. The dika court may itself pronounce judgment on the merits of the case.

SPAIN.

ADHESION OF SPAIN TO THE DECLARATION OF PARIS OF 1856.

File No. 11854.

No. 474.]

Minister Collier to the Secretary of State.

AMERICAN LEGATION,

Madrid, February 4, 1908. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith the text and translation of the royal decree of the 20th ultimo, ratifying the declaration made by Spain at the recent international peace conference, whereby she accepts all the rules, including that for the abolition of privateering, laid down in the declaration of Paris of 1856.

I have, etc.,

WM. MILLER COLLIER.

[Inclosure.-Translation.]
Decree.

[From Gaceta of January 22, 1908.]

Ministry of State.

Preamble.

SIR: The plenipotentiaries of the Governments of Austria, Sardinia, France, Great Britain. Prussia, Russia, and Turkey, who, convened at the congress of Paris, had just signed the treaty of March 30, 1856, for the reestablishment of peace, on April 16 of that year drew up a declaration relating to maritime law in time of war to the effect that:

First. Privateering was and should remain abolished.

Second. The neutral flag covers enemy goods excepting contraband of war. Third. Neutral goods under the enemy's flag, excepting also contraband of war, can not be captured.

Fourth. Blockades to be binding must be effective-that is, must be maintained by forces capable of actually preventing access to the enemy's coast. This declaration, according to one of its paragraphs, was to be submitted to the States not represented at the congress, which were to be invited to adhere thereto.

Such an invitation having been extended to Spain by the French ambassador in a note of May 19, 1856, the Government then in power had to take into account the circumstance, which had also been communicated to it, that adhesion to the rules above set forth could not be limited, but must embrace them all, according to the twenty-fourth protocol of the congress. The minister of state of his Catholic majesty, in his reply under date of May 16, 1857, stated that the Madrid cabinet highly appreciated the noble doctrines embodied in the declaration and had seen with satisfaction the resolutions adopted as to the liberty of enemy goods under a neutral flag and of neutral goods under the enemy's flag and as to the requirement, for the existence of a blockade, that access to the enemy's coast should be prevented; but that it could not at that time, owing to special considerations impossible to disregard, assent to the rule that privateering was and should remain abolished.

The right nevertheless to issue letters of marque, reserved by Spain in 1857, has not since then been exercised.

Upon the discussion recently at the Second International Peace Conference of various questions of international maritime law in time of war your Majesty's Government had to consider whether the change in circumstances

and the practically unanimous example of other powers did not render it advisable to give the adhesion which half a century ago was refused.

The result of our deliberations was that we authorized the first delegate of Spain at the said conference to announce that our country, inspired by the desire to contribute to the unification of international maritime law in time of war, was now prepared to accept the rule for the suppression of privateering and to adhere to the Declaration of Paris of 1856 in its entirety.

This adhesion having been thereupon communicated to the Government of the neighboring Republic, and having been accepted by it, in its name and in that of the other high contracting parties, the undersigned minister, in accord with the council of ministers, has the honor to submit to your Majesty's approval the following draft decree.

Madrid, January 20, 1908.

Sir, your Majesty's most obedient servant,

MANUEL ALLENDESALAZAR.

ROYAL DECREE.

Whereas my ambassador in London and first delegate at the Second International Peace Conference made, in pursuance of instructions, at the seventh plenary session of the said conference, on September 27, 1907, a declaration in the following terms: "The Spanish Government informed that of France by a note of May 16, 1857, addressed to the French ambassador in Madrid, that it highly appreciated the noble doctrines contained in the Declaration of Paris, and saw with satisfaction the international agreement adopted as to the liberty of enemy goods under the neutral flag and of neutral goods under the enemy's flag, as well as that respecting the effectiveness of blockades; but that it could not, at that time, assent to the abolition of privateering. His Majesty's Government, which has not since had occasion to avail itself of the right to issue letters of marque, expressly reserved in 1857, inspired now by the desire to contribute to the unification of international maritime law, has commissioned me to inform the conference that it accepts the rule for the abolition of privateering and adheres to all the provisions of the Declaration of Paris; "

And whereas my ambassador in Paris has notified the French Government of the said adhesion, and the said Government has accepted it in its own name, and in that of the other powers which signed the declaration as to maritime law, drawn up in that capital on April 16, 1856;

Therefore, taking into consideration the reasons submitted to me by my minister of state, and in accordance with the advice of the council of ministers, I hereby resolve that the declaration above recited, made in the name of the Spanish Government before the Second International Peace Conference by the first delegate of Spain, shall be strictly fulfilled and obeyed and shall be held to be in full force and effect for the purposes therein set forth. Given in the palace this 20th of January, 1908.

The Minister of State:

ALFONSO.

MANUEL ALLENDESALAZAR.

ARBITRATION CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES

AND SPAIN.

Signed at Washington, April 20, 1908. Ratification advised by the Senate, April 22, 1908. Ratified by the President, May 28, 1908. Ratified by Spain, May 11, 1908. Ratifications exchanged at Washington, June 2, 1908. Proclaimed, June 3, 1908.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas a Convention between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain providing for the submission to arbitration of all questions of a legal nature or relating to the interpretation of treaties, which may arise between the two countries and which it may not

76851°-F B 1908 46