Niemen (Russtrom-Memel-Niemen), and the Danube, and such other parts of these river systems as may be covered by a general definition. ARTICLE 347 From the point where the competence of the European Commission ceases, the Danube system referred to in Article 331 shall be placed under the administration of an International Commission composed as follows: Two representatives of German riparian States; One representative of each non-riparian State represented in the future If certain of these representatives cannot be appointed at the time of the coming into force of the present Treaty, the decisions of the Commission shall nevertheless be valid. ARTICLE 348 The International Commission provided for in the preceding Article shall meet as soon as possible after the coming into force of the present Treaty, and shall undertake provisionally the administration of the river in conformity with the provisions of Articles 332 to 337, until such time as a definite statute regarding the Danube is concluded by the Powers nominated by the Allied and Associated Powers. ARTICLE 350 The mandate given by Article 57 of the Treaty of Berlin of July 13, 1878 to Austria-Hungary, and transferred by her to Hungary, to carry out works at the Iron Gates, is abrogated. The Commission entrusted with the administration of this part of the river shall lay down provisions for the settlement of account subject to the financial provisions of the present Treaty. Charges which may be necessary shall in no case be levied by Hungary. ARTICLE 351 Should the Czecho-Slovak State, the Serb-Croat-Slovene State or Rumania, with the authorization of or under mandate from the International Commission, undertake maintenance, improvement, weir, or other works on a part of the river system which forms a frontier, these States shall enjoy on the opposite bank, and also on the part of the bed which is outside their territory, all necessary facilities for the survey, execution and maintenance. of such works. ARTICLE 353 Should a deep-draught Rhine-Danube navigable waterway be constructed, Germany undertakes to apply thereto the régime prescribed in Articles 332 to 338. THE RHINELAND COMMISSION AT WORK BY ROBERT E. IRETON Late a Legal Adviser, High Commission, Coblence, and American Member, Legal Committee Unique among the governing bodies of the world today, controlling in large measure about thirty-one thousand square kilometers of the former German Empire with a population exceeding six million inhabitants, the Interallied Rhineland High Commission, the supreme representative of the Allied and Associated Powers within the occupied territory, presents to the student of administrative law much that is enlightening, interesting and valuable. In this branch of jurisprudence, so highly developed among continental European nations, America has not specialized to any marked degree, and indeed the same may be said of Great Britain. The High Commission-referred to hereinafter for the sake of brevity as the Commissionis the antithesis of the legal doctrine enunciated by Montesquieu and so readily accepted by the framers of our own Constitution: the triune distribution of power, the separation of governmental authority into executive, legislative and judicial departments, each distinct and independent of the others, yet all so correlated as to make one consistent, harmonious and logical system of government. The Commission itself exercises executive, legislative and judicial authority, and not infrequently issues its administrative mandates, enacts important and far-reaching ordinances, and reviews, as would an appellate court, the action of a German civil or criminal court at one and the same sitting. And it must be said with entire frankness that it does all these things well. Perhaps its limited personnel-men, however, of exceeding high mental and statesmanlike qualities-is responsible for much of its success. Be that as it may, the excellence of its administration is another proof that the "form" of a government is not the thing which counts, but the results of that government's action. For forms of government let fools contest, Pursuant to Articles II and V of the Armistice Agreement of November 11, 1918, the territory on the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by the "Allied and United States Armies of Occupation," assured by garrisons holding the principal crossings (Mayence, Coblence and Cologne), together with the bridgeheads at these points of a thirty kilometer radius on the right bank, and by garrisons holding the strategic points of the area. In addition, on the right bank of the Rhine, there was reserved a neutral zone between that river and a line drawn parallel to the bridgeheads and the river, ten kilometers distant from them, and extending from the Dutch to the Swiss frontier. MILITARY AND CIVIL CONTROL From December 1918 to January 10, 1920, when the Treaty of Versailles entered into effect, the territory in question was occupied in a military sense, in accordance with the laws and usages of war, by the Allied armies aforementioned, under Marshal Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies of Occupation. The territory for administrative convenience was divided into four zones-Belgian, British, American and French, with headquarters, respectively, at Aix-la-Chapelle, Cologne, Coblence and Mayence. In each zone the commanding general was the sole authority. This régime continued about thirteen months, ending on January 10, 1920. On that date the governing control of the occupied territory became vested in a civilian body, the Commission, aforementioned, by virtue of a convention annexed to the Treaty of Versailles, commonly referred to as the "Rhineland Agreement." Thus, it happens, the occupied territory has known two forms of occupational control within the brief space of little more than four years: first, military occupation; second, government by a civil commission. In truth, it is no exaggeration to say that the American zone was under both military and civil control coincidentally for almost two years. This followed because the American Forces in Germany remained a unit of occupation under the rights conferred by the original Armistice Agreement and its subsequent amendments, after Belgium, France and Great Britain had abandoned automatically that patent upon the entry into operation of the Treaty of Versailles and of the Agreement, aforementioned, thereto annexed. Since the United States had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles, the American Government could not acquire official representation in the High Commission; but since its troops were in the Rhineland under the Armistice terms, the Government suffered them to remain with the commanding general, Major General Henry T. Allen, as an "unofficial observer." This, however, did not prevent the United States from participating fully in the affairs of the Commission. From the beginning to the end America's representative sat with the Commission, but unofficially and without vote. He enjoyed the right to discuss every question that came before it, and to express his views and his Government's instructions, if any. The latter were seldom voiced; for, as previously stated, his rôle was that of an observer. His opinion was not only welcomed but respected, and no meeting was held without him or his deputy. America shared uniformly with her Allies in representation on all committees and other agencies of the Commission. Notwithstanding this apparent cooperation, the commanding general asserted his rights under the Armistice and held himself free to accept or negative, so far as his zone was concerned, any action of the Commission. If he approved such he ratified it by translating it into a general order which, upon publication, bound legally every resident within his zone. This policy was maintained for almost two years, or until the ratification of America's separate treaty with Germany, the commanding general of the American Forces practically controlling his zone under military law, issuing his own special orders as occasion required, and punishing violations of same in his military courts, styled Superior Provost Courts, two of which were established. The theory upon which this policy was based was that until peace had been declared officially between America and Germany these countries were still at war. This situation led to speculation not only among the inhabitants and German officials in the American zone, but among the personnel of the Commission and of the American Forces, as to the dominant authority therein. As a result, the Commission was deprived in some degree of the privileges and dignity enjoyed under the Rhineland Agreement, by the assertion of rights independent of the Commission and of that agreement; while it could have been and probably was construed by some as an indication of a schism among the Allied ranks in Coblence. This latter possibility was not lost to sight by German propagandists seeking to thwart the will of the Commission, to belittle its measures and rulings, to retard if not to avert payment of reparations, and to wreck the Treaty of Versailles. Nothing constructive was achieved by this policy of aloofness, which tended to weaken the solidarity and unity of the Allied forces, so essential to the successful outcome of the occupation, while, contrariwise, it embodied potential possibilities for mischief through ignorant or perverted German misconstruction. ORDINANCES OF THE COMMISSION The Commission was intended originally "to consist off our members representing Belgium, France, Great Britain and the United States." As previously stated, it was never so organized and is functioning today with only three members. These representatives enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities. The Commission is an extraordinary body with far-reaching powers. It issues ordinances, which, upon publication, have the force of law, "for securing the maintenance, safety and requirements of the Allied and Associated forces." This limitation as to maintenance, safety and requirements, seemingly is a restriction upon the power or jurisdiction of the Commission, and was intended so to be by the framers of the Rhineland Agreement. Indeed, in the latter it is provided that the civil administration of the provinces, government departments, urban circles, rural circles and communes in occupied territory shall continue under German law and in the hands of the German authorities, except where the Commission may be forced to adapt that administration to the needs and circumstances of military occupation. In like manner, German courts retain their civil and criminal jurisdiction, except as against (a) the Allied and Associated personnel, who are subject exclusively to military jurisdiction; and (b) one who commits an offense against the persons or property of the Allied and Associated forces. However, in this case jurisdiction may be conferred upon the German courts. Hence, the civil authorities and the courts throughout the occupied territory have continued to function with but little interference on the part of the Commission. While the occupation at first glance would seem to affect only in slight degree the ordinary routine of German governmental administration, and to leave it practically unchanged, such is not the case. The elasticity of the phrase, "maintenance, safety and requirements of the Allied and Associated forces," the root of all legislative power of the Commission, gives it practically carte blanche in the way of enacting legislation. The ordinances of the Commission are binding upon all German authorities, who in addition to prosecution for disobedience thereto, may be suspended from or deprived of office, or expelled from the occupied territory. This is a provision with teeth. All German laws or general regulations before becoming operative in occupied territory must be submitted to the Commission, which thereupon or subsequently may modify, suspend temporarily, or prohibit the same. The Commission reserves the right to establish such courts as it may consider necessary, and exempts its own personnel from the criminal jurisdiction of German or Allied courts. Should a case be left to the German courts by the military authorities, for an offense against an ordinance of which the German authorities had first taken cognizance, the German court in question must inform the Commission of its action within eight days; and monthly returns of all such cases must be furnished in addition. At that, the Commission reserves the right at any stage of such a case to transfer it to another court. It reserves the right to pardon an offender or commute or reduce any sentence imposed by a German court in exercise of jurisdiction conferred on it by an ordinance; to supervise German prisons; and to designate the prison in which a sentence shall be served. IMMUNITY IN CERTAIN CASES With reference to immunity extended for certain transactions during the armistice period, the Commission exercises the power of an appellate tribunal of last resort. These transactions may be commercial, financial, administrative, or political, and the immunity extends to individuals, firms, or corporations. Provided the act complained of was entered into or carried out in occupied territory during the period of the armistice, "with the express or implied permission of the Allied authorities," the Commission forbids the entry of judgment or the taking of punitive measures, whether judicial or administrative by the German authorities. One desiring to claim the benefit of this immunity must put forward his claim to the German court or authority having cognizance of the matter before raising any other |