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4. All matters relating to this Convention shall be centralised at the offices of the Permanent Administrative Council 2 of The Hague Court, and notices of all kinds addressed to the President thereof (the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands) shall be considered as given to all the H.C.P. within . . ., after acknowledgment by him of receipt thereof.

5. This Convention shall be binding for a period of ten

years.

2 Art. XXVIII.-A permanent Administrative Council composed of the Diplomatic Representatives of the Signatory Powers accredited to The Hague, and of the Netherland Minister for Foreign Affairs, who will act as president, shall be instituted in this town as soon as possible after the ratification of the present Act by at least nine Powers. This Council will be charged with the establishment and organisation of the International Bureau, which will be under its direction and control. It will notify to the Powers the constitution of the Court, and will provide for its installation. It will settle its Rules of Procedure and all other necessary Regulations. It will decide all questions of administration which may arise with regard to the operations of the Court. It will have entire control over the appointment, suspension, or dismissal of the officials and employés of the Bureau. It will fix the payments and salaries, and control the general expenditure. At meetings duly summoned, the presence of five members is sufficient to render valid the discussions of the Council. The decisions are taken by a majority of votes. The Council communicates to the Signatory Powers without delay the Regulations adopted by it. It furnishes them with an annual Report on the labours of the Court, the working of the Administration, and the expenses.

It shall be in the power of any H.C.P. to withdraw from it, after giving notice of withdrawal of not less than one year before expiry of the tenth year. In default of such notice being given, the Convention shall continue to bind the H.C.P. for further periods of five years, on the same conditions. On receiving any notice of withdrawal, the President of the Permanent Administrative Council shall immediately call a meeting thereof and inform it of the notice received. The Council shall meet again without special convocation . . . thereafter. If no notice of withdrawal on the part of any other H.C.P. shall meanwhile have been received, the Convention shall ipso facto continue binding on all the other H.C.P. for a further period, provided, however, that at the request of any H.C.P. before expiry of the ninth year, and if notice of any withdrawal shall have been received during after expiry of the ninth year, a meeting of the H.C.P. shall be called to consider any matters in connection therewith.

...

6. Withdrawal of any H.C.P. or termination of the present Convention shall not release any H.C.P. from the obligations resulting under Art. III. from any acquisition made during the currency hercof.

7. During the currency of this Convention, full force and effect shall be given to the "Arbitration Treaty, including vital interests and national honour"; but termination of the present Convention shall not entail or imply termination of the said Treaty of Arbitration.

In faith of which the Plenipotentiaries, etc.

6. CLAUSE AS TO NOTIFICATION OF AREA OF HOSTILITIES

On the outbreak of war the belligerents shall fix the limits of the area and distance from the seat of war within which they will exercise their right of search. This area shall be known as the "area of hostilities." Its limits shall be notified to neutral Powers, and be forthwith binding on them. Outside this area or beyond this distance, production to the belligerent commander of the ship's papers, with a certificate delivered by the public authorities at the neutral port or ports of lading declaring that the destination of the ship is not a belligerent port, and that there are neither unconditional contraband nor belligerent troops on board, shall be an absolute bar to further stoppage.1

1 See pp. 71-72. See also Draft Clauses on Neutrality and Contraband, pp. 160 et seq.

and 168.

The area may be modified or extended by either belligerent, and on notice being given to neutral Powers, it shall be forthwith binding upon them.2

2 The worst that could happen is that a belligerent should claim the present right of visit and search without restriction of area or distance. See observations Lord Lansdowne addressed to the Russian Government in 1904 (see p. 72) and Prince Bülow to the British Government in 1900 (see p. 71), showing how disturbing to ocean-borne trade is the present absence of any system of notification.

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