State, this may be done in either of the ways prescribed in Articles IX and XI.

IX.-(a.) The Court may, in accordance with the provisions of its law, address itself by means of a "commission rogatoire to the competent authority of the other Contracting State, requesting it to undertake within its jurisdiction either a judicial enquiry or some other judicial

act.

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(b.) The commission rogatoire" shall be drawn up in one of the languages of the authority applied to, or accompanied by a translation in one of those languages certified as correct by a diplomatic or consular officer of the State making the request, or by an official or sworn translator of one of the two States. If it is not accompanied by a translation, this may be made by the State applied to.

(c.) The "commission rogatoire shall be transmittedIn England, by the Consul-General of Belgium in London to the Senior Master of the Supreme Court of Judicature in England.

In Belgium, by the British Consul to the "Procureur du Roi" within whose jurisdiction the commission rogatoire is to be executed.

(d.) It shall be incumbent upon the judicial authority to whom the commission rogatoire" is addressed to give effect to it by the use of the same compulsory measures as in the execution of a commission emanating from the authorities of the State applied to.

(e.) The consular authority of the State making the request will, if he so desires, be informed of the date and place where the proceedings will take place, in order that the interested party may be able to be present.

(f.) The execution of the "commission rogatoire" can only be refused

(1.) If the authenticity of the document is not established. (2.) If in the State applied to the execution of the "commission rogatoire" does not fall within the functions of the judiciary.

(3.) If the State applied to considers it such as to affect its sovereignty or safety.

(9.) In case the authority applied to is without jurisdiction, the commission rogatoire will be forwarded without any further request to the competent authority of the same State in accordance with the rules laid down by its law.

(h.) In every instance where the "commission rogatoire is not executed by the authority applied to, the latter will at once inform the consular authority of the State making the request, stating the grounds on which the execution of the commission has been refused, or the judicial authority to whom the commission has been forwarded.

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(i.) The authority which executes the commission rogatoire" will apply, so far as the procedure to be followed is concerned, the law of its own country.

Nevertheless, an application by the authority making the request that some special procedure may be followed shall be acceded to, provided that such procedure is not incompatible with the law of the State applied to.

X. No fees of any description shall be payable by one State to the other in respect of the execution of commissions rogatoires."

Nevertheless, the State making the request repays to the State applied to any charges and expenses payable to witnesses, experts, interpreters or translators, the costs of obtaining the attendance of witnesses who have not appeared voluntarily, and the charges payable to any person whom the competent judicial authority may have deputed to act in cases where the municipal law permits this to be done.

The repayment of these expenses is claimed by the authority applied to from the authority making the request when transmitting to it the documents establishing the execution of the commission rogatoire." These charges are calculated in accordance with the tariff in force for nationals of the State applied to.

XI.-(a.) The evidence may also be taken, without the intervention of the authorities of the State in whose territory it is to be taken, by a diplomatic or consular agent of the State before whose Courts the evidence is to be used, or by some other person named by the said Courts.

(b.) The agent appointed to take the evidence may request named individuals to appear as witnesses, to produce any document and to take an oath, but he has no compulsory powers.

(c.) Summonses to appear issued by the agent will be drawn up in one of the languages of the State where the evidence is to be taken, or accompanied by a translation into one of those languages, unless the recipient is a national of the State making the request. Every summons shall state expressly that there is no compulsion to appear.

(d.) The evidence may be taken in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law of the State in which the evidence is to be used, and the parties will have the right to be represented by barristers or solicitors of that State.

XII. The fact that an attempt to take evidence by the method laid down in Article XI has failed owing to the refusal of any witnesses to appear, to give evidence, or to produce documents, does not preclude an application being subsequently made in accordance with Article IX.

IV. General Provisions.

XIII. Any difficulties which may arise in connection with the operation of this Convention shall be settled through the diplomatic channel.

XIV.―(a.) The present Convention shall come into force three months after the date on which ratifications are exchanged, and shall remain in force for three years after its coming into force. In case neither of the High Contracting Parties shall have given notice to the other six months before the expiration of the said period of his intention to terminate the Convention, it shall remain in force until the expiration of six months from the day on which either of the High Contracting Parties shall have given such notice.

(b.) This Convention shall not apply to any of the Dominions, Colonies, Possessions or Protectorates of the two High Contracting Parties, but either High Contracting Party may at any time extend, by a simple notification, this Convention to any such Dominion, Colony, Possession or Protectorate.

Such notification shall state the date on which the Convention shall come into force, the authorities to whom judicial and extra-judicial acts and commissions rogatoires. are to be transmitted and the language in which communications and translations are to be made.

Each of the High Contracting Parties may, at any time after the expiry of three years from the coming into force of the extension of this Convention to any of its Dominions, Colonies, Possessions or Protectorates, terminate such extension on giving six months' previous notice.

(c.) This Convention shall also not apply to Scotland or Ireland; but His Britannic Majesty shall have the right to extend the Convention to Scotland or Ireland on the conditions set forth in the preceding paragraph in respect of Dominions, Colonies, Possessions or Protectorates.

In witness whereof the undersigned have signed the present Convention and have affixed thereto their seals. Done in duplicate at London, the 21st day of June, 1922. (L.S.) BALFOUR.

EXCHANGE OF NOTES between Great Britain and Belgium concluding Reciprocal Agreements in respect of Businesses wound up under Trading with the Enemy Legislation.-London, March 16/28, 1923.

(No. 1.) The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Belgian Ambassador at London.

Your Excellency,

Foreign Office, March 16, 1923. IN your note No. 650 of the 8th instant, your Excellency was good enough to inform me that the Belgian Government were ready to conclude, by an exchange of notes, the AngloBelgian reciprocal Agreements in respect of businesses in liquidation, and you set forth the French text of these Agreements.

2. I have the honour to inform your Excellency that His Majesty's Government, for their part, concur in the procedure, and agree to conclude the reciprocal Agreements set forth in your Excellency's note, of which the English text is recited below. It is understood that these Agreements apply only to property, rights and interests belonging to Belgian or British subjects, as the case may be, at the outbreak of war; that they apply to British and Belgian subjects wherever resident; and that Agreement (B) does not apply in the case of liquidations which have been closed before the date of the conclusion of the Agreement, but unpaid claims of British or Belgian creditors, as the case may be, against such businesses will be met pari passu with any unsatisfied claims of other creditors that may be entitled to rank, out of any assets of the business not yet distributed, unless the latter shall have already been credited to the German Government through the Clearing Offices under Article 297 of the Treaty of Versailles.

Reciprocal Agreement with Belgium.

AGREEMENT (A).

1. The Official Receiver" in charge of the liquidation of the London branches of the Deutsche Bank, the Disconto Gesellschaft and the Dresdner Bank will pay Belgian creditors of these branches their debts from the assets of the branch pari passu with British, other allied and neutral creditors, and similarly the Sequestrator of the Belgian branch of the Deutsche Bank will pay British creditors of this branch their debts pari passu with Belgian creditors.

2. The authorities in the United Kingdom and in Belgium will give all facilities to the authorities of the other country for the collection of debts due by persons in the one country to the above-mentioned branches of the German banks in the

other country, and the collection of property in the one country belonging to the said branches in the other country.

3. It is understood that the realised assets of the Belgian branch of the Deutsche Bank and of the London branch of the same bank are sufficient to discharge completely the sums to be paid by these branches to allied and neutral creditors, including British and Belgian creditors in each case; but that it may not be possible to discharge the whole of the sums payable to British, allied and neutral creditors of the London branches of the Dresdner Bank or of the Disconto Gesellschaft out of the assets of these branches.

4. Questions of detail in the execution of the above arrangements, such as the payment of interest on debts, where this is not specifically provided for in the contract, shall be settled by agreement between the British Official Receiver and the Belgian Sequestrator, it being understood that so far as possible equality of treatment of Belgian and of British creditors and debtors shall be secured.

5. It is understood that nothing in this Agreement deprives British or Belgian creditors of the branches of the German banks of any rights to claim payment of their debts through the Clearing Offices against the head offices of the banks.

6. Debts or other property due from a branch of a German bank in the one country to the branch of that bank in the other country shall be paid over. The British Official Receiver and the Belgian Sequestrator will support one another in any steps that may be necessary to secure the return of cash or other property which has been carried away by the head offices of the German banks and is retained by them as against such debts.

AGREEMENT (B).

In the liquidation in the United Kingdom of an enemy business or a company controlled by enemies, Belgian nationals will have the same rights as British nationals with respect to the restoration of property held on their behalf and for their benefit, the payment of debts owing to them by the business or company which is being liquidated and their participation as partners or as shareholders in the distribution of the proceeds of the liquidation, provided that debts owing to, and property held on behalf of, the business or company by Belgian nationals are paid or delivered to the person appointed to conduct the liquidation.

Similarly, in the liquidation in Belgium of an enemy business or company controlled by enemies, British nationals will, on the same conditions, have the same rights as Belgian nationals, with respect to the matters referred to

above.