Overeenkomst betreffende onderling strijdige aanspraken op buiten Duitsland gelegen Duitse bezittingen

In dealing with German enemy assets the Parties to the present Agreement (hereinafter and in the Annex hereto referred to as Parties) shall be guided as far as possible, in their relations with each other, by the provisions set forth in the present Agreement and in its Annex (hereinafter and in the Annex hereto together referred to as the Agreement), and shall take such action to give effect to the Agreement as may be necessary and appropriate.

The Agreement shall not supersede any prior agreements concluded between any two or more Parties, or between a Party and another Government not a Party; provided that no such prior agreement between any of the Parties shall adversely affect the rights under the Agreement of another Party not party to the prior agreement, or those of its nationals.
When a prior agreement between Party and another Government is deemed by a Party, not a party to the prior agreement, to affect adversely its rights under the Agreement or those of its nationals, the Party who is also party to the prior agreement shall approach the other Government in order to secure, if possible, such modification of the relevant provisions of the prior agreement as will render them consistent with the Agreement.

Nothing in the Agreement shall preclude any Party or Parties from concluding in the future any separate agreement; provided that such subsequent agreement shall not affect adversely the rights under the Agreement of another Party not party to the subsequent agreement, or those of its nationals.

If a dispute arises between two or more Parties with respect to the interpretation, implementation or application of the Agreement, such Parties shall endeavour by every means possible to settle such dispute by negotiation between themselves, which may include the use of a mutually acceptable conciliator with such powers as the Parties in dispute may agree. If the dispute is not resolved within a reasonable time by such negotiation, the dispute shall be settled in the manner provided in Part VI of the Annex.

The Agreement shall come into force, as respects Governments which have signed it before it comes into force, as soon as it has been signed at any time before September 1, 1948, on behalf of Governments which, under Part I, Article 1 B of the Paris Agreement on Reparations of January 24, 1946, are collectively entitled to not less than 35 percent of the aggregate of shares in Category A of German reparations.
The Agreement shall remain open for signature by other Governments Members of the Inter Allied Reparation Agency for a period of six months from the date upon which it comes into force, and shall become effective with respect to those Governments immediately upon signature.

If any Government which is not a member of the Inter Allied Reparation Agency signifies in writing to the Government of Belgium within nine months of the date upon which the Agreement comes into force that it desires to become a Party to the Agreement, or to a similar agreement, the Parties will consider in consultation with one another and with that Government its participation in such an agreement; provided that nothing in this Article shall be deemed to qualify any right of any Party under Article 3 above.

Any Government to which the Agreement is open for signature may, in lieu of signing, give notification of accession, in writing, to the Government of Belgium, and a Government making such notification of accession shall be deemed to have signed the Agreement on the date of receipt of the notification by the Government of Belgium.

Any signatory Government may, at the time of signature or later, declare by notification in writing to the Government of Belgium that it desires the Agreement to apply to all or any of its overseas territories or colonies or territories unders its suzerainty or protection or territories in respect of which it exercises a mandate or trusteeship, and the Agreement shall apply to the colonies and territories, named in the notification, from the date of receipt thereof by the Government of Belgium or from the date on which the Agreement comes into force in respect of the notifying Government, whichever is the later.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

The Party in favour of which property is released under this Part of this Annex shall recognise the rights of non-enemies in the estate, trust or other fiduciary arrangement.

The principles of Part I of this Annex shall not be applicable to property released under this Part or distributed to the custodian authorities of a Party from an estate, bona fide trust or other bona fide fiduciary arrangement governed by this Part.

A. This Part shall apply to property situated within the jurisdiction of a Party and owned by an enterprise organised under the laws of another Party in which enterprise there was a direct or indirect German enemy interest on the material date. The Party within whose jurisdiction the property is situated shall be referred to as the „secondary country” with respect to that property. The enterprise owning the property shall be referred to as the „primary company” with respect to that property. The Party under whose laws the enterprise is organised shall be referred to as the „primary country” with respect to that property. The terms „enterprise” and „company” shall include any firm or body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate. Property of an enterprise organised in the form of a trust, and property of a banking or financial institution other than the foreign currency cover accounts governed by Article 5 of this Annex, shall be dealt with under this Part. However, this exception with respect to cover accounts shall not be construed to imply that any cover accounts are or are not the property of the institution.
B. An enterprise shall be deemed to be German controlled if at the material date German enemies held directly or indirectly:
(i) 50 percent or more of the voting rights, outstanding capital stock or other proprietorship interests, or
(ii) participating rights in a voting trust arrangement which rights represented 50 percent or more of such voting rights, outstanding capital stock or other proprietorship interests;
or if at the material date German enemies directly or indirectly controlled the policy, management, voting power or operations of the enterprise. The property in the secondary country shall be deemed to be German controlled if at the material date German enemies directly or indirectly controlled the policy, management, use, or operation of the property.

Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, all property in a secondary country owned by a primary company shall be released by the secondary country and the secondary country shall be entitled to receive reimbursement from the primary country in an amount representing that portion of the value of the property in the secondary country which corresponds to the percentage of direct and indirect German enemy interest in the primary company on the material date. Release in each case shall take place as soon as an agreement has been reached between the countries concerned on whether either the property in the secondary country or the primary company shall be treated as German controlled and on the general limits of, and method of calculating, the percentage of direct and indirect German enemy interest in the primary company on the material date. If the property in the secondary country and the primary company are not German controlled, the property shall be released forthwith without reimbursement.

A. Release of property in a secondary country shall be made in kind unless:
(i) the property has been liquidated by the secondary country prior to the date on which the Agreement comes into force in respect of that country; or
(ii) the primary and secondary countries concerned agree that release in kind would not be practicable or the primary company consents to the sale or liquidation of the property by the secondary country; or
(iii) the property in the secondary country is a production enterprise or a substantial interest therein, and such property or the primary company concerned is German controlled and, after full consideration of the economic interest of the primary country, the secondary country determines in exceptional cases that its national security nevertheless requires retention of the property and gives notice to the primary country to that effect.
B. Where release is not made in kind, the secondary country shall release in substitution the proceeds of the sale or liquidation of the property which would otherwise have been released in kind. If such property has not been sold or liquidated within one year after agreement or consent under subparagraph (ii) of Paragraph A of this Article or the giving of notice under sub-paragraph (iii) thereof, or within an agreed extension beyond that period, the value of the property retained as determined by accepted principles of valuation shall be released.

Reimbursement shall be paid to the secondary country by the primary country in the currency of the second country within two years after the date of release of the property. Payment may be delayed, however, in accordance with foreign exchange restrictions applicable generally to payment of capital obligations from time to time in effect in the primary country, provided that such restrictions are maintained in accordance with the articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund and provided further that in any event full payment shall be made within seven years after the date of the release. Interest at the rate of 2 percent per annum shall be paid to the secondary country by the primary country on such balance of reimbursement as remains unpaid at and after the end of the two year period.

Where administrative difficulty to the secondary country requires it or in other special circumstances, the secondary and primary countries concerned may agree that the secondary country shall retain that proportion of the value of the property in the secondary country to which it is entitled under the provisions of Article 12 of this Annex. In such event, the secondary country shall release the excess of the property above the amount to which it is entitled and such excess shall inure to the benefit solely of the non-enemy interests in the primary company.

Where the primary company is a dummy company or is a holding company whose outstanding stock is closely held or is not regularly traded in a recognised financial market, the secondary country, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 12 of this Annex, may retain that proportion of the property in the secondary country which corresponds to the percentage of direct and indirect German enemy interest in the dummy or holding company on the material date. In such event, the secondary country shall release the excess of the property above the amount to which it is entitled and such excess shall inure to the benefit solely of the non-enemy interests in the primary company.

It is contemplated that the proportion of the value of the property in the secondary country which corresponds to the percentage of the direct and indirect non-enemy interests in the primary company shall inure to the benefit of such non-enemy interests. In arrangements for release and reimbursement made under this Part between two or more Parties, the Parties shall make reasonable provision to avoid injury to interests in the primary company of non-enemies who are nationals of a third Party.

In applying the rules of this Part to a case involving a chain of companies, releases of property and reimbursement payments shall be made between secondary countries and their respective primary companies and countries. On the other hand, in calculating the percentage of direct and indirect German enemy interest in each of the successive primary companies, such interests shall be traced through the entire chain of companies.

With respect to the types of property covered by Articles 1 to 4 inclusive of this Annex, owned by enterprises governed by Part III of this Annex, that country which would be entitled to obtain release of property under the principles of such Articles shall be regarded as the secondary country for the purposes of Part III; in the case of foreign currency accounts under Article 5 of this Annex, maintained in favour of an enterprise governed by Part III, the country where the primary account is maintained and the country where the cover account is maintained shall each be regarded as the secondary country for the purposes of Part III to the extent of 50 percent of the foreign currency cover account.

An enterprise organised under the laws of Germany shall be considered as wholly German enemy for the purpose of administering this Part, but property which is received in reimbursement or retained by any country under this Part shall be available for the protection of non-enemy interests in such enterprise, in accordance with the provisions of Part IV of this Annex.

This Part shall apply to property within the jurisdiction of a Party owned by an enterprise organised under the laws of Germany in which enterprise non-enemy nationals of Parties directly or indirectly have, and on September 1, 1939, had an interest. Non-enemy nationals of Parties referred to in this Part must have been nationals of Parties as of September 1, 1939.

For the protection of the interests in the enterprise of non-enemy nationals, referred to in Article 21 of this Annex, the property to which this Part applies shall, subject to the provisions of Articles 23 and 24 of this Annex, be released to the extent of those interests and pursuant to arrangements to be made between the Parties concerned, if non-enemy nationals of Parties directly or indirectly:
(i) own and, on September 1, 1939, owned 25 % or more of the shares in the enterprise; or
(ii) control and, on September 1, 1939, controlled the enterprise.

No Party shall be obliged to release property under this Part, in respect of which no claim, sponsored by another Party, has been received by the former Party, within one year after the coming into force of the Agreement between the respective Parties. Before sponsoring a claim under this Part, a Party shall be satisfied by a claimant, being one of its nationals, that Article 22 of this Annex applies. Where a claim is filed with the Party in whose jurisdiction the property is located and Article 22 of this Annex applies, such Party shall notify all other Parties and shall consider the claims of all non-enemy nationals of Parties who qualify under Article 21 of this Annex.

A. Release of property under this Part shall be made in kind unless:
(i) the property has been liquidated prior to the date on which an eligible sponsored claim is filed with respect to the property pursuant to Article 23 of this Annex; or
(ii) the Parties concerned agree that release in kind would not be practicable; or
(iii) the property to be released is a production enterprise or a substantial interest therein, and such property or the enterprise organised under the laws of Germany is German controlled and, after full consideration of the economic interests of the other Party or Parties concerned, the Party in whose jurisdiction the property is located determines in exceptional cases that its national security nevertheless requires retention of the property and gives notice to the other Party of Parties to that effect.
B. Where release is not made in kind, there shall be released in substitution the proceeds of the sale or liquidation of the property which would otherwise have been released in kind. If such property has not been sold or liquidated within one year after agreement under sub-paragraph (ii) of Paragraph A of this Article or the giving of notice under sub-paragraph (iii) thereof, or within an agreed extension beyond that period, the value of the property retained as determined by accepted principles of valuation shall be released.

With respect to the types of property covered by Articles 1 to 4 inclusive of this Annex, owned by enterprises governed by Part IV of this Annex, property shall be regarded as being within the jurisdiction of the Party which would be entitled to obtain the release of such property under the principles of such Articles; in the case of foreign currency accounts under Article 5 of this Annex maintained in favour of an enterprise governed by Part IV, the country where the primary account is maintained and the country where the cover account is maintained shall each be regarded as having jurisdiction over the property to the extent of 50 % of the foreign currency cover account.

A. A Party shall not be obliged to release an enemy interest in property to another Party or to an enterprise organised under the laws of that other Party except to the extent that such interest will be treated directly or indirectly by the recipient Party as German enemy.
B. A Party obliged under the Agreement to release property shall not be required to reverse any act of liquidation which has been carried out by sale, redemption or otherwise. The vesting, sequestration or confiscation of property shall not be regarded as constituting liquidation for the purposes of the Agreement.
C. Except as otherwise expressly provided in the Agreement, a Party obliged to release property shall, if the property has been liquidated, release the proceeds of such liquidation.
D. Except as otherwise expressly provided in the Agreement, a Party obliged to release property shall release all income or other benefits (in cash or otherwise) which have been received by it or by any person in its territory acting under its authority in respect of that property.
E. The Party to which property is released under the Agreement shall fully recognise bona fide liens or pledges thereon legally obtained within the territory of the releasing Party which became effective prior to the date when the recipient Party took war-time emergency measures to prevent the acquisition of liens or pledges with respect to such property or the date when the territory of the recipient Party was invaded by Germany and were valid under the laws of the recipient Party in effect prior to such date. A releasing Party shall not be obliged hereby to take any measures to set aside any bona-fide lien or pledge valid under its laws which arose or was created either (a) prior to the date on which the releasing Party took war-time emergency measures to prevent the acquisition of such liens or pledges with respect to the property involved, or (b) after such date under licence or other authorisation by such Party.
F. Administrative charges and expenses of conservation and liquidation shall be borne by the recipient Party unless that Party requests the releasing Party to bear a portion thereof. In such event the obligation of the releasing Party shall be limited to the amount of the income or other benefits (if any) which the recipient Party establishes were received and were retained under the Agreement by the releasing Party or by any person in its territory acting under its authority with respect to the specific property released.
G. Where property is subject to release under the Agreement the method of delivery and the payment of any delivery costs shall be arranged between the Parties concerned.
H. (i) A Party shall not be required under the Agreement to make a release of property so long as there is pending any judicial or administrative proceeding in the territory of: (a) the releasing Party, if the proceeding requires retention of the property by that Party or may result in a determination that the property is not directly or indirectly German enemy owned or controlled;
(b) the recipient Party, if the proceeding may result in a determination that the property is not directly or indirectly German enemy owned or controlled and may thus prevent that Party from treating the released property as German enemy.
(a) the releasing Party, if the proceeding requires retention of the property by that Party or may result in a determination that the property is not directly or indirectly German enemy owned or controlled;
(b) the recipient Party, if the proceeding may result in a determination that the property is not directly or indirectly German enemy owned or controlled and may thus prevent that Party from treating the released property as German enemy.
(ii) If, after property is released under the Agreement: (a) the recipient Party is obliged as a result of litigation in its territory to surrender custodian control of the property, the releasing Party may reassert its custodian control over the property in order to make an independent test of the litigated issue;
(b) the releasing Party is obliged as a result of litigation in its territory to make a disposition of the property which release has prevented it from making, that Party may reassert custodian control over the property in order to comply with the obligation imposed by the litigation. If reassertion of custodian control by the releasing Party is required under this sub-paragraph, the recipient Party shall take appropriate action to facilitate such reassertion.
(a) the recipient Party is obliged as a result of litigation in its territory to surrender custodian control of the property, the releasing Party may reassert its custodian control over the property in order to make an independent test of the litigated issue;
(b) the releasing Party is obliged as a result of litigation in its territory to make a disposition of the property which release has prevented it from making, that Party may reassert custodian control over the property in order to comply with the obligation imposed by the litigation.
(iii) At the request of the releasing Party, appropriate arrangements shall be made by the recipient Party prior to the release of any property; (a) assuring the releasing Party that it will be able to regain custodian control over the property or of the proceeds of sale or liquidation or of the value thereof, if required under the terms of sub-paragraph (ii) above;
(b) for indemnification of charges or expenses which may be incurred by the releasing Party with respect to the released property after the date of release.
(a) assuring the releasing Party that it will be able to regain custodian control over the property or of the proceeds of sale or liquidation or of the value thereof, if required under the terms of sub-paragraph (ii) above;
(b) for indemnification of charges or expenses which may be incurred by the releasing Party with respect to the released property after the date of release.
I. The release of property under the provisions of the Agreement shall not terminate or otherwise affect the dedication of patents to the public, the placing of patents in the public domain or the grant of licenses to patents with or without royalty, pursuant to the provisions of Articles 1 or 2 of the German Patent Accord signed in London on July 27, 1946, or other agreement, when such action is taken prior to the release of the property.
J. A Party shall be entitled at its discretion to refuse to accept a release under the provisions of the Agreement and in such event shall not be liable for payment of the charges and expenses referred to in Paragraphs F and G and sub-paragraph (iii) of Paragraph H of this Article.

A. Nothing in the Agreement shall oblige any Party to recognise:
(i) any transfer of, or other transaction relating to, a German enemy interest, occurring after the institution of war-time emergency measures by that Party or after the invasion of the territory of that Party by Germany;
(ii) any transfer of non-enemy property in Germany to German enemies, or any assumption by German enemies from non-enemies, of control over property in Germany, which was forced without adequate consideration by action of the Government of Germany whether before or after September 1, 1939. This sub-paragraph shall apply only to property of, or controlled by, non-enemies who were nationals of Parties at the time of the transfer of the property or the assumption of control over the property.
B. In determining whether any property is owned or controlled by a German enemy no transfer to a German enemy or dealings with a German enemy shall be taken into account which represent looting or forced transfers within the meaning of the Inter-Allied Declaration of January 5, 1943, against Acts of Dispossession.

Property which is held for the benefit of a German enemy by any individual or body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, as a cloak, nominee, agent, trustee or in any other capacity, shall be regarded as directly owned by that German enemy. The question of recognising any interest which the holder of such property may claim therein shall not be prejudiced by the foregoing but shall be resolved in each case by negotiation between the Parties concerned.

The assertion of custodian control over a German enemy interest in property within the territory of one Party shall not be deemed to have destroyed the German enemy interest in property within the territory of another Party.

A branch or other similar office within the territory of a Party of an enterprise organised under the laws of another country shall be regarded as a separate entity located within the territory of the Party. A partnership having its principal office in the territory of any Party shall be regarded as an enterprise located in that territory regardless of the residence or domicile of the partners.

Where under the Agreement special problems arise respecting a complex organisation having subsidiary or affiliated organisations with properties within the territories of several of the Parties, a committee composed of representatives of each of the interested Parties may be constituted to consider the problems and make recommendations for their solution.

Parties shall exchange information and otherwise co-operate for the purpose of giving effect to the Agreement; provided that information given pursuant hereto shall be regarded as confidential by the Party receiving it which undertakes to use it exclusively for the purpose of implementing the Agreement and the Paris Agreement on Reparations of January 24, 1946.

Nothing in the Agreement shall be construed to confer any right on an individual or body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, to prosecute a claim in any court or administrative tribunal against his or their Government or against any other Party.

In this Annex:
(i) the term „property” shall include all rights, titles and interests in property;
(ii) the expression „war-time emergency measures” means the measures for the control of German enemy owned property, or of transactions by or on behalf of German enemies taken by a Party on or after September 1, 1939, whether or not taken prior to that Government's actual participation in the War;
(iii) the expression „the material date” means the day on which the secondary country as defined in Part III of this Annex came into war or took war-time emergency measures, whichever is earlier.

In order to give effect to the provisions of Article 4 of the Agreement, to which this is the Annex, a Panel of Conciliators consisting of seven members shall be established in the following manner:
(i) Each Party which has signed the Agreement before the expiry of six months after its coming into force may, by written notice to the Secretary General of the Inter Allied Reparation Agency, nominate not more than three candidates for election to the Panel, and the Secretary General shall not accept any nomination after the expiry of that period.
(ii) The Secretary General shall, by secret ballot, conduct an election of the Panel of Conciliators and only those Parties which have signed the Agreement before the expiry of six months after its coming into force shall be entitled to vote.
(iii) Each Party shall be entitled to cast one vote in respect of each vacancy on the Panel. A Party shall not cast more than one vote for any one candidate.
(iv) The seven candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected to the Panel; provided that no candidate shall be elected who has not received the vote of at least two-thirds of the Parties voting, and provided that not more than two nationals of the same country shall be elected.
(v) From the seven members of the Panel so elected, the Parties entitled to vote, exercising one vote each, shall elect by secret ballot a President of the Panel by a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast.
(vi) In case of the death or retirement of the President or any other member of the Panel, the vacancy shall be filled by vote of the then Parties. Each Party may nominate one candidate, and election shall be by a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes cast.

Immediately upon its election the Panel shall formulate, for its internal organisation and its work, such basic rules as it deems necessary. A fee therefor shall be paid to the members of the Panel by the Parties specified in sub-paragraph (ii) of Article 35 at a rate fixed by the Secretary General of the Inter Allied Reparation Agency.

A. If a dispute is not resolved within a reasonable time by negotiation as provided in Article 4 of the Agreement to which this is the Annex, a Party may request the President of the Panel of Conciliators referred to in Article 35 of this Annex to appoint from the Panel an impartial Conciliator who shall hear the Parties and may call for additional evidence. The Conciliator shall formulate a solution which is in his opinion the best possible solution in the spirit of the Agreement, and the solution so formulated shall be binding upon the Parties concerned and final.
B. The President shall, upon application of any of the Parties in dispute, determine whether a reasonable time has elapsed before submission of the case to conciliation under Paragraph A of this Article; provided that a period of less than one year from the commencement of negotiations between the Parties in dispute shall not be considered a reasonable time for the purposes of this Paragraph.

The question whether in the opinion of the secondary country, its national security requires the retention of property under subparagraph (iii) of Paragraph A of Article 13 of this Annex and sub-paragraph (iii) of Paragraph A of Article 24 of this Annex shall not be subject to be procedure of conciliation.

The Conciliator shall not be entitled to grant any modification of the obligation to make full payment in the currency of the secondary country within seven years after the date of the release as required by Article 14 of this Annex.

Each Party in dispute shall pay to the Conciliator such fees and expenses as he may determine. Any such Party may request the President of the Panel to review the fees and expenses fixed by the Conciliator, or their allocation between the Parties. The decision of the President on the matter shall be final.