颁布日期：19231209　实施日期：19231209　颁布单位：日内瓦

The British Empire （with New Zealand and India）， Germany， Belgium，Brazil， Bulgaria， Chile， Denmark， Spain， Esthonia， Greece， Hungary，Italy， Japan， Lithuania， Norway， the Netherlands， Salvador， Kingdom of theSerbs， Croats and Slovenes， Siam， Sweden， Switzerland， Czechoslovakia andUruguay，

DESIROUS of ensuring in the fullest measure possible the freedom ofcommunications mentioned in Article 23 （e） of the Covenant by guaranteeingin the maritime ports situated under their sovereignty or authority andfor purposes of international trade equality of treatment between theships of all the Contracting States， their cargoes and passengers；

CONSIDERING that the best method of achieving their present purpose isby means of a general convention to which the greatest possible number ofStates can later accede；

And whereas the conference which met at Genoa on April 10， 1922，requested， in a resolution which was transmitted to the competentorganisations of the League of Nations with the approval of the Counciland the Assembly of the League， that the international conventionsrelating to the regime of communications provided for in the Treaties ofPeace should be concluded and put into operation as soon as possible， andwhereas， Article 379 of the Treaty of Versailles and the correspondingarticles of the other treaties provide for the preparation of a generalconvention on the international regime of ports；

HAVING ACCEPTED the invitation of the League of Nations to take partin a conference which met at Geneva on November 15， 1923；

DESIROUS of bringing into force the provisions of the statute relatingto the international regime of ports adopted thereat， and of concluding ageneral convention for this purpose， the High Contracting Parties haveappointed plenipotentiaries who， after communicating their full powers，found in good and due form， have agreed as follows：

Article 1

The Contracting States declare that they accept the Statute on theInternational Regime of Maritime Ports， annexed hereto， adopted by theSecond General Conference on Communications and Transit which met atGeneva on November 15， 1923.

This statute shall be deemed to constitute an integral part of thepresent convention.

Consequently， they hereby declare that they accept the obligations andundertakings of the said statute in conformity with the terms and inaccordance with the conditions set out therein.

Article 2

The present convention does not in any way affect the rights andobligations arising out of the provisions of the Treaty of Peace signed atVersailles on June 28， 1919， or out of the provisions of the othercorresponding treaties， in so far as they concern the Powers which havesigned， or which benefit by， such treaties.

Article 3

The present convention， of which the French and English texts are bothauthentic， shall bear this day's date， and shall be open for signatureuntil October 31， 1924， by any State represented at the Conference ofGeneva， by any Member of the League of Nations， and by any State to whichthe Council of the League of Nations shall have communicated a copy of theconvention for this purpose.

Article 4

The present convention is subject to ratification. The instruments ofratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the Leagueof Nations， who shall notify their receipt to every State signatory of oracceding to the convention.

Article 5

On and after November 1， 1924， the present convention may be accededto by any State represented at the conference referred to in Article 1， byany Member of the League of Nations， or by any State to which the Councilof the League of Nations shall have communicated a copy of the conventionfor this purpose.

Accession shall be effected by an instrument communicated to theSecretary-General of the League of Nations to be deposited in the archivesof the secretariat. The Secretary-General shall at once notify suchdeposit to every State signatory of or acceding to the convention.

Article 6

The present convention will not come into force until it has beenratified in the name of five States. The date of its coming into forceshall be the ninetieth day after the receipt by the Secretary-General ofthe League of Nations of the fifth ratification. Thereafter， the presentconvention will take effect in the case of each party ninety days afterthe receipt of its ratification or of the notification of its accession.

In compliance with the provisions of Article 18 of the Covenant of theLeague of Nations， the Secretary-General will register the presentconvention upon the day of its coming into force.

Article 7

A special record shall be kept by the Secretary-General of the Leagueof Nations showing， with due regard to the provisions of Article 9， whichof the parties have signed， ratified， acceded to or denounced the presentconvention. This record shall be open to the Members of the League at alltimes； it shall be published as often as possible， in accordance with thedirections of the Council.

Article 8

Subject to the provisions of Article 2 above， the present conventionmay be denounced by any party thereto after the expiration of five yearsfrom the date when it came into force in respect of that party.Denunciation shall be effected by notification in writing addressed to theSecretary-General of the League of Nations. Copies of such notificationshall be transmitted forthwith by him to all the other parties， informingthem of the date on which it was received.

A denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on which thenotification thereof was received by the Secretary-General， and shalloperate only in respect of the notifying State.

Article 9

Any States signing or acceding to the present convention may declareat the moment either of its signature， ratification or accession， that itsacceptance of the present convention does not include any or all of itscolonies， overseas possessions， protectorates， or overseas territories，under its sovereignty or authority， and may subsequently accede， inconformity with the provisions of Article 5， on behalf of any such colony，overseas possession， protectorate or territory excluded by suchdeclaration.

Denunciation may also be made separately in respect of any suchcolony， overseas possession， protectorate or territory， and theprovisions of Article 8 shall apply to any such denunciations.

Article 10

The revision of the present convention may be demanded at any time byone-third of the contracting States.

In faith whereof the above-named plenipotentiaries have signed thepresent convention.

Done at Geneva the 9th day of December， 1923， in a single copy whichshall remain deposited in the archives of the secretariat of the league ofNations.

STATUTE

Article 1

All ports which are normally frequented by sea-going vessels and usedfor foreign trade shall be deemed to be maritime ports within the meaningof the present statute.

Article 2

Subject to the principle of reciprocity and to the reservation set outin the first paragraph of Article 8， every Contracting States undertakesto grant the vessels of every other Contracting State equality oftreatment with its own vessel， or those of any other State whatsoever， inthe maritime ports situated under its sovereignty or authority， as regardsfreedom of access to the port， the use of the port， and the full enjoymentof the benefits as regards navigation and commercial operations which itaffords to vessels， their cargoes and passengers.

The equality of treatment thus established shall cover facilities ofall kinds， such as allocation of berths， loading and unloading facilities，as well as dues and charges of all kinds levied in the name or for theaccount of the Government， public authorities， concessionaires orundertakings of any kind.

Article 3

The provisions of the preceding Article in no way restrict the libertyof the Competent port authorities to take such measures as they may deemexpedient for the proper conduct of the business of the port provided thatthese measures comply with the principle of equality of treatment asdefined in the said Article.

Article 4

All dues and charges levied for the use of maritime ports shall beduly published before coming into force.

The same shall apply to the by-laws and regulations of the port.

In each maritime port the port authority shall keep open forinspection， by all persons concerned， a table of the dues and charges inforce， as well as a copy of the by-laws and regulations.

Article 5

In assessing and applying customs and other analogous duties， localoctroi or consumption duties， or incidental charges， levied on theimportation or exportation of goods through the maritime ports situatedunder the sovereignty or authority of the Contracting State， the flag ofthe vessel must not be taken into account and， accordingly， no distinctionmay be made to the detriment of the flag of any Contracting Statewhatsoever as between that flag and the flag of the State under whosesovereignty or authority the port is situated， or the flag of any otherState whatsoever.

Article 6

In order that the principle of equal treatment in maritime ports laiddown in Article 2 may not be rendered ineffective in practice by theadoption of other methods of discrimination against the vessels of aContracting State using such ports， each Contracting State undertakes toapply the provisions of Articles 4， 20， 21 and 22 of the statute annexedto the Convention on the International Regime of Railways， signed atGeneva， on December 9， 1923， so far as they are applicable to traffic toor from a maritime port， whether or not such Contracting States is a partyto the said Convention on the International Regime of Railways. Theaforesaid Articles are to be interpreted in conformity with the provisionsof the protocol of signature of the said convention.

Article 7

Unless there are special reasons justifying an exception， such asthose based upon special geographical， economic or technical conditions，the customs duties levied in any maritime port situated under thesovereignty or authority of a Contracting State may not exceed the dutieslevied on the other customs frontiers of the said State on goods of thesame kind， source or destination.

If， for special reasons as set out above， a Contracting State grantsspecial customs facilities on other routes for the importation orexportation of goods， it shall not use these facilities as a means ofdiscriminating unfairly against importation or exportation through themaritime ports situated under its sovereignty or authority.

Article 8

Each of the Contracting States reserves the power， after giving noticethrough diplomatic channels， of suspending the benefit of equality oftreatment from any vessel of a State which does not effectively apply， inany maritime port situated under its sovereignty or authority， theprovisions of this statute to the vessels of the said Contracting State，their cargoes and passengers.

In the event of action being taken as provided in the precedingparagraph， the State which has taken action and the State against whichaction is taken， shall both alike have the right of applying to thePermanent Court of International Justice by an application addressed tothe Registrar； and the Court shall settle the matter in accordance withthe rules of summary procedure.

Every Contracting State shall， however， have the right at the time ofsigning or ratifying this convention， of declaring that it renounces theright of taking action as provided in the first paragraph of this Articleagainst any other State which may make a similar declaration.

Article 9

This statute does not in any way apply to the maritime coasting trade.

Article 10

Each Contracting State reserves the right to make such arrangementsfor towage in its maritime ports as it thinks fit， provided that theprovisions of Articles 2 and 4 are not thereby infringed.

Article 11

Each Contracting State reserves the right to organise and administerpilotage services as it thinks fit. Where pilotage is compulsory， the duesand facilities offered shall be subject to the provisions of Articles 2and 4， but each Contracting State may exempt from the obligation ofcompulsory pilotage such of its nationals as possess the necessarytechnical qualifications.

Article 12

Each Contracting State shall have the power， at the time of signing orratifying this convention， of declaring that it reserves the right oflimiting the transport of emigrants， in accordance with the provisions ofits own legislation， to vessels which have been granted specialauthorisation as fulfilling the requirements of the said legislation. Inexercising this right， however， the Contracting State shall be guided， asfar as possible， by the principles of this statute.

The vessels so authorised to transport emigrants shall enjoy all thebenefits of this statute in all maritime ports.

Article 13

This statute applies to all vessels， whether publicly or privatelyowned or controlled.

It does not， however， apply in any way to warships or vesselsperforming police or administrative functions， or， in general， exercisingany kind of public authority， or any other vessels which for the timebeing are exclusively employed for the purposes of the naval， military orair forces of a State.

Article 14

This statute does not in any way apply to fishing vessels or to theircatches.

Article 15

Where in virtue of a treaty， convention or agreement a ContractingState has granted special rights to another State within a defined area inany of its maritime ports for the purpose of facilitating the transit ofgoods or passengers to or from the territory of the said State， no otherContracting State can invoke the stipulations of this statute in supportof any claim for similar special rights.

Every Contracting State which enjoys the aforesaid special rights in amaritime port of another State， whether Contracting or not， shall conformto the provisions of this statute in its treatment of the vessels tradingwith it， and their cargoes and passengers.

Every Contracting State which grants the aforesaid special rights to anon-Contracting State is bound to impose， as one of the conditions of thegrant， an obligation on the State which is to enjoy the aforesaid rightsto conform to the provisions of this statute in its treatment of thevessels trading with it， and their cargoes and passengers.

Article 16

Measures of a general or particular character which a ContractingState is obliged to take in case of any emergency affecting the safety ofthe State or the vital interests of the country may， in exceptional cases，and for as short a period as possible， involve a deviation from theprovisions of Article 2 to 7 inclusive； it being understood that theprinciples of the present statute must be observed to the utmost possibleextent.

Article 17

No Contracting State shall be bound by this statute to permit thetransit of passengers whose admission to its territories is forbidden， orof goods of a kind of which the importation is prohibited， either ongrounds of public health or security， or as a precaution against diseasesof animals or plants. As regards traffic other than traffic in transit， noContracting State shall be bound by this statute to permit the transportof passengers whose admission to its territories is forbidden， or of goodsof which the import or export is prohibited. by its national laws.

Each Contracting State shall be entitled to take the necessaryprecautionary measures in respect of the transport of dangerous goods orgoods of a similar character， as well as general police measures，including the control of emigrants entering or leaving its territory， itbeing understood that such measures must not result in any discriminationcontrary to the principles of the present statute.

Nothing in this statute shall affect the measures which one of theContracting State is or may feel called upon to take in pursuance ofgeneral international conventions to which it is a party， or which may beconcluded hereafter， particularly conventions concluded under the auspicesof the League of Nations， relating to the traffic in women and children，the transit， export or import of particular kinds of articles such asopium or other dangerous drugs， arms， or the produce of fisheries， or inpursuance of general conventions intended to prevent any infringement ofindustrial， literary or artistic property， or relating to false marks，false indications of origin or other methods of unfair competition.

Article 18

This statute does not prescribe the rights and duties of belligerentsand neutrals in time of war. The statute shall， however， continue in forcein time of war so far as such rights and duties permit.

Article 19

The Contracting States undertake to introduce into those conventionsin force on December 9， 1923， which contravene the provisions of thisstatute， so soon as circumstances permit， and in any case on the expiryof such conventions， the modifications required to bring them into harmonywith such provisions， so far as the geographical， economic or technicalcircumstances of the countries or areas concerned allow.

The same shall apply to concessions granted before December 9， 1923，for the total or partial exploitation of maritime ports.

Article 20

This statute does not entail in any way the withdrawal of facilitieswhich are greater than those provided for in the statute and which havebeen granted in respect of the use of maritime ports under conditionsconsistent with its principles. This statute also entails no prohibitionof such grant of greater facilities in the future.

Article 21

Without prejudice to the provisions of the second paragraph of Article8， disputes which may arise between Contracting States as to theinterpretation or the application of the present statute shall be settledin the following manner：

Should it prove impossible to settle such dispute either directlybetween the parties or by any other method of amicable settlement， theparties to the dispute may， before resorting to any procedure ofarbitration or to a judicial settlement， submit the dispute for anadvisory opinion to the body established by the League of Nations as theadvisory and technical organisation of Members of the League for mattersof communications and transit. In urgent cases a preliminary opinion maybe given recommending temporary measures， including measures to restorethe facilities for international traffic which existed before the act oroccurrence which gave rise to the dispute.

Should it prove impossible to settle the dispute by any of the methodsof procedure enumerated in the preceding paragraph， the Contracting Statesshall submit their dispute to arbitration， unless they have decided， orshall decide， under an agreement between them， to bring it before thePermanent Court of International Justice.

Article 22

If the case is submitted to the Permanent Court of InternationalJustice， it shall be heard and determined under the conditions laid downin Article 27 of the statute of the court.

If arbitration is resorted to， and unless the parties decideotherwise， each party shall appoint an arbitrator， and a third member ofthe arbitral tribunal shall be elected by the arbitrators， or， in casethe latter are unable to agree， shall be selected by the Council of theLeague of Nations from the list of assessors for communications andtransit cases mentioned in Article 27 of the Statute of the PermanentCourt of International Justice； in such latter case， the third arbitratorshall be selected in accordance with the provisions of the penultimateparagraph of Article 4 and the first paragraph of Article 5 of theCovenant of the League.

The arbitral tribunal shall judge the case on the basis of the termsof reference mutually agreed upon between the parties. If the parties havefailed to reach an agreement， the arbitral tribunal， acting unanimously，shall itself draw up terms of reference after considering the claimsformulated by the parties； if unanimity cannot be obtained， the Council ofthe League of Nations shall decide the terms of reference under theconditions laid down in the preceding paragraph. If the procedure is notdetermined by the terms of reference， it shall be settled by the arbitraltribunal.

During the course of the arbitration the parties， in the absence ofany contrary provision in the terms of reference， are bound to submit tothe Permanent Court of International Justice any question of internationallaw or question as to the legal meaning of this statute the solution ofwhich the arbitral tribunal， at the request of one of the parties，pronounces to be a necessary preliminary to the settlement of the dispute.

Article 23

It is understood that this statute must not be interpreted asregulating in any way rights and obligations inter se of territoriesforming part of or placed under the protection of the same sovereignState， whether or not these territories are individually ContractingStates.

Article 24

Nothing in the preceding Articles is to be construed as affecting inany way the rights or duties of a Contracting State as member of theLeague of Nations.

PROTOCOL OF SIGNATURE OF THE CONVENTION ON THE INTERNATIONALREGIME OF MARITIME PORTS

At the moment of signing the Convention of today's date， relating tothe international regime of maritime ports， the undersigned， dulyauthorised， have agreed as follows：

1. It is understood that the provisions of the present statuteshall apply to ports of refuge specially constructed for that purpose.

2. It is understood that the British Government's reservation asto the provisions of section 24 of the Pilotage Act of 1913 is accepted.

3. It is understood that the obligations laid down in French lawin regard to ship-brokers shall not be regarded as contrary to theprinciple and spirit of the Statute on the International Regime ofMaritime Ports.

4. It is understood that the condition of reciprocity laid down inArticle 2 of the Statute on the International Regime of Maritime Portsshall not exclude from the benefit of the said Statute Contracting Stateswhich have no maritime ports and do not enjoy in any zone of a maritimeport of another State the rights mentioned in Article 15 of the saidStatute.

5. In the event of the flag or nationality of a Contracting Statebeing identical with the flag or nationality of a State or territory whichis outside the convention， no claim can be advanced on behalf of thelatter State or territory to the benefits assured by this Statute to theflags or nationals of Contracting States.

The present Protocol will have the same force， effect and duration asthe statute of today's date， of which it is to be considered as anintegral part.

In faith whereof the above-mentioned plenipotentiaries have signed thepresent Protocol.

Done at Geneva， the 9th day of December， 1923， in a single copy， whichwill remain deposited in the archives of the secretariat of the League ofNations； certified copies will be transmitted to all the Statesrepresented at the conference