Barcelona Convention and Statute on Freedom of Transit

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The Barcelona Convention and Statute on Freedom of Transit is an International treaty signed in Barcelona on 20 April 1921; the treaty ensures freedom of transit for various commercial goods across national boundaries. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 8 October 1921.[1] It went into effect on 31 October 1922. The convention is still in force at present.

Terms of the convention[]

The convention merely reaffirmed the statute adopted few days earlier at a League of Nations conference held in Barcelona. Article 1 of the statute defined transit as movement of persons and goods from one sovereign state to another. Article 2 recognized the freedom of sovereign governments to make transit arrangements within their territories. Article 3 prohibited governments from demanding payments for transit rights, except for dues designated to cover operational expenses. Article 4 made compulsory for governments to apply equal transit dues to all persons, regardless of nationality. Article 5 permitted governments to prevent the entry into their territories of certain persons or goods for reasons of security. Article 6 permitted governments to refrain from granting transit permission to persons of states that were non-signatories of the convention. Article 7 permitted governments to deviate from the provisions of the statute in cases of national emergency, but required this be done for as brief period as possible. Article 8 allowed exceptions in times of war. Article 9 stated that none of its provisions can contradict obligations of states within the League of Nations. Article 10 stated that the statute shall replace all other transit agreements concluded prior to 1 May 1921. Article 11 permitted governments to grant greater freedoms of transit than provided in the statute, if they chose to do so. Article 12 permitted governments to postpone temporarily the applications of the transit provisions in case their territory or parts of it still suffered from the devastation caused by the First World War. Article 13 provided for resolution of disputes regarding interpretation through the Permanent Court of International Justice. Article 14 permitted governments to refrain from applying reasonable transit provisions to territories that were either under populated or lacking in proper arrangements of the rule of law. Article 15 stated that different arrangements shall apply in League of Nations mandated territories.

Table of ratifications[]

Country Ratified
 Albania 1921-10-08
 Antigua and Barbuda 1988-10-25
 Austria 1923-11-15
 Belgium 1927-05-16
 Bosnia 1993-09-01
 Bulgaria 1922-07-11
 Cambodia 1971-04-12
 Chile 1928-03-19
 Croatia 1992-08-03
 Czech Republic 1996-02-09
 Denmark 1922-11-13
 Estonia 1925-06-06
 Fiji 1972-03-15
 Finland 1923-01-29
 France 1924-09-19
 Georgia 1999-06-02
 Germany 1924-04-09
 Greece 1924-02-18
 Hungary 1928-05-18
 India 1922-08-02
 Iran 1931-01-29
 Iraq 1930-03-01
 Italy 1922-08-05
 Japan 1924-02-20
 Laos 1956-11-24
 Latvia 1923-09-29
 Lesotho 1973-10-23
 Luxembourg 1930-03-19
 Malta 1966-05-13
 Mauritius 1969-07-18
   Nepal 1966-08-22
 Netherlands 1924-04-17
 New Zealand 1922-08-02
 Nigeria 1967-11-03
 Norway 1923-09-04
 Poland 1924-10-08
 Romania 1923-09-05
 Rwanda 1965-02-10
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2001-09-05
 Serbia (as Yugoslavia) 1930-05-07
 Slovakia 1993-05-28
 Slovenia 1992-07-06
 Spain 1929-12-17
 Swaziland 1969-11-24
 Sweden 1925-01-19
  Switzerland 1924-06-14
 Thailand 1922-11-29
 Turkey 1933-06-27
 United Kingdom 1922-08-02
 Zimbabwe 1998-12-01

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 7, pp. 12-33.

External links[]

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