Section 4

If a claimant brings an action in the ordinary German court against the Federal Republic pursuant to paragraph 10 of Article 8 of the Finance Convention, the German agency shall forward to the appropriate agency of the Forces a copy of the complaint. Should the German agency deem it necessary in the light of the complaint to obtain from the agency of the Forces supplementary documents or evidence from its own sources for use in connection with the defense of the action, the German agency shall so inform the agency of the Forces as soon as possible.

Section 5

Should the legally enforceable judgment of a Court in an action brought under paragraph 10 of Article 8 of the Finance Convention differ from the decision of the German agency taken under Section 1 of this Annex, the decision shall be modified so as to make it accord with the judgment; this shall apply whether or not the authorities of the Forces exercised their right to participate in the action against the Federal Republic under paragraph 12 of Article 8 of the Finance Convention.

Section 6

To enable that part of the compensation awarded by the German agencies or Courts which under Section 7 of this Annex is to be charged to the funds for the support of the Forces of the United States to be so charged, the German agency shall by the fifteenth day of each month furnish to the appropriate agency of the Forces a list showing the amounts of compensation paid during the previous month.

Section 7

It is agreed, as provided for in paragraph 14 of Article 8 of the Finance Convention, that 75 percent of the compensation awarded by the appropriate German agencies or by the ordinary German courts shall be charged to the funds for the support of the Forces made available under the Finance Convention. The remaining 25 per cent. of the compensation shall be borne by the Federal Republic.

Section 8

The provisions of this Annex shall not affect the provisions of paragraph 16 of Article 8 of the Finance Convention.

17. CONVENTION ON THE SETTLEMENT OF MATTERS ARISING OUT OF THE WAR AND THE OCCUPATION, MAY 26, 1952, AS AMENDED BY SCHEDULE IV TO THE PROTOCOL ON THE TERMINATION OF THE OCCUPATION REGIME IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, OCTOBER 23, 19541

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND,

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

and

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, Agree as follows:

CHAPTER ONE-GENERAL PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 1

1. The Federal and Land authorities shall have the power, in accordance with their respective competences under the Basic Law of the Federal Republic, to repeal or amend legislation enacted by the Occupation Authorities, except as otherwise provided in the Convention on Relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany or any of the related Conventions listed in Article 8 thereof. Until such repeal or amendment, legislation enacted by the Occupation Authorities shall remain in force. Legislation enacted by the Control Council shall not be subject to repeal or amendment. Legislation by which the provisional boundaries of the Federal Republic have been established, or which is required to be maintained in force by other provisions of the Convention on Relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany or any of the related Conventions, may only be amended or repealed with the consent of the Three Powers.

2. The Three Powers hereby delegate to the Federal Republic the right to deprive of effect within its territory, after consultation in each case with the Three Powers, all such legislation of the Control Council as is not required to be maintained in force by other provisions of the Convention on Relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany or any of the related Conventions or as shall not have been required to be maintained in force by the Three Powers in the exercise of their rights relating to Berlin and to Germany as a whole, including unification of Germany and a peace settlement, referred to in the Convention on Relations between the Three Powers

1 The Bonn Agreements of 1952 as Amended by the Paris Protocol of 1954 (S. Doc. No. 11, 84th Cong., 1st sess.), pp. 77-123. For the 1952 text of this convention, see S. Execs. Q and R, 82d Cong., 2d sess., pp. 25-88.

2 Germany, 1947-1949: The Story in Documents (Department of State publication 3556; 1950), pp. 283–305.

3

Supra, p. 489.

and the Federal Republic of Germany, as listed in a communication on behalf of the Governments of the Three Powers to the Federal Chancellor bearing the date of the signature of the present Convention.1

3. The term "legislation" as used in the present Convention includes proclamations, laws, ordinances, decisions (other than Court decisions), directives, regulations, orders, licenses or any other similar enactments which have been officially published. Reference to any specific legislation shall include each and every part thereof, including the preamble, unless otherwise expressly provided.

4. The official text or texts of legislation referred to in this Article shall be the text or texts which was or were official at the time of enactment.

5. The term "Occupation Authorities" as used in this Chapter means the Control Council, the Allied High Commission, the High Commissioners of the Three Powers, the Military Governors of the Three Powers, the Armed Forces of the Three Powers in Germany, and organizations and persons exercising power on their behalf or, in the case of international organizations and organizations representing other Powers (and the members of such organizations), acting with their authorization, and auxiliary contingents of other Powers serving with the Armed Forces of the Three Powers.

ARTICLE 2

1. All rights and obligations created or established by or under legislative, administrative or judicial action of the Occupation Authorities are and shall remain valid for all purposes under German law whether or not their creation or establishment was in conformity with other legislation. Such rights and obligations shall be subject without discrimination to the same future legislative, judicial and administrative measures as similar rights and obligations created or established by or under German municipal law.

2. All rights and obligations arising under the treaties and the international agreements listed in the enclosure with the communication of the Allied High Commissioners2 on behalf of the Governments of the Three Powers to the Federal Chancellor bearing the date of the signature of the present Convention and concluded on behalf of one or more of the three Western Zones of Occupation by the Occupation Authorities or by any one or more of the Governments of the Three Powers before the entry into force of the present Convention are and shall remain valid as though they had arisen under effective treaties and international agreements concluded by the Federal Republic.

ARTICLE 3

1. No person shall be prosecuted or prejudiced in his civil rights or economic position by the action of German courts or authorities solely on the ground that he has, prior to the entry into force of the present Convention, sympathized with or aided the cause of the

1 Text in S. Execs. Q and R, 82d Cong., 2d sess., p. 151.

2 Text in S. Execs. L and M, 83d Cong., 2d sess., pp. 121–158.

Three Powers, or their policies or interests, or furnished information or services to the forces, authorities, or agencies of any one or more of the Three Powers, or to any person acting under the authority of any of them. The same shall apply in favour of persons who, prior to the entry into force of the present Convention, have shown sympathy to, or aided or furnished with information or services, the Allies of the Three Powers in their common cause. The German authorities shall apply all means at their disposal to ensure that the objectives of this paragraph are attained.

2. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this Article, or by special agreement between the Governments of the Three Powers or the Power concerned and the Federal Government, German courts and authorities shall have no jurisdiction in any criminal or non-criminal proceedings relating to an act or omission which occurred before the date of entry into force of the present Convention, if immediately prior to such date German courts and authorities were without jurisdiction with respect to such act or omission whether ratione materiae or ratione personae.

3. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article and to any other relevant provision of the Convention on Relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany, or of the related Conventions, German courts may exercise such jurisdiction as they have under German law in respect of:

(a) non-criminal proceedings based on private law:

(i) against juristic persons, if the jurisdiction of German courts was previously excluded solely on the ground that such juristic persons were subject to the control of the Occupation Authorities under SHAEF1 and Military Government Laws No. 52 on Blocking and Control of Property,2 Control Council Law No. 9 Providing for the Seizure of Property Owned by I. G. Farbenindustrie and the Control Thereof, or Allied High Commission Law No. 35 on Dispersion of Assets of I. G. Farbenindustrie A. G;4.

(ii) against natural persons, unless such proceedings arise out of, or concern acts or omissions in the course of the performance of, duties or services for the Occupation Authorities, or unless they arise from claims referred to in Article 3 of Chapter Nine of the present Convention. Maintenance cases shall become subject to the jurisdiction of German courts, however, only to the extent to which maintenance is claimed in respect of a period commencing after the entry into force of the present Convention;

(b) criminal proceedings against natural persons, unless investigation of the alleged offence was finally completed by the prosecuting authorities of the Power or Powers concerned, or unless such offence has been committed in the performance of duties or services for the Occupation Authorities.

1 Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force.

2 Military Government Gazette, issue A, p. 24.

3 Official Gazette for the Control Council for Germany, p. 34.

Official Gazette of Allied High Commission for Germany, p. 584.

Whenever in any criminal or non-criminal proceedings referred to in this paragraph a question arises whether or not a person has acted in the performance of duties or services for the Occupation Authorities, or whether or not the prosecuting authorities of the Power or Powers concerned have finally completed the investigation of an alleged offence, the German court shall accept a certificate of the Ambassador, or in his absence the Chargé d'affaires, of the Power concerned as conclusive proof of such question, to the extent covered by such. certificate.

ARTICLE 4

1. No tribunals shall be maintained by the Three Powers in the Federal territory except as specifically provided in the present Convention or except tribunals exercising jurisdiction as contemplated in the Convention on Relations between the Three Powers and the Federal Republic of Germany or any of the related Conventions.

2. For the transitional period referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, the United States Court and Court of Appeals of the Allied High Commission for Germany, established by Law No. 20 of the United States High Commissioner,' the Courts of the Allied High Commission for Germany, British Zone, established by Military Government Ordinance No. 68 (amended 2) and Ordinances No. 222 and 244 of the United Kingdom High Commissioner, and the French Tribunals of the Allied High Commission for Germany, regulated by Ordinance No. 242 of the French High Commissioner, may continue to exercise jurisdiction under legislation of the Allied High Commission and of the High Commissioners to the extent necessary:

(a) to conclude any business before them on the entry into force of the present Convention;

(b) to make a decision in any criminal or noncriminal proceedings, other than criminal proceedings against a German national (within the meaning of German law), based on an act or omission which occurred before the date of entry into force of the present Convention and which was not immediately prior to that date subject to the jurisdiction of the German courts, if such proceedings are instituted within ninety days after the entry into force of the present Convention;

and shall continue to apply the applicable law in force immediately prior to the entry into force of the present Convention. The Federal Republic undertakes that at the request of any one of the Three Powers investigations will be made by the appropriate German authorities regarding alleged violations by German nationals (within the meaning of German law) of legislation of the Occupation Authorities, and that criminal proceedings will be instituted where the investigations show such proceedings to be warranted.

3. The jurisdiction referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall, however, terminate ten months after the date of entry into force of the present Convention in the case of appellate tribunals, and six months after that date in the case of other tribunals, except that such

1 Official Gazette of the Allied High Commission for Germany, p. 919.