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Rh of the two parties, as well as from the experts and witnesses whose appearance in court it may consider useful.

The present convention, duly ratified, shall replace, as between the Contracting Powers, the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes of the 29th of July, 1899.

The present convention shall be ratified, as soon as possible.

The ratifications shall be deposited at The Hague.

The first deposit of ratifications shall be recorded in a procès-verbal signed by the representatives of the powers which take part therein and by the Netherland Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The subsequent deposits of ratifications shall be made by means of a written notification, addressed to the Netherland Government and accompanied by the instrument of ratification.

A duly certified copy of the procès-verbal relative to the first deposit of ratifications, of the notifications mentioned in the preceding paragraph, and of the instruments of ratification, shall be immediately sent by the Netherland Government, through the diplomatic channel, to the powers invited to the Second Peace Conference, as well as to the other powers which shall have adhered to the convention. In the cases contemplated in the preceding paragraph, the said Government shall at the same time inform the powers of the date on which it received the notification.

Nonsignatory powers which have been invited to the Second Peace Conference may adhere to the present convention.

The power which desires to adhere notifies its intention in writing to the Netherland Government, forwarding to it the act of adhesion, which shall be deposited in the archives of the said Government.

This Government shall immediately forward to all the other powers invited to the Second Peace Conference a duly certified copy of the notification as well as of the act of adhesion, mentioning the date on which it received the notification.