Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 60 Part 2.djvu/820

 60 STAT.] UNITED KINGDOM-RECAPTURED VESSELS-May 7, 1945 June 15,19 4 5 ultimate liability for payments for the use or for the loss of vessels taken up for his service. 4. Any vessel not immediately required by the Commander-in-Chief in the operational area shall be ordered away so that it can be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Part II of this Memorandum. 5. The Commander-in-Chief will not enter into any general Agree- ment even of a temporary character dealing with the chartering of groups of United Nations vessels with any Authorities he may find in liberated or captured territories. Any such matters will be dealt with by the Shipping Authorities of the United Nations. The ques- tion as to the time at which it may be appropriate to transfer the primary responsibility for dealing with such vessels from the Com- mander-in-Chief to the Shipping Authorities of the United Nations will be dealt with according to the course of the operations. PART II. Arrangements to be made for the disposal of United Nations vessels captured or found in the area of operations. 1. (a) The general principle is recognised that the Government of each United Nation shall subject to the provisions of Part I of this Memorandum ultimately be entitled to take over and dispose of, as it thinks fit, vessels belonging to that State. Vessels will be treated as belonging to a State (i) if they were at the time when they fell into the hands of the enemy registered in the territory of that State; (ii) if at the time when they fell into the hands of the enemy they had the right to fly the flag of that State whether or not formally registered in its territory; (iii) if they were built for or acquired by or by any national of that State and registered in its territory (if liable to registration) after the occupation of its territory by Germany or her Allies. (b) This general principle will apply irrespective of the place of capture or of the constitution or nationality of the United Nations force effecting the actual capture and of the flag which the vessel may be flying at the time when captured or found. Thus, if in a Norwegian harbour there were captured a formerly British vessel, a formerly Norwegian vessel and a formerly Netherlands vessel, then, subject to the provisions of Part I of this Memorandum, the first would ultimately be handed over to the United Kingdom Govern- ment, the second to the Norwegian Government and the third to the Netherlands Government, even though the forces actually capturing them were not British, Norwegian or Netherlands, but belonging to some other United Nations nationality. 2. The following additional principles are recognised and accepted in respect of any United Nations vessels captured or found in the area of operations:- (a) The vessels concerned will be handed back to the Government of the United Nation concerned and not to individual nationals of the Disposition of ves- sels not immediately required. Chartering of U. N. vessels. General principle. Additional prin- ciples.

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