Treaty of Paris (1920)

TREATY BETWEEN THE PRINCIPAL ALLIED POWERS AND ROUMANIA RESPECTING BESSARABIA
THE BRITISH EMPIRE, FRANCE, ITALY, JAPAN, THE PRINCIPAL ALLIED POWERS, AND ROUMANIA,

WHEREAS in the interests of general peace in Europe it is of importance to assure henceforth a sovereignty over Bessarabia in accordance with the aspirations of the population, and guaranteeing to its racial, religious and linguistic minorities the protection which is due to them;

WHEREAS from geographic, ethnographic, historic and economic points of view, the reunion of Bessarabia to Roumania is fully justified;

WHEREAS the population of Bessarabia has given proof of its desire to see Bessarabia reunited to Roumania;

IN FINE, WHEREAS Roumania, of her own free will, desires to give positive guarantees of liberty and justice to the inhabitants of the former Kingdom of Roumania, and also to those of the territories newly transferred, irrespective of race, religion or language, in conformity with the Treaty signed at Paris on 9 December 1919:

HAVE DECIDED to conclude the present Treaty and, to this end, have appointed the following as their Plenipotentiaries, reserving the right to appoint others to sign it:

[Names of plenipotentiaries not reproduced here.] Who have agreed on the following stipulations:

Article 1
The High Contracting Parties declare that they recognise the sovereignty of Roumania over the territory of Bessarabia comprised within the present frontier of Roumania, the Black Sea, the course of the Dniester from its mouth to the point where it is intersected by the former boundary between Bukovina and Bessarabia and that old boundary.

Article 2
A Commission consisting of three members, one of whom shall be appointed by the Principal Allied Powers, one by Roumania and one by the Council of the League of Nations on the part of Russia, shall be constituted within fifteen days following the coming into force of the present Treaty, in order to trace on the spot the new frontier line of Roumania.

Article 3
Roumania undertakes to observe the stipulations of the Treaty signed at Paris on 9 December 1919 by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and Roumania, and to ensure their rigorous observance in the territory of Bessarabia as defined in Article 1, and, particularly to assure to its inhabitants, without distinction of race, language or religion, the same guarantees of liberty and justice as to the inhabitants of all other territories forming part of the Kingdom of Roumania.

Article 4
Roumanian nationality, to the exclusion of any other nationality, shall be accorded ipso facto to the nationals of the former Russian Empire settled in the territory of Bessarabia, as defined in Article 1.

Article 5
Within a period of two years from the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty, nationals of the former Russian Empire over the age of 18 years and settled in the territory of Bessarabia, as defined in Article 1, shall be allowed to opt for any other nationality which may be open to them.

Option by the husband will include that by the wife, and option by the parents will include that by their children under the age of 18 years.

Persons who have exercised the right of option above provided must within the ensuing twelve months transfer their place of residence to the State for which they have opted.

They shall be at liberty to retain the immovable property which they possess in Roumanian territory. They may carry away their personal property of every description. No export duty shall be imposed on them on account of this removal.

Article 6
Roumania recognises as Roumanian nationals, ipso facto and without any formality, nationals of the former Russian Empire who were born on the territory of Bessarabia, as defined in Article 1, of parents having their domicile there, although at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty they may not themselves be domiciled there.

Nevertheless, within two years from the coming into force of the present Treaty, these persons may make a declaration before the competent Roumanian authorities in the country in which they reside, that they renounce Roumanian nationality, and they will then cease to be considered as Roumanian nationals. In this respect, the declaration of the husband will be held valid for the wife, and that of the parents will be held valid for children under the age of 18 years.

Article 7
The High Contracting Parties recognise that the mouth of the Danube, called the Kilia mouth, must pass under the jurisdiction of the European Commission of the Danube.

Pending the conclusion of a general Convention for the international control of waterways, Roumania undertakes to apply to the sections of the river system of the Dniester comprised within her territory or constituting its frontiers, the regime provided in paragraph 1 of Article 332 and in Articles 333 to 338 of the Treaty of Peace with Germany of 28 June 1919.

Article 8
Roumania shall assume responsibility for the share of the Russian Public Debt and all other financial obligations of the Russian State allotted to Bessarabia, which shall be fixed by a special Convention between the Principal Allied and Associated Powers of the one part, and Roumania of the other part. This Convention shall be drawn up by a Commission appointed by the aforesaid Powers. Should the Commission not come to an agreement within a period of two years, the questions in dispute shall be at once submitted to the arbitration of the Council of the League of Nations.

Article 9
The High Contracting Parties will invite Russia to adhere to the present Treaty as soon as a Russian Government recognised by them shall be in existence. They reserve the right to submit to the arbitration of the Council of the League of Nations all questions which the Russian Government may raise respecting the details of this Treaty, it being understood that the frontiers defined in the present Treaty, as well as the sovereignty of Roumania over the territories therein comprised, cannot be called in question.

The same procedure shall apply to all difficulties which may subsequently arise from the carrying out of the Treaty.

The present Treaty shall be ratified by the signatory Powers.[1] It shall not come into force until after the deposit of these ratifications and from the coming into force of the Treaty signed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and Roumania on 9 December 1919.[2]

The deposit of ratifications shall take place at Paris.

Powers of which the seat of the Government is outside Europe will be entitled merely to inform the Government of the French Republic, through their diplomatic representative at Paris, that their ratification has been given; in that case they must transmit the instrument of ratification as soon as possible.

A procès-verbal of the deposit of ratifications will be drawn up.

The French Government will transmit to all the signatory Powers a certified copy of the procès-verbal of the deposit of ratifications.

DONE at Paris the 28th October, 1920, in a single copy, which will remain deposited in the archives of the Government of the French Republic, and of which authenticated copies will be transmitted to each of the Powers signatory of the Treaty.

The Plenipotentiaries who, owing to their temporary absence from Paris, are unable to attach their signature to the present Treaty, will be allowed to do so until 15 December 1920.

IN FAITH WHEREOF, the undermentioned Plenipotentiaries, whose full powers have been found in good and due form, have signed the present Treaty.

[Signatures not reproduced here.]