TREATY SERIES, No. 728 
 
 CONVENTION 
 
 THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN 
 
 RIGHTS IN PALESTINE 
 
 
 SIGNED AT LONDON, DECEMBER 3. 1924 
 
 RATIFICATION ADVISED BY THE SENATE, FEBRUARY 20, 1925 
 RATIFIED BY THE PRESIDENT, MARCH 2, 1925 
 RATIFIED BY GREAT BRITAIN, MARCK18,;i925 
 RATIFICATIONS EXCHANGED AT LONDON, DECEMBER 3, 1925 
 PROCLAIMED. DECEMBER 5, 1925 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 1925 
 
Bt tite Peesibent of the United States or America 
 A PROCLAMATION 
 
 WHEREAS a Convention between the United States of America 
 and His Britannic Majesty with respect to the rights of the two 
 Governments and their nationals in Palestine was concluded and 
 signed by their respective Plenipotentiaries at London on the third 
 day of December, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-four, the 
 original of which Convention is word for word as follows: 
 
 Whereas by the Treaty of Peace concluded with the Allied Pow- 
 ers, Turkey renounces all her rights and titles over Palestine; and 
 
 Whereas article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations in 
 the Treaty of Versailles provides that in the case of certain terri- 
 tories which, as a consequence of the late war, ceased to be under the 
 sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them, mandates 
 should be issued, and that the terms of the mandate should be ex- 
 plicitly defined in each case by the Council of the League; and 
 
 Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed to entrust the 
 mandate for Palestine to His Britannic Majesty; and 
 
 Whereas the terms of the saj<l mandate have been defined by the 
 Council of the League of Nations, as follows : — 
 " The Council of the, League of Nations : 
 
 "Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the 
 purpose of giving effect to ■ the provisions of article 22 of the 
 Covenant of the League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory 
 selected by the said Powers the administration of the territory 
 of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the Turkish Empire, 
 within such boundaries as may be fixed by them ; and 
 
 "Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that 
 the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the 
 declaration originally made on the 2nd November, 1917, by the 
 Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by the said 
 Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national 
 home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that 
 nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and 
 religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, 
 or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other 
 coimtry; and 
 
 "Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical 
 connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds 
 for reconstituting their national home in that country; and 
 
 "Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Bri- 
 tannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine; and 
 
 " Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been formu- 
 lated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the 
 League for approval; and 
 
 (1) 
 
9 
 
 „ — J v.^^..^^ v^uuiiun oi tne Xieague ot JNations; 
 
 Confarming the said mandate, defines its terms as follows:— 
 
 'Article 1 
 
 " The Mandatory shall have full powers of legislation and of 
 (ministration, save as they may be limited bv the terms of this 
 
 "Article 2 
 
 The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country 
 under such pohtical, administrative and economic ' conditions as 
 will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as 
 laid down in the preamble, and the development of self-o-overn- 
 ing institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and relio-ious 
 rights ^ pf all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of "race 
 and religion. 
 
 " The Mandatory shall, so far as circumstances permit, encour- 
 
 An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognised as a public 
 body_ for the purpose of advising and co-operating with the 
 Administration of Palestine in such economic, social and other 
 matters as may affect the establishment of the Jewish national 
 home and the interests of the Jewish population in Palestine, 
 and, subject always to the control of the Administration, to assist 
 and take part in the development of the country. 
 
 " The Zionist organisation, so long as its organisation and con- 
 stitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall 
 be recognised as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation 
 with His Britannic Majesty's Government to secure the co-opera- 
 tion of all Jews who are willing to assist in the establishment 
 of the Jewish national home. 
 
 "The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Pal- 
 estine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed 
 under the control of, the Government of any foreign Power. 
 
 "Article 3 
 
 age local autonomy. 
 
 "Article 4 
 
 "Article 5 
 
 "Article 6 
 
 " The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the 
 rights and position of other sections of the population are not 
 prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable 
 
3 
 
 conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish 
 agency referred to in article 4, close settlement by Jews on the 
 land, including State lands and waste lands not required for 
 public purposes. 
 
 "Article 7 
 
 "The Administration of Palestine shall be responsible for 
 enacting a nationality law. There shall be included in this law 
 provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian 
 citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in 
 Palestine. 
 
 "Article 8 
 
 "The privileges and immunities of foreigners, including the 
 benefits of consular jurisdiction and protection as formerly 
 enjoyed by Capitulation or usage in the Ottoman Empire, shall 
 not be applicable in Palestine. 
 
 "Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the aforemen- 
 tioned privileges and immunities on the 1st August, 1914, shall 
 have previously renounced the right to their re-establishment, 
 or shall have agreed to their non-application for a specified 
 period, these privileges and immunities shall, at the expiration 
 of the mandate, be immediately re-established in their entirety 
 or with such modifications as may have been agreed upon between 
 the Powers concerned. 
 
 "Article 9 
 
 "The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that the judi- 
 cial system established in Palestine shall assure to foreigners, 
 as well as to natives, a complete guarantee of their rights. 
 
 " Eespect for the personal status of the various peoples and 
 communities and for their religious interests shall be fully guar- 
 anteed. In particular, the control and administration of Wakfs 
 shall be exercised in accordance with religious law and the dispo- 
 sitions of the founders. 
 
 "Article 10 
 
 " Pending the making of special extradition agreements relat- 
 ing to Palestine, the extradition treaties in force between the 
 Mandatory and other foreign Powers shall apply to Palestine. 
 
 '• Articlk 11 
 
 " The Administration of Palestine shall take all necessary meas- 
 ures to safeguard the interests of the community in connection 
 with the development of the country, and, subject to any inter- 
 national obligations accepted by the Mandatory, shall have full 
 power to provide for public ownership or control of any of the 
 natural resources of the country or of the public works, services 
 and utilities established or to be established therein. It shall 
 introduce a land system appropriate to the needs of the country, 
 having regard, among other things, to the desirability of pro- 
 moting the close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land. 
 
 73566—25 2 
 
4 
 
 " The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency 
 mentioned in article 4 to construct or operate, upon fair and 
 equitable terms, any public works, services and utilities, and to 
 develop any of the natural resources of the country, in so far as 
 these matters are not directly undertaken by the Administration. 
 Any such arrangements shall provide that "no profits distributed 
 by such agency, directly or indirectly, shall exceed a reasonable 
 rate of interest on the capital, and any further profits shall be 
 utilised by it for the benefit of the country in a manner approved 
 by the Administration. 
 
 "AimcLE 12 
 
 " The Mandatory shall be entrusted with the control of the 
 foreign relations of Palestine and the right to issue exequaturs 
 to consuls appointed by foreign Powers. He shall also be entitled 
 to afford diplomatic and consular protection to citizens of Pales- 
 tine when outside its territorial limits. 
 
 ■' ArticIjE 13 
 
 "AH responsibility in connection with the Holy Places and 
 religious buildings or sites in Palestine, including that of pre- 
 serving existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy 
 Places, religious buildings and sites and the free exercise of 
 worship, while ensuring the requirements of public order and 
 decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who shall be responsible 
 solely to the League of Nations in all matters connected here- 
 with, provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the 
 Mandatory from entering into such arrangements as he may deem 
 reasonable with the Administration for the purpose of carrying 
 the provisions of this article into effect ; and provided also that 
 nothing in this mandate shall be construed as conferring upon 
 the Mandatory authority to interfere with the fabric or the man- 
 agement of purely Moslem sacred shrines, the immunities of which 
 are guaranteed. 
 
 " Article 14 
 
 "A special Commission shall be appointed by the Mandatory 
 to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection 
 with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relfiting to .the 
 different religious communities in Palestine. The method of 
 nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commis- 
 sion shall be submitted to the Council of the League for its aj)- 
 proval, and the Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon 
 its functions without the approval of the Council. 
 
 "Article 15 
 
 " The Mandatory shall see that complete freedom of conscience 
 and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to 
 the maintenance of public order and morals, are ensured to all. 
 No discrimination of any kind shall be made between the inhab- 
 
5 
 
 itants of Palestine on the ground of race, religion or language- 
 No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of 
 his religious belief. 
 
 " The right of each community to maintain its own schools for 
 the education of its own members in its own language, while con- 
 forming to such educational requirements of a general nature as. 
 the Administration may impose, shall not be denied or impaired. 
 
 "Article 16 
 
 The Mandatory shall be responsible for exercising such super- 
 vision over religious or eleemosynary bodies of all faiths in Pales- 
 tine as may be required for the maintenance of public order and 
 good government. Subject to such supervision, no measures shall 
 be taken in Palestine to obstruct or interfere with the enterprise 
 of such bodies or to discriminate against any representative or 
 member of them on the ground of his religion or nationality. 
 
 "Article 17 
 
 " The Administration of Palestine may organise on a voluntary 
 basis the forces necessary for the preservation of peace and order, 
 and also for the defence of the country, subject, however, to the 
 supervision of the Mandatory, but shall not use them for purposes, 
 other than those above specified save with the consent of the 
 Mandatory. Except for such purposes, no military, naval or air 
 forces shall be raised or maintained by the Administration of 
 Palestine. 
 
 " Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration of 
 Palestine from contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the 
 forces of the Mandatory in Palestine. 
 
 " The Mandatory shall be entitled, at all times to use the roads, 
 railways and ports of Palestine for the movement of armed forces 
 and the carriage of fuel and supplies. t 
 
 "Article 18 
 
 "The Mandatory shall see that there is no discrimination in 
 Palestine against the nationals of any State member of the 
 League of Nations (including companies incorporated under its 
 laws) as compared with those of the Mandatory or of any foreign 
 State in matters concei-ning taxation, commerce or navigation, 
 the exercise of industries or professions, or in the treatment of 
 naerchant vessels or civil aircraft. Similarly, there shall be no 
 discrimination in Palestine against goods originating in or des- 
 tined for any of the said States, and there shall be freedom of 
 transit under equitable conditions across the mandated area. 
 
 "Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this 
 mandate, the Administration of Palestine may, on the ad^dce 
 of the Mandatory, impose such taxes and customs duties as it 
 may consider necessary, and take such steps as it may think 
 best to promote the development of the natural resources of the 
 country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It may 
 
6 
 
 also, on the advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs 
 agreement with any State the territory of which in 1914 was 
 wholly included in Asiatic Turkey or Arabia. 
 
 "Article 19 
 
 "The Mandatory shall adhere on behalf of the Administra- 
 tion of Palestine to any general international conventions already 
 existing, or which may be concluded hereafter with the approval 
 of the League of Nations, respecting the slave traffic, the traffic 
 in arms and ammunition, or the traffic in drugs, or relating to 
 commercial equality, freedom of transit and navigation, aerial 
 navigation and postal, telegraphic and wireless communication 
 or literary, artistic or industrial property. 
 
 "Article 20 
 
 "The Mandatory shall co-operate on behalf of the Admin- 
 istration of Palestine, so far as religious, social and other con- 
 ditions may permit, in the execution of any common policy 
 adopted by the League of Nations for preventing and combating 
 disease, including diseases of plants and animals. 
 
 "Article 21 
 
 " The Mandatory shall secure the enactment within twelve 
 months from this date, and shall ensure the execution of a Law 
 of Antiquities based on the following rules. This law shall ensure 
 equality of treatment in the matter of excavations and archaeo- 
 logical research to the nationals of all States members of the 
 League of Nations. 
 
 "(1) 
 
 " 'Antiquity ' means any construction or any product of human 
 activity earlier than the year a. d. 1700. 
 
 "(2) 
 
 "The law for the protection of antiquities shall proceed by 
 encouragement rather than by threat. 
 
 "Any person who, having discovered an antiquity without being 
 furnished with the authorisation referred to in paragraph 5, re- 
 ports the same to an official of the competent Department, shall be 
 rewarded according to the value of the discovery. 
 
 "(3) 
 
 "No antiquity may be disposed of except to the competent 
 Department, unless this Department renounces the acquisition of 
 any such antiquity. 
 
 " No antiquity may leave the country without an export licence 
 from the said Department. 
 
«(4) 
 
 "Any person who nialicio'usly or negligently destroys or dam- 
 ages an antiquity shall be liable to a penalty to be fixed. 
 
 "(5) 
 
 " No clearing of ground or digging with the object of finding 
 antiquities shall be permitted, under penalty of fine, except to per- 
 sons authorised by the competent Department. 
 
 "(6) 
 
 "Equitable terms shall be fixed for expropriation, temporary or 
 permanent, of lands which might be of historical or archaeological 
 interest. 
 
 "(7) 
 
 "Authorisation to excavate shall only be granted to persons who 
 show sufficient guarantees of archaeological experience. The 
 Administration of Palestine shall not, in granting these authori- 
 sations, act in such a way as to exclude scholars of any nation 
 without good grounds. 
 
 «(8) 
 
 " The proceeds of excavations may be divided between the 
 excavator and the competent Department in a proportion fixed by 
 that Department. If division seems impossible for scientific rea- 
 sons, the excavator shall receive a fair indeixmity in lieu of a part 
 cof the find. 
 
 "Article 22 
 
 " English, Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official languages of 
 Palestine. Any_ statement or inscription in Arabic on stamps or 
 money in Palestine shall be repeated in Hebrew, and any statement 
 •or inscription in Hebrew shall be repeated in Arabic. 
 
 "Article 23 
 
 "The Administration of Palestine shall recognise the holy days 
 of the respective communities in Palestine as legal days of rest for 
 the members of such communities. 
 
 " Article 24 
 
 " The Mandatory shall make to the Council of the League of 
 l!sations an annual report to the satisfaction of the Council as to 
 the measures taken during the year to carry out the provisions 
 •of the mandate. Copies of all laws and regulations promulgated 
 .or issued during the year shall be communicated with the report. 
 
8 
 
 " Article 25 
 
 " In the territories lying between the Jordan and the easterra 
 boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory 
 shall be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League- 
 of Nations, to postpone or withhold application of such provisions 
 of this mandate as he may consider inapplicable to the existing' 
 local conditions, and to make such provision for the administra- 
 tion of the territories as he may consider suitable to those con- 
 ditions, provided that no action shall be taken which is incon- 
 sistent with the provisions of articles 15, 16 and 18. 
 
 " Article 26 
 
 "The Mandatory agrees that if any dispute whatever should 
 arise between the Mandatory and another member of the League- 
 of Nations relating to the interpretation or the application of the 
 provisions of the mandate, such dispute, if it cannot be settled 
 by negotiation, shall be submitted to the Permanent Court of 
 International Justice provided for by article 14 of the Covenant 
 of the League of Nations. 
 
 " Article 27 -. 
 
 "The consent of the Council of the League of Nations is re- 
 quired for any modification of the terms of this mandate. 
 
 " Article 28 
 
 "In the event of the termination of the mandate hereby con- 
 ferred upon the Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations 
 shall make such arrangements as may be deemed necessary for 
 safeguarding in perpetuity, under guarantee of the League, the 
 rights secured by articles 13 and 14, and shall use its influence - 
 for securing, under the guarantee of the League, that the Gov- 
 ernment of Palestine will fully hdnour the financial obligations 
 legitimately incurred by the Administration of Palestine during 
 the period of the mandate, including the rights of public .servants 
 to pensions or gratuities. 
 
 " The present instrument shall be deposited in original in the- 
 archives of the League of Nations, and certified copies shall be- 
 forwarded by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations 
 to all members of the League. 
 
 " Done at London, the 24th day of July, 1922;" and 
 
 Whereas the mandate in the above terms came into force on the- 
 29th September, 1923; and 
 
 Whereas the United States of America, by participating in the- 
 war against Germany, contributed to her defeat and the defeat 
 of her Allies, and to the renunciation of the rights and titles of her 
 Allies in the territory transferred by them but has not ratified the- 
 Covenant of the League of Nations embodied in the Treaty of" 
 Versailles; and 
 
9 
 
 Whereas the Government of the United States and the Govern- 
 Tnent of His Britannic Majesty desire to reach a definite under- 
 standing with respect to the rights of the two Governments and their 
 respective nationals in Palestine; 
 
 The President of the United States of America and His Britannic 
 Majesty have decided to conclude a convention to this effect, and 
 have named as their plenipotentiaries: — 
 
 The President of the United States of America : 
 His Excellency the Honourable Frank B. Kello<>g, Ambassador 
 Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States at 
 London : 
 
 His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain 
 and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor 
 of India : 
 
 The Eight Honourable Joseph Austen Chamberlain, M.P., 
 His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign 
 Alfairs : 
 
 who, after having communicated to each other their respective full 
 powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows : — 
 
 Article 1 
 
 Subject to thei provisions of the present convention the United 
 States consents to the administration of Palestine by His Britannic 
 Majesty, pursuant to the mandate recited above. 
 
 Article 2 
 
 The United States and its nationals shall have and enjoy all the 
 rights and benefits secured under the terms of the mandate to 
 members of the League of Nations and their nationals, notwith- 
 standing the fact that the United States is not a member of the 
 League of Nations. 
 
 Article 3 
 
 Vested American property rights in the mandated territory shall 
 be respected and in no way impaired. 
 
 Article 4 
 
 A duplicate of the annual report to be made bv the Mandatory 
 under article 24 of the mandate shall be furnished to the United 
 States. 
 
 ArticIjE 5 
 
 Subject to the provisions of any local laws for the maintenance 
 of public order and public morals, the nationals of the United States 
 will be permitted • freely to establish and maintain educational, 
 philanthropic and religious institutions in the mandated territory, 
 to receive voluntary applicants and to teach in the English language. 
 
10 
 
 Article 6 
 
 The extradition treaties and conventions which are, or may be, 
 in force between the United States and Great Britain, and the pro- 
 visions of any treaties which are, or may be, in force between the 
 two countries which relate to extradition or consular rights shall 
 apply to the mandated territory. 
 
 Arttcle 7 
 
 Nothing contained in the present convention shall be affected by 
 any modification which may be made in the terms of the mandate, 
 as recited above, unless such modification shall have been assented 
 to by the United States. 
 
 Ar'J'iclk 8 
 
 The present convention shall be ratified in accordance with the 
 respective constitutional methods of the High Contracting Parties. 
 The ratifications shall be exchanged in London as soon as practicable. 
 The present convention shall take effect on the date of the exchange 
 of ratifications. 
 
 In witness whereof, the undersigned have signed the present con- 
 vention, and have thereunto affixed their seals. 
 Done in duplicate at London, this 3''* day of December, 1924. 
 [seal] Frank B. Kelix)gg 
 
 [seal] Axtsten Chamubrlaix 
 
 AND WHEREAS the said Convention has been duly ratified on 
 both parts, and the ratifications of the two Governments ^vere ex- 
 changed in the city of London on the third day of December, one 
 thousand nine hundred and twenty-five ; 
 
 NOW, THEREFORE, be it known that I, Calvin Coolidge, Presi- 
 dent of the United States of America, have caused the said Conven- 
 tion to be made public, to the end that the same and every article and 
 clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith hj the 
 United States and the citizens thereof. 
 
 IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and 
 caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 
 
 DONE at the city of Washington, this fifth day of December, in 
 the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and 
 . [seal] twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States 
 of America the one hundred and fiftieth. 
 
 Calvin Coolidge 
 
 By the President : 
 
 Frank B. EZellogg 
 
 Secretary of State 
 
 o