German-American Agreement of August 10, 1922

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The German-American agreement of August 10, 1922 was a treaty under international law that regulated the claims of the United States against the then German Reich as a result of the First World War on the basis of the separate peace between the two states. The activity of the commission formed on the basis of the contract - usually referred to as the German American Mixed Claims Commission or Mixed Claims Commission (United States and Germany) - lasted 10 years. The background was that the United States had not ratified the Versailles Peace Treaty .

Object of the contract

  • Property law "claims of American citizens ... from the damage or confiscation of their goods, rights and interests"
  • "Other claims for loss or damage suffered by the United States or its nationals as a result of the war for injury to persons or property, rights and interests ..."
  • "Debt of the German government or German citizen to American citizens"

Procedure of regulation

Both governments should each appoint a commissioner and, in case of dissent, choose an impartial officer. The commission had to examine the claims and decide on them. Each of the two governments could appoint a secretary and "appoint and employ any other officials necessary to assist them in the performance of their duties." Governments could also "appoint representatives and lawyers to submit oral or written evidence to the Commission."

Effect of the Commission's decisions

According to Article 6 (3), the decisions of the Commission and those of the referee were "final and binding on both governments". It is therefore an arbitration procedure .

Legislative process

On 13 January 1923, laid Foreign Office for the national government to the parliament the draft law on the Agreement signed on August 10, 1922 German-American Convention against who agreed the deal.

People involved

The commissioners were Wilhelm Kiesselbach and Chandler P. Anderson . As a result of deaths, the commission had four referees in succession, all of whom were American citizens. The first was Edwin B. Parker, the second James W. Remick. Government agent (agent) on the American side was Robert W. Bonynge .

German counterclaims

German on a different legal basis relied claims shipowners against the United States because of the expropriation of more than 100 German merchant ships. Art. 3 of the so-called Release Act of the USA of March 10, 1928 provided for the establishment of a court of arbitration for war claims. a. should decide on compensation for expropriated merchant ships. This arbitration tribunal, a special court operating on the basis of American federal law, was chaired by the referee of the mixed commission that was supposed to rule on claims against Germany. The future President of the Senate represented the German interests before this court at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Hamburg Melchior von der Betten .

Object of the commission's work

There were over 20,000 claims with a volume of approx. $ 200 million to decide. The private German assets seized by the US government were liable for these claims. As a result of the processing of the claims, 80% of these assets could be released in 1928. The claims also included those from the Black Tom explosion , a 1916 bomb attack on an ammunition depot. Based on the decisions of the Commission, Germany continued to make payments until the 1970s.

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Law of January 31, 1923 RGBl. II p. 113.
  2. ↑ Information from Kiesselbach. The Wikipedia article Treaty of Berlin (1921) gave Edwin B. Parker as a judge on. Apparently the referee ( umpire ) was meant .
  3. ↑ Details at von blankets.
  4. ↑ Kiesselbach gives an amount of 4 billion gold marks , ZaöRV 1933, 569.
  5. ↑ Lührs, p. 600.