a. Germany (Federal Republic of):
(Declaration made at the time of accession)
The Protocol to the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation
of the Panama Canal shall apply to Berlin (West) with effect from the date on which it enters
into force for the Federal Republic of Germany.
b. Netherlands (the Kingdom of):
(Provided the following information)
The Royal Netherlands Embassy presents its compliments to the Secretary General of the
Organization of American States and has the honor to request the attention
of the Organization of American States, with respect to its capacity of depositary of the
conventions mentioned in the addendum, for the following.
Effective January 1, 1986, the island of Aruba –formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles–
obtained internal autonomy as a country within the Kingdom of The Netherlands.
Consequently the Kingdom of The Netherlands as of January 1, 1986, consists
of three countries, to wit: the Netherlands proper, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
Since the above-mentioned event concerns only a change in internal constitutional relations
within the Kingdom of The Netherlands, and as the Kingdom as such, under international law,
will remain the subject with which treaties are concluded, the aforementioned change
will have no consequences in international law with regard to treaties concluded
by the Kingdom, the application of which (treaties) were extended to the Netherlands Antilles,
including Aruba.
These treaties, thus, will remain applicable for Aruba in its new status as
autonomous country within the Kingdom of The Netherlands, effective January 1, 1986.
Consequently the treaties –referred to in the addendum to this note– to which
the Kingdom of The Netherlands is a Party, and which have been extended to the
Netherlands Antilles will as of January 1, 1986, apply to all three countries
of the Kingdom of The Netherlands.
The Embassy would appreciate if the other Parties concerned would be notified of the above.
The Royal Netherlands Embassy avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the
Organization of American States the assurances of its highest consideration.
c. France
(Declaration made at the time of accession)
(Original in French – non-official translation)
The French Republic considers that the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and
Operation of the Panama Canal must be applied in a manner compatible with the provisions
of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed in Montego Bay
on 10 December 1982.
The French Republic understands that the definition of warships contained
in Article 6 of Annex A to the Treaty, reaffirming the definition of warships formulated
in Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,
signed in Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, includes the only applicable criteria
for the characterization of a warship, excluding every other element of appreciation,
in particular those concerning the armament available to the ship.
It also understands that the carrying out by the authorities of the Panama Canal
of measures strictly needed for measuring, of those that may be necessary to ensure
the security of transit and navigation and of those that are necessary to verify
that the prescriptions of that provision are observed, cannot have the effect of putting
into question the principle of non-submission of warships to inspection, search or surveillance,
which is embodied in Article 3, paragraph 3 of that Treaty.
The French Republic understands that the term “transit” in the sense of Article 3
A) refers to transit through the Canal and access to it, as well as transit through
the territorial waters of the Republic of Panama.
This transit is carried out under the exclusive responsibility of the body in charge
of the operation of the Canal, namely the Canal Commission and, as of the moment
of the expiration of the Treaty Concerning the Canal of 7 September 1977,
the Canal Authority, without any need for an acknowledgement by the Republic of Panama.
