771.00/11–2852
The Diplomatic Agent at Tangier (Vincent) to the Department of State
No. 199
Ref:
- Legation’s despatch No. 192, November 24, 19521
Subject:
- Modifications in the International Regime of Tangier.
Following is an analysis of the changes in the international regime of Tangier which will result from the entry into force of the Protocol modifying the Anglo-French Agreement of August 31, 1945, which was approved and signed on November 10, 1952 by all of the members of the Tangier Committee of Control:
- 1.
- In General. Articles 2, 4, 5, 6 and 11 of the Anglo-French Agreement of August 31, 1945 are abrogated (Article I of the Protocol of November 10, 1952).
- 2.
- The International Legislative Assembly. Article 7(b) of the 1945 Agreement is amended to provide for three Italian members of the Legislative Assembly, instead of one. The representation of the other nations remains unchanged, except that provision is made for those nations having one member only to designate alternate members. Those nations having at least three representatives on the Assembly (France, Spain, U.K., U.S., Italy and Morocco) are each given a vice president and the others may choose one vice president to represent them collectively (Article II of the new Protocol).
- 3.
-
The International Administration. Article 7(c) of the 1945 Agreement is changed to give the Administrator of the Zone sole responsibility for the maintenance of public order, and to provide for:
- An Assistant Administrator of Spanish nationality, in charge of hygiene, welfare, and labor.
- An Assistant Administrator in charge of Finance of British, instead of Belgian, nationality.
- An Assistant Administrator of Italian nationality, in charge of judicial services.
The term of office of the Administrator of the Zone, which had not been defined in the 1945 Agreement, is fixed at three years and is not renewable. The Assistant Administrators and the Engineers of the Zone, on the other hand, are appointed for five years and their appointments are subject to renewal (Article III of the new Protocol).
- 4.
-
The Police. Article 7(d) of the 1945 Agreement is modified to provide for the reestablishment of the Mixed Bureau of Information created by Article 10 of the 1923 Statute, as amended in 1928, to be headed by a senior Spanish officer with the title of Inspector General of Security, who will be assisted by a French and a Spanish subordinate officer. The expenses of the Mixed Bureau will be borne by the Spanish and French Governments. The members of the Committee of Control are to have access to its files, as well as the right, at any time to inquire into its functioning.
[Page 203]The security of the Zone will be assured by a General Police force and a Special Police, both under the direct orders of the Administrator of the Zone. There are no significant changes regarding the nationality of officers of the General Police, except that the Chief of the Security Section will be of British nationality. The Commandant of the Special Police will be of Spanish nationality and will have equal rank with the Commandant of the General Police. The regulations governing the two police forces are annexed to the 1952 Protocol. They define in detail the organization and duties of the two forces. They provide for a General Police force of from 504 to 525 men. The Special Police force, although given other relatively unimportant functions, is mainly responsible for order at public gatherings, and in case of trouble. It will consist of from 220 to 225 officers and men to be furnished in equal numbers by the French and Spanish Governments. The two Governments will also furnish mobile equipment, radios, and armament for the Special Police, but the cost of maintenance will be borne by the Tangier Zone. The salaries of the officers and troops of the Special Police force also will be paid by the French and Spanish Governments. The personnel of the Special Police will receive an allowance from the International Administration, however, the amount of which will be fixed later by ordinance of the Committee of Control. Provision is made for close liaison between the two police forces (1952 Protocol, Article IV and Annexes).
[Here follows point 5, a listing of the less significant changes.]
- 6.
- Duration. The protocol was concluded for a period of five years. It will be renewed by tacit agreement for one or more equal periods unless its revision is requested by some member of the Committee of Control at least six months before its expiration. In that event, it will remain in force until a new agreement has been concluded.
Comment: Although the changes in the international regime of Tangier outlined above were agreed upon pursuant to the provisions of Article 8 of the Anglo-French Agreement of August 31, 1945, the members of the Committee of Control, who also had been studying reforms in the Zone’s judicial system, decided that Article 8 did not give the Committee of Control any authority to modify the judicial system created by the Convention of December 18, 1923, amended July 25, 1928. It was therefore decided that the judicial reforms would be accomplished by a Four-Power Convention signed by France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Italy2 (the original signatories to the 1923 and 1928 Conventions), to be submitted later to the other parties to the 1923 Statute, and the United States, for their adherence. The members of the Committee of Control, however, proceeded to approve and initial a draft of a Shereefian dahir designed to implement the Four-Power Convention on judicial reforms, the text of which draft dahir was annexed to the minutes of the Committee’s meeting of November 10. Neither the Protocol nor the Four-Power Convention may become [Page 204] effective until promulgated by dahir of the Sultan. The date for the entry into force of the new arrangements is tentatively fixed for April 1, 1953.
Pressure of other work prevents the Legation at the moment from submitting an analysis of the judicial reforms embodied in the new Four-Power Agreement, the French text of which is enclosed.3