File No. 6774/1.
[Inclosure—Translation.]
Convention concluded between Belgium and Sweden
to take the place of the convention of July 21 and August 2,
1838, regarding the right to inherit and to acquire
property.
His Majesty the King of the Belgians and His Majesty the King of
Sweden, being desirous of regulating, by means of a new convention,
the rights of their respective subjects to inherit and to acquire
property in the two countries, have appointed as their
plenipotentiaries for this purpose, to wit:
- His Majesty the King of the Belgians,
- Baron de Favereau, knight of his Order of Leopold, etc.,
member of the Senate, his minister of foreign affairs, and
His Majesty the King of Sweden,
- Baron G. Falkenberg, first-class commander of his Order of
the Polar Star, etc., his envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary near His Majesty the King of the
Belgians,
Who, after communicating to each other their full powers, found in
good and due form, agreed on the following articles:
Article 1.
Belgians in Sweden and Swedes in Belgium shall, on the basis of
reciprocity and under the same conditions as the citizens or
subjects of the most favored other nation, be permitted to acquire
and hold real estate or personal property and to dispose thereof by
sale, exchange, gift, will, or otherwise, as well as to receive
property by inheritance whether ab intestato or under a will.
Article 2.
The laws known under the names of “droit d’aubaine” (the right of the
State to confiscate the property of a deceased foreigner) and “droit
de detraction “(the right of the sovereign to withhold a part of the
property of a deceased foreigner) shall not be enforced in future,
when, in case of an inheritance, donation inter vivos, sale,
emigration, or the like, there is occasion to transfer property from
the Kingdom of Belgium to the Kingdom of Sweden, or vice versa.
Article 3.
Belgians who acquire real estate or personal property in Sweden,
whether by inheritance ab intestato or under a will, or by sale,
exchange, gift, or otherwise, and, reciprocally, Swedes who acquire
real estate or personal property in Belgium under the same titles,
shall not be required to pay thereon any other dues, imposts, or
taxes than such as are imposed on nationals by the laws and
regulations which exist or may in future exist in the respective
countries. The same rule shall apply if they alienate the property,
transfer it, and carry away the amount received as its value.
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Article 4.
The present convention shall go into force on June 1, 1907, and shall
remain binding until the expiration of a year after the day on which
either of the high contracting parties shall have denounced it. It
shall not affect any real-estate rights acquired before said date by
Belgian subjects in Sweden or by Swedish subjects in Belgium.
Article 5.
The present convention shall be ratified and the ratifications
exchanged as soon as possible.
In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the
present convention and affixed thereto the seal of their arms.
Done at Brussels,
in duplicate, on March 28, 1907.
(
l. s.)
De
Favereau.
(
l. s.)
Falkenberg.
The exchange of ratifications took place on May 3, 1907.
Certified to by the secretary-general of the ministry of foreign
affairs, Chevalier van der Elst.
