File No. 718.1915/228.
The Legation of Panama to the Department of State.
memorandum.
The arbitration treaty entered into between Colombia and Costa Rica on the 21st of January 1886, for submitting to His Majesty Alphonse XII, King of Spain, the boundary controversy pending between the two countries, contains the following article:
II. The territorial limit which the Republic of Costa Rica claims on the Atlantic side, reaches as far as the Island Escudo de Veraguas, and the River Chiriquí (Calobebora) inclusive; and on the Pacific side, as far as the River Chiriquí Viejo, inclusive, to the east of Point Burica.
The territorial limit which the United States of Colombia claims, reaches, on the Atlantic side, as far as Cape Gracias a Dios, inclusive, and on the Pacific side as far as the mouth of River Golfito and in Gulf Dulce.
Later on the two countries agreed, in an additional treaty dated November 4, 1886, to appoint as Arbitrator the President of the French Republic. This treaty contains in its Article IV the following paragraph, which is its last one, and says:
The Award of the Arbitrator, no matter what [it] may be, shall be considered as a perfect and binding treaty as between the high contracting parties and shall not admit of any appeal. Both parties bind themselves to its faithful fulfillment, and they waive any appeal against the decision, pledging thereto their national honor.
The decision was rendered on the 11th of September 1900 and during fourteen years Costa Rica has declined and avoided the faithful fulfillment of the award.
Since 1880 according to the first treaty of arbitration (25 Dec. 1880) Colombia and Costa Rica had entered into a temporary arrangement called a statu quo [sic], according to which the two countries would exercise jurisdiction on parts of the territories in dispute as follows: Colombia would continue in possession of the territory on the Pacific side up to the river Golfito in Gulf Dulce and on the [Page 1026] Atlantic side up to the right bank of Sixaola River. Costa Rica on the Atlantic side would continue in possession of the left bank of the Sixaola River.
The award rendered by President Loubet established the following continental boundary between Colombia and Costa Rica:
The Frontier between the Republics of Colombia and Costa Rica shall be formed by the counterfort of the Cordillera which starts from Cape Mona, on the Atlantic Ocean, and closes on the north the Valley of the Tariare or Rio Sixola; then by the chain of division of waters between the Atlantic and Pacific, to nine degrees, about, of latitude; it will follow then the line of division of waters between the Cheriqui Viejo and the affluents of Gulf Dulce, to end at Point Burica on the Pacific Ocean.
Costa Rica declined to fulfill her promise of accepting the award as a binding treaty and continued and is now in possession of the left bank of the Sixaola River, claiming that possession as per the statu quo referred to, and consequently Panama claims the possession of the territory up to Golfito in the Pacific.
The Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama states the position of Panama in the following cable communication:
Statu quo claimed by Costa Rica after and notwithstanding the Loubet Award established a line of jurisdiction for the Republic of Panama on the Pacific side from the mouth of River Golfito in Gulf Dulce up to the main cordillera and on the Atlantic side from the mouth of the river Sixaola up to the cordillera. And as Costa Rica has maintained and is maintaining authorities on the left bank of the River Sixaola Panama has claimed and claims her right to maintain her authorities in the territory from the right bank of the River Golfito in an eastern direction and in all the eastern coast of Gulf Dulce up to Point Burica.
Costa Rica claims that the Loubet award did not alter the statu quo and as Panama has not accepted the award of Chief Justice White she has the same right to claim the statu quo as binding. Consequently Panama considers herself with right to maintain her authorities in the territories bound by the lines of the statu quo on the Pacific side from the left bank of River Golfito in an eastern direction by the eastern bank of said river and from Gulf Dulce south of the Golfito River to Point Burica.
The position of Costa Rica is untenable. If she wants Panama to abandon the line of the statu quo on the Pacific side and abide by the Loubet Award she cannot claim the statu quo on the Atlantic side and disregard the Loubet Award which gives Panama the whole drainage area of river Sixaola starting from Punta Mona.
Washington , December 8, 1914.