[Enclosure—Translation99]
Haitian Law of October 30, 1922, Establishing a
Claims Commission
Louis Borno, President of the Republic,
In consideration of article 55 of the Constitution;1
In consideration of the treaty of September 16, 1915, concluded
between the Republic of Haiti and the United States of America;2
In consideration of the law of June 26, 1922,3 sanctioning the
protocol of October 3, 1919;
[Page 546]
In consideration of the necessity to provide for the payment of the
salaries and expenses of the members of the Claims Commission and of
the personnel which shall be attached to it, and also of the
necessity to confer on the said Commission all the powers required
to liquidate and settle satisfactorily the pecuniary claims of
societies, companies, citizens, or subjects of Haiti or of foreign
countries, now held against the State;
On the report of the Secretary of State for Finance and Commerce,
And on the advice of the Council of Secretaries of State,
Has Proposed,
And the Council of State has voted, the following law:
Article I. Each member of the Commission
provided for in article 2 of the protocol of October 3, 1919, shall
take the following oath before the Court of Cassation:
“I swear and promise to exercise all the powers vested in me
as a member of the Claims Commission without passion and
with all impartiality, and not to divulge or reveal any
decision of the said Commission before it has been made
public by competent authority.”
Article II. The secretary and the other
members of the personnel, who shall be nominated by the President of
the Republic, shall take the following oath before the President of
the Commission:
“I swear that I will keep a true record of the claims
presented to the Commission and of the proofs furnished to
uphold said claims, and that I will not divulge any decision
of the Commission nor any vote or personal opinion of any
member.”
Article III. The Commission shall be
presided over by the member designated by it.
Article IV. To the Commission are delegated
all the necessary powers to gather all testimony, to open all
inquests, and to proceed with all investigations capable of
enlightening it upon the grounds and the validity of the claims and
the fixing of their total amount.
Article V. Any person who, without valid
reason, fails to appear before the Commission when called upon by it
to do so, shall, at the denunciation of the President and on the
request of the Ministère Public, be condemned by the Correctional
Tribunal to a fine varying from $5 to $2,000, according to the
circumstances of the case. Any person who is found guilty of false
testimony shall be turned over to the tribunal competent to judge
such person in accordance with the law.
[Page 547]
Such cases as are hereinabove provided for shall be judged at once,
whether out of turn or not and without right of appeal or cassation,
all business being meanwhile suspended.
Article VI. The secretary shall have the
custody of the records of the Commission and shall keep the procès verbaux of all the meetings, duly
signed by him and by the members.
Article VII. The Commission shall be
empowered to communicate directly with all individuals, all
functionaries of the Government, and with the Banque Nationale de la
Républic d’Haiti insofar as it is custodian of funds of the
Republic; and it is made obligatory upon all functionaries and
employees of the Government to aid and assist the Commission
whenever required.
Article VIII. The decisions of the
Commission shall be without right of appeal, except under anterior
diplomatic conventions.
Article IX. An extraordinary credit of
fifty thousand dollars American gold ($50,000) is opened at the
Department of Finance to pay the members of the Commission and the
personnel attached to it, and to defray all the expenses of the said
Commission. This sum shall be drawn from available funds in the
receipts of the Treasury.
Article X. When the Commission is
dissolved, the secretary shall turn over to the Government all
papers and records to be catalogued in the office of the General
Archives of the Republic.
Article XI. The present law abrogates all
laws or provisions of law contrary to it, and it shall be executed
under the diligence of the Secretary of State for Finance and
Commerce.
Given at the Legislative Palace, Port au Prince, October 30, 1922,
the 119th year of independence.
The President,
J. M.
Grandoit
The Secretaries,
Delabarre Pierre-Louis
Charles Fombrun
