811.111 Zizianoff, Nina Princess

The Chargé in France (Whitehouse) to the Secretary of State

[Extract]
No. 8215

Sir: With reference to the Department’s Instruction No. 2526 of December 1, 1927 … I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy and translation of the reply of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs to the note which I sent on December 15, 1927, in compliance [Page 857] with the Department’s aforementioned Instruction, regarding the suit brought by Princess Zizianoff against Mr. Donald F. Bigelow.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I have [etc.]

Sheldon Whitehouse
[Enclosure—Translation]

The French Minister for Foreign Affairs (Briand) to the American Chargé (Whitehouse)

Mr. Chargé d’Affaires: My Department has given the greatest attention to the information and arguments contained in your letter of the 15th of last month relative to the case of Princess Zizianoff against Mr. Bigelow. It has not failed up to the present time to acquaint the Attorney General near the Seine Correctional Court and the Attorney General near the Paris Court of Appeals with the texts and reasons invoked by your Embassy to contest the competence of French jurisdiction in the case in question, but it also, as was its duty, had to notify these High Magistrates of the interpretation which the French Government gives to Articles 2 and 12 of the Franco-American Consular Convention of February 23, 1853, an interpretation which is binding upon the French courts in matters of public international law.

Respectful of the principle of the separation of powers, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs refrains from any observation whatsoever regarding the grounds of the case. As to competence, it can only intervene in order to fix the interpretation of certain provisions of the Consular Convention of 1853; in this regard, please allow me to point out that the opinion of the French Government agrees with that of the American Government concerning consuls being amenable to the local jurisdiction, except as regards official acts. Now, Princess Zizianoff is suing Mr. Bigelow for defamation through the press; as defamation cannot be considered as an official act, there is no doubt but that the case is within the competency of the French courts.

In those circumstances, my Department does not believe that it is possible for it to modify the position which it has taken in this matter.

Accept [etc.]

For the Minister for Foreign Affairs and by delegation
The French Ambassador, Secretary General:
Berthelot