884.05/38
The Minister in Ethiopia (Southard) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received August 8.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Legation’s No. 1177 of April 24, 1933, reporting the imminence of the designation of an Ethiopian committee to meet with a junior committee of the Diplomatic Corps to study a law or code of procedure for the better operation of the Special Tribunal (Mixed Court).
As indicated in our No. 1177 the Diplomatic Corps has designated as its committee Mr. Baelen, Counselor of the French Legation and at present Chargé d’Affaires; Doctor Moreno, Counselor of the Italian Legation; and Mr. Park of the American Legation. The Ethiopian [Page 856] Government has now officially notified the Corps that its committee is composed of Belatta Ayela Gabré, Judge of the Special Tribunal; Mr. Auberson, Legal Adviser to the Special Tribunal; and Mr. Colson, Adviser to the Ministry of Finance; in the order or rank given. At least four members of the two committees, Messrs. Baelen, Moreno, Auberson, and Colson, are understood to be qualified by formal legal education for this work. Doctor Moreno, the Italian, is understood to be particularly well equipped on the basis of previous experience.
The Diplomatic Committee will first meet with and ascertain the views of the Egyptian and Greek career Consuls and of those local honorary Consuls who may be interested. It will then indicate its readiness to meet with the Ethiopian committee. We do not anticipate that the negotiations will have a rapid progress because the question is in general a difficult one and there appear to be many points of divergence in the views of the Ethiopian Government and of the Diplomatic Corps respectively.
Further report will be made as promptly as there shall be developments to justify it.
Respectfully yours,