783.003/178: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 6—11:45 a.m.]
124. Your 66, March 3, 2 p.m. Foreign Office states the British have in view the signature at Montreux of an instrument regulating [Page 625] the Mixed Courts regime which although to be an annex to the general convention will be an integral part thereof. It is proposed that this “statute for the organization of the Mixed Courts” shall be drawn up in the French language only to which the Foreign Office anticipate no objection. It is particularly desired that it become effective on October 15 whether or not the general convention has by that date been ratified and come into force. In order to effect this a special protocol is proposed to provide that the statute for the organization of the Mixed Courts shall be effective provisionally on October 15 pending ratification of the general convention. In this connection the Foreign Office query whether the United States would be willing to sign such a protocol; and if the United States will not be able to sign the protocol whether it will object to its signature by the other interested powers. It was stated that Ambassador Lindsay has been instructed by mail to discuss this question in detail with the Department.
The British will endeavor to have the conference adopt English and French only as the official languages for the general convention. If any considerable opposition, however, should develop in the endeavor to have other languages likewise used as official texts the British will not press the matter and will be willing to have French only as the official text. To this it is believed there would be no objection.