824.6363 St 2/436
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of the American Republics (Duggan)5
During a call of the Bolivian Minister on January 17, I referred to my letter of December 15, 1939,6 reporting the request of the Minister that the scope of the arbitration be further extended to include the Bolivian Government’s claims against the Company for nonfulfilment of its contractual obligations as set forth in the Government’s counter suit before the Supreme Court. I said that I could foresee that further delays and difficulties would result should we be obliged [Page 515] to discuss this phase of the matter and the Minister agreed. He then suggested that it might be possible to circumvent this difficulty by reverting to the draft agreement of November 29,7 which did not include any reference to further claims on the part of the Government. For ready reference there is enclosed a copy of this draft agreement. The Minister proposed that there be prepared unilateral statements by each party setting forth its position regarding the controversy. These would be simple statements and would not require prior agreement by the other party.
Since the statement on the part of the Bolivian Government would be designed largely to assist the Government in meeting possible adverse public opinion in Bolivia, and since these statements, unless mentioned in the agreement, might prove confusing to the Board, it is proposed to add to the agreement a paragraph reading somewhat as follows:
“It will be permissible for the parties to this agreement to submit at the time of its signature, or within . . . . . months thereafter, for consideration by the Board a written statement explanatory of its position with regard to the controversy, in addition to the written arguments mentioned above. It shall be for the Board to determine the pertinence and weight of such statement, with reference to the questions herein submitted for its decision.”
- A notation on the original reads: “Copy handed the Bolivian Minister by Mr. Duggan Jan. 29, 1940. Copy given Mr. T. R. Armstrong—Feb. 1, 1940.”↩
- To the Counsel for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, Edwin Borchard; Foreign Relations, 1939, vol. v, p. 346.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1939, vol. v, p. 343.↩