Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Paris Peace Conference: Proceedings, Volume III

CFM Files

Verbatim Record

October 14, 1946, 3:30 p.m.

C.P.(Plen) 47

President: Mr. M. Quo Tai-Chi.

The President: The Meeting is open.

Draft Peace Treaty With Finland and Continuation of General Discussion

The President: The Plenary Conference will continue its examination of the Draft Peace Treaty with Finland.

The speech of Mr. Molotov, First Delegate of the Soviet Union, will be translated into French. (Mr. Molotov’s speech was translated into French).

The President: If no-one else wishes to speak, the general debate is closed.

vote on articles⁵²

The President: We shall now vote on the articles of the Draft Peace Treaty with Finland.

The Conference will take the political and territorial clauses, then the military clauses, and, finally, the economic clauses.

At the President’s invitation, Mr. Beasley, Chairman, and Mr. MacNeil, Rapporteur of the Political and Territorial Commission for Finland take their place on the rostrum.

Preamble. The President: Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the Preamble have been unanimously adopted, without any amendment, by the Political and Territorial Commission for Finland.

Does anyone wish to speak?

Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 5 are adopted.

Paragraph 4, amended by an Australian proposal, has been unanimously adopted by the Commission.

Does anyone wish to speak?

Paragraph 4 is adopted as amended.

Articles 1–12. The President: Articles 1–12 have been unanimously adopted by the Commission without any amendment.

I recall that the adoption of Article 1 carries with it that of Annex 1.

Does anyone wish to speak?

M. Byrnes (U.S.) I have no objection to the procedure proposed by the President as regards voting the articles by group.

I should merely like the Secretary General of this Conference to know that the U.S. Delegation abstains from voting on article 1, article 2, and annex 1.

The President: The Secretary General will see that this statement is mentioned in the Record of Decisions of this Meeting, namely that the U.S. Delegation abstains from voting on articles 1 and 2 and on annex 1.

Articles 1–12 are adopted.

Article 32. The President: We now come to Article 32 which has been adopted by the Commission as it stands.

Any objections?

Article 32 is adopted.

Article 33. The President: We shall now take Article 33. There are 2 proposals: one by the U.K., which has been adopted in the Commission by 7 votes to 4.

We have also a proposal from the Soviet Union that has been rejected by the Commission by 4 votes to 7.

I should like to know if the Conference wishes first to vote on the U.K. proposal.

Lord Hood (U.K.) I ask that the Conference vote on the U.K. proposal concerning Article 33.

The President: I put the U.K. proposal to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows:

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

The U.K. proposal is therefore adopted by 15 votes to 6.

Does the Soviet Delegation wish its proposal with regard to Article 33 to be put to the vote?

The Soviet Delegate: Yes, Mr. President.

The President: I put the Soviet proposal to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Against: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.

The Soviet proposal concerning Article 33 is therefore rejected by 15 votes to 6.

Article 34. The President: We now come to Article 34 which has been unanimously adopted by the Commission as it stands.

Any objections?

Article 34 is adopted.

All the Political and Territorial clauses of the Peace Treaty with Finland have now been adopted.

The Australian Delegate: The Australian Delegation wishes its abstention with regard to Article 18 to be noted.

The President: The Secretary General will note Australia’s abstention in respect of Article 18.

Articles 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, Annexes 2 and 3. The President: We now come to the Military clauses.

At the President’s invitation, Brigadier General Mossor, Chairman of the Military Commission, takes his seat on the rostrum.

The President: Articles 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21 and annexes 2 and 3 (Military clauses) have been adopted by the Commission as they stand.

Article 16. Article 16 is accompanied by an amendment. If there are no objections, I shall consider it as adopted.

The U.K. Delegate: I should like to know what would be the effect of the amendment arising from the adoption of Article 12 on the Peace Treaty with Bulgaria. Three days ago, the Conference adopted a resolution according to which the text of the Balkan and of the Finnish Treaties will be brought into line.

The President: I inform the U.K. Delegate that his interpretation is correct;

M. Novikoff (U.S.S.R.) Mr. President, I ask that the British amendment and Article 16 be put to the vote.

The President: We shall therefore vote on Article 16, including the amendment submitted by the Belgian Delegate. I think I remember that the Belgian amendment has been unanimously adopted by the Commission. Does the Soviet Delegate really wish the amended text to be put to the vote? I believe that the Soviet Delegation does not wish for a vote on Article 16 amended by the Belgian proposal, but rather on the British amendment and on the interpretation of the British Delegation.

M. Novikoff (U.S.S.R.) That is so, Mr. President.

The President: I therefore put Article 16 with the British amendment to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows:

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Article 16 with the British amendment is therefore adopted by 15 votes to 6.

New Article 16. The President: We have a proposal by the U.K. for the addition of a new Article 16.

New Article 16 is unanimously adopted by the Commission.

Any objections?

New Article 16 is adopted.

This finishes the Military clauses.

Economic Clauses. The President: I ask the Chairman and the Rapporteur of the Economic Commission to take their seats on the rostrum.

Article 22. The President: We shall now take the Economic clauses. There is no recommendation in respect of Article 22.

When the Commission voted on the Draft, there were 9 votes for, 4 against, and 1 abstention.

The Norwegian Delegate. Mr. President, the Norwegian Delegate asks that it be noted in the record of Decisions that this Delegation has abstained from voting on the amount of the reparations to be paid. On this subject a note has been sent to the Secretary General.

The President: The Secretary General has noted a statement of the Norwegian Delegation and it will be inserted in the record of Decisions.

Article 22 is put to the vote.

(A vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, France, India, Poland, Ukraine, U.K., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Against: Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.S.

Abstained: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Greece, Norway.

Article 22 is therefore adopted by 11 votes to 5 with 5 abstentions.

Article 23. The President: We now come to Article 23. There is no amendment. Since there are no objections, we shall regard this article as adopted.

Article 24. The President: We have now Article 24. Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 have been approved by the Commission as they stand.

As regards paragraph 4 there is no recommendation. Since there is no objection, paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Article 24 will be considered as adopted.

As regards paragraph 4, as I have already said, there is no recommendation and no proposal that have commanded a majority. In respect of this same paragraph there have been three proposals. It deals with the payment of reparations.

We have first the proposal of the U.K. for a payment of 100%; then the proposal of the U.S.A. for payment of 25%; finally, France claims compensation up to 75%.

These three proposals will be put consecutively to the vote.

The U.K. Delegate: Mr. President, the Delegation of the U.K. wishes to withdraw its proposal with regard to paragraph 4, in respect of total compensation.

The President: There remain the two other proposals: the U.S. proposal for 25% compensation; the French proposal for 75%.

I ask the U.S.A. Delegation if it wishes for a vote on its proposal.

Mr. Thorp (U.S.A.): Mr. President, we wish our proposal to be put to the vote.

The President: I put the U.S.A. proposal to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Against: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.K.

Abstention: Brazil.

Therefore, the proposal is rejected by 11 votes to 9 with 1 abstention.

The President: We will now put the French proposal to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.K.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Ukraine, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Brazil, Poland.

The French proposal, by 11 votes to 8 with 2 abstentions, thus obtains a simple majority.

The President: As regards paragraph 4, we have another proposal by the U.K., which is seconded by Greece.

The point is to replace paragraph 4 of the Draft Treaty by a new paragraph of 5 sub-paragraphs, a, b, c, d, e. This proposal is contained in document 39 of the Plenary Conference, page 4 of the report of the Economic Commission.

The U.K. proposal at first contained 4 sub-paragraphs, a, b, c, d, and a paragraph e proposed by France in agreement with the United Kingdom. We shall now put each of these sub-paragraphs separately to the vote.

I put sub-paragraph 4 to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.A.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Ethiopia, Poland.

Therefore sub-paragraph a is adopted by 14 votes to 5 with 2 abstentions.

I now put to the vote sub-paragraph b.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.A.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Ethiopia.

Therefore sub-paragraph b is adopted by 12 votes to 8 with one abstention.

I put sub-paragraph c to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.A.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Ethiopia.

Therefore sub-paragraph c is adopted by 13 votes to 7 with 1 abstention.

I put to the vote sub-paragraph d.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.A.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstention: Ethiopia.

Therefore sub-paragraph d is adopted by 13 votes to 7 with 1 abstention.

The President: I put to the vote sub-paragraph e.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstention: Ethiopia.

Therefore sub-paragraph e is adopted by 13 votes to 7 with 1 abstention.

Article 25. The President: Article 25 has been unanimously adopted by the Commission with a drafting amendment in the French text.

If there is no objection, Article 25 will be considered as adopted.

Since there is no objection, Article 25 is adopted.

Article 26. The President: We now come to Article 26. Paragraphs 1 and 2 have been adopted by the Commission as they stand.

With regard to paragraph 3, there is no recommendation from the Commission, but a proposal by the U.K. to suppress this paragraph altogether.

As regards paragraphs 1, 2, seeing that they have been unanimously adopted without any amendment by the Commission, I shall consider them as adopted by the Conference, if there are no objections.

Mr. Thorp (U.S.A.): Mr. President, as regards paragraph 2, the U.S.A. Delegation does not ask for a vote by roll-call, but wishes the Conference to know that it will abstain from voting.

The President: The Secretary General has noted the statement by the U.S.A. Delegate with regard to paragraph 2.

As regards the U.K. proposal, that paragraph 3 be deleted altogether, I ask if the U.K. Delegate wishes his proposal to be put to the vote.

The President: This being the case, I put the United Kingdom proposal to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Ethiopia, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: France.

Therefore the British proposal with regard to paragraph 3, by 11 votes to 9 and 1 abstention, is adopted by a simple majority.

We will go on to the following Article:

Article 27. The President: Article 27 includes 4 sub-paragraphs. It had been unanimously adopted as a whole by the Commission, except in the case of sub-paragraph 3 where a drafting amendment was made.

Article 27 is adopted.

Article 28. The President: Article 28 appears rather complicated; sub-paragraphs a and b of para. 1 have been adopted by the Commission as they stand.

Any objections?

Sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) are adopted.

As regards sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph 1 of Art. 28, we have 2 proposals. The first has been made by the Soviet Union.

The various proposals will be put separately to the vote.

I put to the vote the Soviet proposal with regard to sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph 1 of Article 28.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Against: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

Abstained: China, Ethiopia, Norway.

Therefore the Soviet proposal concerning sub-paragraph (c) of para. 1 of Article 28 is rejected, by 12 votes to 6, with 3 abstentions.

We now come to the second proposal, that of the United Kingdom.

The President: I put to the vote Article 28, paragraph 1, sub-paragraph (c).

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: China, Ethiopia, Norway.

Therefore the proposal of the United Kingdom for sub-paragraph (c) para. 1 of Article 28 is adopted by 12 votes to 6, with 3 abstentions.

There is another proposal by the United Kingdom concerning civil aviation. I put it to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Therefore the British proposal is adopted by 15 votes to 6. I put to the vote the French proposal.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Therefore the French proposal is adopted by 15 votes to 6.

Paragraph 2. The President: We have no recommendation with regard to this paragraph, but two proposals have been submitted—one by the Soviet Union, the other by the United Kingdom.

I put the Soviet proposal to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Against: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

Abstained: Ethiopia.

The Soviet proposal is therefore rejected by 14 votes to 6, with 1 abstention.

I put the British proposal to the vote:

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Ethiopia.

The United Kingdom proposal is therefore adopted by 14 votes to 6, with 1 abstention.

Article 29. The President: There is no recommendation from the Commission in respect of this Article and no agreed text has been drawn up by the Council of Ministers.

We have 2 proposals, one by the United Kingdom, the other by the Soviet Union.

I put the United Kingdom proposal to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

The British proposal was therefore adopted by 15 votes to 6.

I put the Soviet proposal to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Against: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States.

The Soviet proposal was therefore rejected by 15 votes to 6.

Article 30. The President: Article 30 has been unanimously adopted.

Does anyone wish to speak?

Article 30 is adopted.

Article 31. The President: Article 31 has been unanimously adopted by the Commission.

Does anyone wish to speak?

Article 31 is adopted.

Annexes. The President: There are 3 annexes to the economic clauses of the Treaty: 4, 5 and 6.

Annex 4—Section A. The President: Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 have been unanimously adopted by the Commission.

If there is no objection, they will be considered as adopted.

As regards paragraph 4, the Commission unanimously adopted a new text to replace the wording contained in the draft Treaty.

Does no one wish to speak?

Paragraph 4 is adopted.

As regards paragraph 7, the Commission unanimously recommends the adoption of a new text to replace that contained in the draft.

I would draw attention to the fact that the Council of Foreign Ministers did not reach complete agreement on the original text of paragraph 7.

If there is no objection to the text recommended by the Commission, I shall consider it as adopted.

Does no one wish to speak?

The new text of paragraph 7 is adopted.

Annex 4—Section B. The President: As regards Section B of Annex 4 there is a proposal by the United Kingdom suggesting that the text contained in the draft Treaty should be replaced by a new text which has been circulated. This new text contains 2 paragraphs.

I put to the vote the United Kingdom proposal as a whole.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.A.

Against: Byelorussia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, U.S.S.R., Ukraine, Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Brazil, Ethiopia.

Therefore the United Kingdom proposal is adopted by 13 votes to 6, with 2 abstentions.

Annex 5—Section 1. The President: Annex 5, Section 1 deals with Contracts. There is no text on which agreement has been reached by the Council of Foreign Ministers. Nor is there a recommendation from the Commission. The various proposals will therefore be put to the vote one after the other.

For the Section concerning contracts, there is a United Kingdom proposal which is contained in document C.P. (Plen) 39 at the bottom of page 8.⁵³ I put it to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Canada, France, Greece, New Zealand, Norway, U.K., Union of South Africa.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, India, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Belgium, Brazil, Ethiopia, Netherlands.

The United Kingdom proposal is therefore rejected by 9 votes to 8, with 4 abstentions.

The President: We now come to Section 2 of Annex 5, periods of prescription. Here again we have no text upon which agreement has been reached in the Council of Foreign Ministers, nor is there a recommendation from the Commission.

The Soviet Delegation has made a proposal for certain amendments. Does it wish this proposal to be put to the vote? I recall that this proposal was rejected by the Commission.

The Soviet Delegate: Yes, Mr. President, I wish our proposal to be put to the vote.

The President: The Soviet proposal is to be found in document C.P. (Plen) 39, page 9.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows:

Against: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Greece, India, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.A.

For: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, France, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Ethiopia, Netherlands.

The Soviet proposal is therefore rejected by 10 votes to 9, 2 abstentions.

Mr. Alexander (United Kingdom): There is also the proposal of the United Kingdom in respect of Section 2.

The President: True, there is a proposal from the United Kingdom (Document 39, page 10) with regard to Section 2.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.K.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Poland, [Ukraine?], U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Brazil, Ethiopia, France.

The proposal is therefore rejected by 9 votes to 9, with 3 abstentions.

We now come to Section 3: negotiable instruments.

We have no recommendation by the Commission, but there are two proposals, one by the Soviet Union and the other by the United Kingdom. The Commission has, however, recommended the Conference to vote first on the U.K. proposal. I therefore put it to the vote.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows:

For: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Union of South Africa, U.K., U.S.A.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Brazil, Ethiopia, Poland.

The proposal is therefore adopted by 12 votes to 6, with 3 abstentions.

The President: We now come to Section 4. Here again there is no recommendation, but two proposals, one by the Soviet Union and the other by the United Kingdom. Does the Delegate of the United Kingdom wish his proposal to be put to the vote?

The United Kingdom Delegate: Yes, Mr. President.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, India, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.K.

Against: Byelorussia, China, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Brazil, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Norway.

Therefore, the proposal having obtained 9 votes for to 8 against, and 4 abstentions, is not adopted.

Does the Soviet delegate wish his proposal to be put to the vote?

The Soviet Delegate: No, Mr. President.

The Canadian Delegate: The Canadian Delegation would be glad if its statement with regard to Annex 5 as a whole, now in the hands of the Secretary General, could be inserted in the minutes of this Meeting.

The President: The Secretary General will take note of the statement made by the Canadian Delegation in respect of Annex 5.

We now come to Annex 6.

Section A of this Annex deals with prize courts. It has been unanimously adopted as it stands by the Commission.

If there are no objections, it will be considered as adopted.

We now come to Section B (judgments). We have no recommendation from the Commission, but two proposals, one by the Soviet Union, the other by the United Kingdom.

I put the Soviet proposal to the vote.

(A vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows:

For: Byelorussia, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, India, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Against: Australia, Belgium, France, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.K.

Abstained: Brazil, Ethiopia.

The Soviet proposal is therefore adopted by 11 votes to 9 [8] with 2 abstentions.

The President: I put to the vote the U.K. proposal with regard to Section B of Annex 6.

(The vote was taken by roll-call).

The President: The result of the vote is as follows—

For: Australia, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, U.K.

Against: Byelorussia, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, France, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Yugoslavia.

Abstained: Brazil, Ethiopia, India.

The U.K. proposal is therefore rejected by 11 votes to 7, with 3 abstentions.

The vote on the economic clauses of the Treaty and the annexes thereof marks the end of our work.

Article 17. It has been pointed out that Article 17 concerning the military clauses of the Treaty has not been voted. I recall that this same article had been unanimously adopted by the Military Commission with a slight drafting, amendment in the French text to bring it into line with the English and Russian texts.

No one wishes to speak?

Article 17 is unanimously adopted.

The next Meeting will be held to-morrow, at 3 o’clock, and will be the last Plenary Meeting of the Conference.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.

52. Regarding voting procedure and citations to relevant documentation, see the editorial note, p. 702.
53. Vol. iv, pp. 573, 580.