C.P.(Gen)Doc.1.U.28.
Annex 9
(See Article 16)
Provisional Government of the Free City of Trieste
1. Military Government in the territory of the Free City of Trieste shall cease within a period of one month from the date of the entry into force of the treaty of Peace with Italy, and an Inter-Allied Commission, composed of representatives of the Governments of the U.SA., U.S.S.R., U.K. and France, shall be established. The said Inter-Allied Commission will exercise in this territory the functions of the High Commissioner of the Security Council in Trieste, in accordance with the provisions of the Permanent Statute of the Free City of Trieste except insofar as may otherwise be decided by the present provision.
2. The Inter-Allied Commission shall exercise the functions of the High Commissioner pending the election of the National Assembly of the Free City of Trieste.
All decisions of the Commission shall be adopted by a unanimous vote.
3. The Inter-Allied Commission shall have at its disposal the command of the united Allied forces for the maintenance of public order and peace in the territory of the Free City of Trieste. This command shall be composed of contingents, each consisting of 1.000 officers and men, and provided by each of the Powers represented on the Commission.
4. These united forces shall not be distributed in separate zones, but shall be subject to a single command. Each Power will bear the expenses of its own troops.
The united forces shall be withdrawn from the territory of the Free City of Trieste within one month after the election of the National Assembly of the Free City of Trieste.
5. The Governor of the Free City of Trieste shall exercise the powers vested in him under the terms of the Permanent Statute of the Free City of Trieste, and he shall refer to the Inter-Allied Commission in all cases in which, under the Statute, he should refer to the High Commissioner.
6. The Inter-Allied Commission shall appoint a Provisional Council of Government, which shall be endowed with executive power.
7. The Provisional Council of Government shall consist of 6 members, 4 Italian representatives and 2 Yugoslav representatives. This Council shall be appointed by a decision of the Inter-Allied Commission after consultation with the political, trade union and other public organisations in the territory of the Free City of Trieste.
[Page 768]It shall be the function of this Council to deal with official business pending the meeting of the National Assembly and to prepare the elections to the National Assembly which will have to frame the constitution of the Free City of Trieste.
The decisions of the Council shall have the character of authoritative administrative measures in the territory of the Free City of Trieste. The Inter-Allied Commission, acting in the capacity of High Commissioner, may suspend their entry into force only in cases where these decisions touch on the international provisions dealing with the juridical Statute of the Free City of Trieste.
8. The provisional Council of Government shall set up a Provisional Assembly of 60 members, 40 Italian representatives and 20 Yugoslav representatives. The Provisional Assembly shall be duly constituted after consultation with the political, trade union and other public bodies and the Council of Government will be responsible for the formation of this Provisional Assembly in such a way as to be representative of all the political parties within the territory of the Free City of Trieste in proportion to their support amongst the population.
This Provisional Assembly shall be a consultative body of the Provisional Council of Government and it shall in particular be its duty to consider and to make recommendations in regard to the provisional decrees essential for the normalisation of legal conditions in the Free Territory of Trieste until the properly elected National Assembly is convened. Decrees of this kind shall be issued by the Provisional Council of Government, mentioning the fact that the Provisional Assembly has already been consulted and its recommendations have been taken into consideration. Such decrees shall have the force of provisional laws and shall remain in force until the duly elected National Assembly takes a decision in respect of their legal application in the future.
9. All civil servants now serving in the territory of the Free City of Trieste shall be relieved of their duties on the strength of the present provisions but will be required to carry on their duties until a decision of the Provisional Council of Government is taken. The provisional Council of Government will appoint civil servants within a period of one month from the date on which it takes office.
10. Juridical power within the territory of the Free City of Trieste will be exercised by courts composed exclusively of citizens of Trieste.
The Provisional Council of Government will appoint the members of the Supreme Court who will exercise juridical power. This Court will make its decisions by a quorum of five members. It will be composed of 12 members in all, of whom 8 will be Italians and 4 Yugoslavs.
The judges in other courts will be appointed by the Provisional Council of Government after consultation with the Supreme Court.
[Page 769]Judges, once they have been appointed, shall not be removed except by decision of the Supreme Court in full session.
11. The decree on election to the National Assembly, which will be responsible for framing the constitution of the Free City of Trieste, shall be published within a period of 30 days as from the first meeting of the Provisional Assembly.
This electoral decree must include the following provisions:
- a.
- The right of franchise shall be granted to citizens of both sexes who have the right to vote in accordance with the provisions of the Permanent Statute.
- b.
- Elections shall be based on universal, direct, secret, equal and free suffrage, and must be held on the same day throughout the whole of the Territory;
- c.
- The allocation of members’ seats shall be made on the basis of absolute proportional representation;
- d.
- Votes shall be counted in polling stations which will be set up separately in each locality. In localities which have a population exceeding 1,000 inhabitants according to the census of 1936, there shall be one polling station per thousand inhabitants forming the total population of the locality in question, with one extra polling station for any faction in excess of this number;
- e.
- Elections shall not be conducted by the local authorities but by special commissions, to whom the local authorities shall transmit all the necessary facts and figures, and provide them with any assistance of which they may stand in need;
- f.
- There shall be full liberty of canvassing, both by speech and in writing.
12. The Provisional Council of Government shall announce the holding of elections not later than 10 days after the publication of the Elections Law. This decision in regard to elections must specify the date on which the elections are to be held. The said date shall be not less than 120 days and not more than 150 days from the date when elections were officially announced.
13. The Provisional Council of Government, immediately on assuming office, shall take the necessary steps to draw up the rolls of voters. The rolls shall be prepared by the local authorities for each district separately, and, in districts where there are several polling stations, a separate list shall be made for each station. The rolls must contain the names of all persons who, under the permanent Statute of the Free City of Trieste, had a right to vote in elections prior to the entry into force of the Constitution. The electoral rolls must be prepared immediately, and as a matter of course. Nevertheless, local authorities will invite all persons who have a right to vote to put forward [Page 770] their own request for inclusion in the electoral rolls. Fifteen days after the date fixed for the holding of elections the local authorities shall publish the electoral rolls and invite citizens to ask for rectifications both as regards themselves and other persons, whether by fresh registration or by deletions in or amendments to the particulars contained in the electoral rolls. Local authorities must take an immediate decision on any claims thus submitted.
As soon as the electoral commissions for the various districts are established, the local authorities will supply them with copies of the electoral lists, together with certified copies of the evidence on which they are based. The district commission will scrutinize this evidence and approve the list provided that it is satisfied, and to the extent to which it is satisfied, that this list has been drawn up in a proper manner.
Appeals may be lodged with the district commission against the decisions of local authorities on claims for rectifications of the electoral rolls. Appeals against the decisions of the district commission should be lodged with the Supreme Court.
Claims may be lodged up to 15 days before the date of the elections and decisions thereon must be given immediately. Appeals against decisions on claims must also be given urgent consideration.
No one may be deprived of the right to vote if he has been entered on the electoral rolls or if a valid decision has been given in favour of his name being included on the electoral rolls.
14. The elections will be supervised by special commissions; a Supreme Commission for the Territory as a whole, a district commission for each district and a local commission for each polling office.
15. The Supreme Commission will be appointed by the Provisional Council of Government. It will consist of six members, four of whom should be Italians and two Yugoslavs. Each member shall have a deputy. All the members and deputies on the Supreme Commission will be appointed from the members of the Provisional Assembly.
District commissions will be appointed for each district. Each district commission will consist of three members and each member shall have a deputy. If two of these members and their deputies are to be Italian, one member and his deputy shall be Yugoslav provided the Supreme Commission does not unanimously decide otherwise.
Local commissions will be appointed for each polling office. Each local commission will consist of three members with three deputies. Local commissions will be constituted in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing paragraph.
16. All these who submit a list of candidates will be entitled to appoint a representative from the list to each electoral commission of whatever category. Each representative may have a deputy. The representatives [Page 771] of lists of candidates-will be entitled to take part in the work of the commission in an advisory capacity and to make observations which, if they so request, shall be entered in the minutes of the commission.
17. The Supreme Electoral Commission shall meet not later than three days after the date fixed for the elections. It shall be the function of this Commission:
- a.
- To appoint members and deputy members of the district and local commissions, to remove them where necessary from office and replace them where necessary by new members and deputies;
- b.
- To take decisions on appeals against the rulings of district commissions provided the present provisions do not stipulate that appeals should be lodged with the Supreme Court;
- c.
- To confirm the lists of candidates;
- d.
- To determine the general results of the poll and allocate the seats on an absolute proportional basis.
18. The functions of the district commission will include:
- a.
- Deciding on appeals or claims lodged against the decisions of the local commission or the local authorities who prepared the electoral rolls;
- b.
- Consideration of the composition of electoral rolls and confirmation of rolls properly compiled and the annulment of entries found to be irregular;
- c.
- Deciding contentious matters not settled by the local commissions;
- d.
- Ascertaining the results of the poll in the district.
The district commission shall meet not later than 20 days after the announcement of the elections.
19. It shall be the duty of local commissions to arrange for the polling and determine the result of the poll [in] their polling offices, and transmit to the district commission the voting papers, boxes, etc. within 24 hours after the close of the poll.
Local commissions should meet three days before the poll in order to receive from the local authorities the rolls and the voting papers, boxes, etc.
20. The National Assembly shall meet on the tenth day after the announcement of the final result of the elections and of the allocation of seats by the Supreme Electoral Commission.
As soon as the National Assembly has chosen its officer the Provisional Council of Government will be legally discharged and the National Assembly will appoint the Council of Government which should enjoy the support of the National Assembly.
[Page 772]The Council of Government thus appointed will exercise executive authority, while legislative authority will be vested in the National Assembly.
The High Commissioner will take up office as soon as the Council of Government is appointed and exercise his powers in accordance with the Permanent Statute. Should a High Commissioner not be appointed or not take up his office, his functions will continue to be exercised pending his arrival by the Inter-Allied Commission referred to in paragraph … of the present Regulations.