740.0011 EW (Peace)/2–947
The Italian Ambassador (Tarchiani) to the Secretary of State
The Italian Ambassador presents his compliments to the Honorable the Secretary of State and has the honor to inform him that, according to a communication of the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the British Ambassador at Rome1 has handed today, February 9, 1947, to the said Ministry a note stating that, if the Italian Government signs the Treaty of Peace, it is obliged, under Article 90 of the Treaty,2 to ratify it, and that the Italian point of view, according to which for Italy’s signature to be valid there must be the subsequent ratification of the Constituent Assembly, is untenable.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Rome has answered the British Embassy by a note affirming that Italy cannot accept such an interpretation and that the Italian Government affixes its signature subordinating it to the ratification that depends on the sovereign decision of the [Page 522] Constituent Assembly, to which the approval of international treaties is conferred by the Italian legislation.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Rome has moreover informed that the Italian Plenipotentiary Delegate for the signing of the Peace Treaty, Marquis Antonio Meli Lupi di Soragna, must, before proceeding to the signature of the Treaty, remit to the Secretary General of the Conference a statement reading as follows:
“The Italian Government affixes its signature subordinating it to the ratification that depends on the sovereign decision of the Constituent Assembly to which approval of international treaties is conferred by the Italian legislation.”
The Italian Plenipotentiary has, in addition, been instructed by the Italian Government not to sign the Treaty of Peace if the Secretary General of the Conference refuses to acknowledge the statement quoted above.