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‘Consular jurisdiction in Persia.’ [‎14v] (28/36)

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The record is made up of 18 folios. It was created in 14 Feb 1877. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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28
" scarcely practicable to carve out a portion of the territory of Persia,
" sever it from the other portion by an imaginary line, and organize in
" it a system of British judicature, leaving the rest of the Persian
" territory in its present condition, that is, in effect, unprovided for."
Mr. Eeilly's authority on such a subject is of course very weighty,
and criticism of his opinions savours of presumption ; but I would venture
to submit that the difficulty in the way of adopting the course to which
he takes exception is more theoretic than practical. If the necessities
and circumstances of the Persian shores differ—as they do differ—from
those of the interior of Persia, why should measures which are necessary
and suitable for the littoral be simultaneously extended, for the mere
sake of uniformity, to other parts of a widely extended kingdom, where
the necessity for them is, at any rate, not so urgent, and where they
may not be suitable ? Is there not much force in Sir P. Francis' view
that an experiment should be tried where it has the best chance of
success, and the conditions are most favourable, its development else
where being left ^or the future, after experience has been gathered of
its working ? The objections, too, which might be advanced to " carving
" out " a portion of Persian territory, in order to establish therein an
extended system of extra-territorial jurisdiction, will not apply, should
this intention be abandoned, and it be decided, for the present at least,
to take only the formal steps which may be requisite to place on a legal
basis the jurisdiction which is now exercised by British officers on the
Persian shores of the Gulf with the assent of the Persian Government,
but without authority from the British Crown. The same steps might
of course be taken in regard to the interior of Persia; that is a matter
for the decision of the Foreign Office. What is important to Indian
interests is, that action in reference to the Gulf should not be unne
cessarily delayed, while discussion is prolonged as to whether any and
what measures shall be adopted in respect to the interior.
Then as to the extent of the jurisdiction to be provided for by the
Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. , assuming that the application of the Order will, for
the present, be limited to the Persian littoral of the Gulf. I leave out
of consideration the separate Order which will be necessary for the Arab
coast,—as to that no difficulty has been suggested. Admitting to the
fullest extent the force of Mr. Reilly's arguments in favour of obtaining
from the Shah " a separate and clear grant of extra-territorial jurisdic-
" tion to the Queen," before any Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. is issued, 1 submit
that the view taken by the Government of India that such a measure is
not indispensable, is correct, provided that the scope of the Order be
limited. To meet the requirements of the Foreign Jurisdiction Act it
is only necessary that c< by Treaty, Capitulation, Grant, Usage, Sufferance,
" and other lawful means " the queen should have acquired "power and
" jurisdiction " on the .Persian shores of the Gulf. It cannot be doubted
that in one or other of the ways specified the Queen has acquired such
power and jurisdiction to a certain extent, and may, therefore, to the
same extent, delegate her authority to her officers in the Gulf. But if
it be desired to enlarge the jurisdiction which has, in one way or another,
been acquired, and to establish a system of procedure which is outside
both the terms and spirit of any Treaty of which we have the benefit,
and in favour of which no usage can be quoted, a fresh Convention with
Persia is indispensable.
It is, no doubt, theoretically, very desirable to provide authoritatively
for the disposal of suits between British subjects and Persians (whether
the latter appear as plaintiffs or defendants), by means of mixed tribunals
or otherwise; but apart from the question whether any satisfactory
mixed tribunal would be likely to be set up in Persia, as to which
persons most competent to speak of the Persian character are sceptical,
it appears very doubtful if the advantage to be gained is sufficiently
great to justify the commencement of a negotiation which would cer
tainly be lengthy, could not fail to raise difficult and delicate questions,

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Report written by Adolphus Warburton Moore, Assistant Secretary in the Political Secret Department of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , and dated 14 February 1877. The report, which deals with the question of British consular jurisdiction in Persia and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , was written in order to close a matter that had been the subject of correspondence for over ten years. The report is a narrative of Government of India correspondence dating from 1866 to 1876 on the subject, and covers matters such as: questions over the extent of the territory over which jurisdiction may be exercised; the extent of jurisdictive powers held by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , his Assistant, and other officials; implementation of jurisdictive powers; tribunals; legal procedure; civil and criminal law; the slave trade. An appendix to the report (folios 17-18) contains extracts from treatises (most in French) held between Persia and Great Britain (dated 4 March 1857), Persia and Russia (22 February 1828), and Persia and Germany (21 June 1873).

Extent and format
18 folios
Arrangement

A single report, followed by a single appendix.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover, these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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English and French in Latin script
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‘Consular jurisdiction in Persia.’ [‎14v] (28/36), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B15, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023442625.0x00001d> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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