‘File 5/6 I Brussels Conference and general rules and procedure on slave traffic’ [‎35r] (86/297)

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Sorities^j ARTICLE XLVII.
office certified tfj; The Commander of a man-of-war who may have
leir flag as sooj stopped a vessel under a foreign flag shall in all
been granted, cases make a report thereon to his own Govern-
awal of any , and state the grounds upon which he acted.
ARTICLE XLVIII.
A summary of this report, as well as a copy of
the minute drawn up by the officer sent on board
the vessel stopped, shall be sent as soon as possible,
to the International Information Office, which shall
communicate the same to the nearest Consular or
territorial authority of the Power whose flag the
vessel in question had shown. Duplicates ot these
documents shall be kept in the archives ol the
Bureau.
Article only e
tive vessels.
)ected Vesseh.
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ly of the Signjjj
liat a vessel of t
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part in the J.
ulent use of a ■
ation of the sit
imply any ciu;
regards jurisdit;
III.
d by a naval (5
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id informed of:
vessel which:
all possible on
ilV.
papers shall cm
ving document
3, the papers h
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ies or ConveD:
papers only aat
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r ith the conditt
rticle.
uV.
0 or the searcli
a vessel navigat
'owers whick is
scial Convention
1 in accordance^
3ns.
VI.
stopped, the ot
ig to the form:-
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ARTICLE XLIX.
If, in carrying out the supervision mentioned in
the preceding Articles, the officer in command of
the cruizer is convinced that an act of Slave Irade
has been committed on board during the passage,
or that irrefutable proofs exist against the captain,
or fitter-out, for accusing him of fraudulent use
of the flag, of fraud, or participation in Slave
Trade, he shall conduct the arrested vessel to the
nearest port of the zone where there is a competent
authority of the Power whose flag has been used.
Each Signatory Power undertakes to appoint in
the zone, and to make known the same at the
International Information Office, the territorial or
Consular authorities or Special Delegates who are
competent in the above-mentioned cases.
The suspected vessel can also, should the case
occur, be handed over to a cruizer of its own nation
if the latter consents to take charge of it.
3. Of the Examination into and Trial oj I essels
seized.
ARTICLE L.
The authority referred to in the preceding Article,
to which the arrested vessel has been handed over,
shall proceed to make a full investigation, accord
ing to the Laws and Rules of his country, in the
presence of an officer belonging to the foreign
cruizer.
ARTICLE LI.
If it is proved by the inquiry that the flag has
been fraudulently used, the arrested vessel shall
remain at the disposal of its captor.
ARTICLE LII.
If the examination shows that an act of Slave
Trade, made clear by the presence on board of
slaves destined for sale, or any other Slave Trade
offence provided for by special Convention, the
vessel and cargo shall remain sequestrated in charge
of^he authority who shall have directed the in
quiry.
The captain and crew shall be handed over to the
Tribunals fixed by Articles LIV and LVI. The
slaves shall be set at liberty as soon as the Judg-
ment has been delivered.
In the cases provided for by this Article, liberat
ed slaves shall be disposed of in accordance with the
special Conventions'concluded or to be concluded
between the Signatory Powers. In default of such
Conventions, the said slaves shall be handed over
to the local authority, to be sent back, if possible,
to their country of origin; if not, this authority
shall facilitate for them, in so far as may be in its
power the means of livelihood, and, if they desire
it, of settling on the spot.
ARTICLE LIII.
If it should be proved by the inquiry that the
vessel has been illegally arrested, clear title will
have been shown to an indemnity in proportion to
the damages suffered by the vessel being taken out
of its course. The amount of this indemnity shall
be fixed by the authority which has directed the
inquiry.
ARTICLE LIV.
In case the officer of the capturing vessel do not
accept the conclusions of the inquiry carried on in
his presence, the matter shall be handed over to the
Tribunal of the nation whose flag the captured
vessel had borne.
No exception shall be made to this rule, unless
the disagreement arises in respect of the amount of
the indemnity stipulated in Article LIII, and this
shall be fixed by arbitration, as specified in the fol
lowing Article.
ARTICLE LV.
The capturing officer and the authority which has
directed the inquiry shall each appoint a referee
within forty-eight hours, and the two arbiters shall
have twenty-four hours to choose an umpire. The
arbiters shall, as far as possible, be chosen from
among the Diplomatic, Consular, or Judicial officers
of the Signatory Powers. Natives in the pay of
the Contracting Governments are formally excluded.
The decision shall be taken by the majority of
votes, and be considered as final. If the Court of
Arbitration is not constituted in the time indicated,
the procedure in respect of the indemnity, as in
that for the damages, shall be in accordance with
the provisions of Article LVI1I, paragraph 2.
ARTICLE LVI.
The cases shall be sent forward with the briefest
possible delay to the Tribunal of the nation whose
colours have been used by the accused. However,
the Consuls or any other authority of the same
nation as the accused, specially commissioned to
this end, may be authorized by their Government
to deliver Judgment instead of the Tribunal.
ARTICLE LVII.
The procedure, and judgment of offences against
the provisions of Chapter III shall always be con
ducted in as summary a manner as is permitted by
the Laws and Regulations in force in the territories
subject to the authority of the Signatory Powers. J
ARTICLE LVIII.
Any Judgment of the national Tribunal or
authorities referred to by Article LXI declaring
that the seized vessel did not carry on Slave Trade
shall be immediately put in force, and the vessel
shall be altogether free to continue its course.
In this case the captain or owner of any \ essel
seized without legitimate ground of suspicion, or
which has been subjected to annoyance, shall have
the right of claiming damages, the amount of which
shall be fixed by agreement between the Govern
ments directly interested, or by arbitration, and