Coll 28/51 ‘Persia. Relations with H.M.G. Treaty negotiations: Article regarding private claims.’ [‎28r] (55/357)

loss during the interval which has elapsed of much of the original evidence
furnished by the claimants is another; while the efforts made at Tehran and the
various consulates to remedy these dehciencies do not seem to avail to carry us
much further.
34. In paragraph 6 of his despatch (No. 69) of the 18th February, 1933,
Sir R. Hoare says that as regards depositions, the consulate claims are in almost
every case provided with the necessary affidavits or declarations, but that, owing
to pressure of work and the large number of claims involved, it proved impossible
to follow the same method as regards the Legation claims. As a result, most of
the Legation claims (as shown in the tabular statement of each in the volume
Legation Claims) are founded on statements only; and though in the case of
outrages and losses sustained during the war period there are some statutory
declarations, researches which have been made in our own archives and in those
of the Board of Trade and Clearing Office, have added only a few to their
number. Sir R. Hoare says that it will be comparatively simple to obtain from
the claimants affidavits or declarations, if these are thought necessary, but it
occurs to one that if claims are of old standing, as most of them are, this may
not always prove easy, even if statutory declarations made now in respect of
occurrences which took place a good many years ago had the same weight as if
made at the time. In the case of the numerous highway robberies dealt with by
the Legation it appears to have been the habit of Messrs. Lynch, the Persian
Transport Company, or other firm, simply to notify the Legation by letter of the
outrage, and for the Legation to act on such notification; and it may be that the
larger firms concerned can furnish from their books records of the losses in
question, duly certified. In the case of the smaller applicants, some of whom may
now be dead, there may be more difficulty. However, as regards the Legation
claims specified as from (4) to (14) in paragraph 6 above, we appear to be entitled
to assume that the necessary documentary evidence wherewith to establish the
claims advanced is in the possession of the claimants themselves, and that he, or
they, ought to be in a position to furnish it.
35. The consulate claims—at any rate those placed in category {a )—are in
many cases better provided with evidence, though they do not bear out the state
ment made in Sir R. Hoare’s despatch that they are almost in every case provided
with the necessary affidavits and declarations, for the analysis made in the
volume Consulate Claims shows that less than 100 claims out of the total of
274 placed in categories (a) and ( 6 ) are so provided, while these depositions are
mostly of recent date. Further, as mentioned in paragraphs 18 to 20 above, there
is considerable variation in the amount of evidence furnished in these consulate
claims, and in the opinions held as regards the liability of the Persian Govern
ment in respect of them. And while in some instances the consuls append
certified copies of the evidence available, in others the evidence is not certified;
in some the evidence is given in the form of quotations in the consul’s statement
of the claim, and these quotations are sometimes certified and sometimes not.
This may not be very material if we were assured that the original documents
exist at the various consulates; but these and the other variations mentioned seem
to show that we cannot accept in their entirety claims which are returned by the
respective consuls as claims which lie clearly against the Persian Government or
as being supported by sufficient evidence to enable them to be pursued at once.
36. As a preliminary to this question of sufficiency of evidence, it would
therefore seem necessary, if we are to pursue these claims, whether Legation or
consulate, before an arbitral tribunal, to endeavour to remedy the deficiencies
mentioned as far as possible. Where the returns are uncertified by the consul
(notably at Shiraz) they should be certified as true copies by him; where further
depositions are obtainable from the claimants, they should be obtained from them;
while it may doubtless be assumed that eventually we shall publish a notice in
the London Gazette calling upon claimants to furnish all further evidence of
which they may be in possession in support of their various claims. When all
such evidence as can be thus procured has been obtained, it will be possible to
proceed to an apportionment of the claims, according to their legal sufficiency or
insufficiency for the purpose in view, in accordance with such a standard of
measurement as may be deemed at least a minimum requisite to place them before
an arbitral tribunal.