File 4480/1923 Pt 2 ‘Persian Gulf: Naval Incidents: Visits of British Warships to Persian Ports: Persian Territorial Waters Bill.’ [‎535v] (1083/1662)

Vessels exercising the right of pcissctge through foreign territori&l waters arc
entitled to anchor when this is incidental to navigation.
They are also entitled to anchor in case of distress.
The right of innocent passage is not limited to the hull of the ship, but extends
to the persons and goods she is carrying; but the essence of the right is that it is
one of innocent 'passage, and the vessels cannot claim to transport through territoria 1
waters persons or goods whose presence there is prejudicial to the safety, good order
or revenues of the State.
X. —States are entitled to regulate the passage of foreign warships through
their territorial waters and the anchoring of such warships therein.
A copy of the Admiralty memorandum, containing the regulations to which
foreign warships entering the territorial waters or ports of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland are expected to conform, is annexed.*
If a foreign warship fails to comply with the regulations issued by the authori
ties of the State whose ports or waters she enters, the attention of her commanding
officer should be called to the fact of such non-compliance. If failure is persisted in,
the foreign warship may be required to depart.
XI. -His Majesty’s Government in Great Britain agree that the proposed
Conference for the Codification of the Law relating to Territorial Waters should
not include in the scope of its work questions relating to war and neutrality.
XII. —The sovereignty of a State extends to all persons and to all things within
its territory; and the rights which a State enjoys over its territorial waters are
rights of sovereignty. It follows that foreign vessels and the persons and things on
board, when passing through or anchored in the territorial waters of the State, are
subjected to the sovereignty of the State unless by the accepted rules of international
law they are entitled to immunity from the local jurisdiction (foreign vessels of war,
diplomatic agents, &c.). States do not in practice exercise jurisdictional rights
over foreign vessels which are merely passing through their territorial waters. There
would be no advantage to themselves in doing so, and the exercise of such jurisdic
tion would be burdensome to the foreign vessels. Rights of jurisdiction are in
practice only exercised where it is necessary to do so in the interests of good govern
ment, but the State itself must be the judge whether or not the interests of good
government require it. The good sense of Governments has rendered unnecessary any
attempt to conclude agreements as to the occasions on which jurisdiction shall or
shall not be exercised. States are deterred from attempts to enforce their jurisdic
tion unreasonably over vessels passing through their territorial waters by “he
consideration that if they did so they could not complain if their own merchan
vessels when passing through the territorial waters of foreign States were subjected
to similar treatment. _ .
The State is not precluded from exercising jurisdiction {a) in civil, or ( ) id
criminal cases, over foreign merchant vessels or persons or property on board w en
passing through its territorial waters. tj.
Jurisdiction is not limited to occurrences happening during the passage,
may be exercised to the same extent and subject to the same limitations as on
national territory. '
No distinction as to the exercise of jurisdiction is to be made in law accor ing
to whether the vessel is passing through the territorial waters on its way
from a port of the coast State or not, but in practice a State would be
disposed to exercise jurisdiction because of something which happened wi i
territorial waters if the vessel were not coming to or going from one or i s P ^
than if it were doing so. Nor should any distinction be made in accor 1 & ^
whether the effect of the occurrence does or does not extend beyond the snip
or the persons on board, but in fact and in practice the distinction is o • e
importance. The question whether or not the State feels called upon 0 e - re
jurisdiction depends upon whether or not the exigencies of good governmen 4 ^
that such jurisdiction should be exercised. If the effect of the occurrences anu .
the foreign vessel extends beyond the vessel herself and those on board, the exi^ ^
of good government are more likely to require that jurisdiction should be ex
A State is entitled to arrest a person on board a vessel passing r0 &
territorial waters.
* Not printed.