Draft Protocol Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. Draft Final Clauses (Prepared by the Secretariat on the Request of the President of the Conference)

A/CONF.2/93

Article A

If any dispute shall arise between parties to this Protocol relating to its interpretation or application, and of such dispute cannot be settled by other means, the dispute shall, at the request of any one of the parties to the dispute, be referred to the International Court of Justice.

Article B

1. This Protocol shall be opened for signature at Geneva (date of ceremony of signature at close of Conference) and shall thereafter be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. It shall be open for signature at the European Office of the United Nations from to 31 July 1951 and shall be re-opened for signature at the Headquarters of the United Nations from 1951 to 31 December 1952.

2. This Protocol shall be open for signature on behalf of all States Members of the United Nations, and also on behalf of any other State invited to attend the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons or to which an invitation to sign will have been addressed by the General Assembly. It shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

3. This Protocol shall be open from (first date selected in paragraph 1 for opening for signature at United Nations Headquarters) for accession by the States referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article C

1. Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession or at any time thereafter, declare by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations that the present Protocol shall extend to all or any of the territories for the international relations of which it is responsible. This Protocol shall extend to the territory or territories named in the notification as from the thirtieth¹ day after the day of receipt by the Secretary-General of the United Nations of this notification²

2. Each State undertakes with respect to those territories to which the Protocol is not extended at the time of signature, ratification or accession to take as soon as possible the necessary steps in order to extend the application of this Protocol to such territories, subject, where necessary for constitutional reasons, to the consent of the governments of such territories.

3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall communicate the present Protocol to the States referred to in article D for transmission to the responsible authorities of:

(a) Any Non-Self-Governing Territory administered by them;

(b) Any trust Territory administered by them;

(c) Any other non-metropolitan territory for the international relations of which they are responsible.

Article D

1. At the time of signature, ratification or accession, any State may make reservations in respect of the application, mutatis mutandis, to stateless persons to whom the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees does not apply, of the provisions of that Convention other than those contained in Articles 3 and 11(1) thereof.

2. The Contracting State making reservations in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article may at any time withdraw these reservations by a communication to that effect addressed to the Secretary-General.

Article E

This Protocol shall come into force on the ninetieth day following the day of deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession.

For each State ratifying or acceding to the Protocol after the deposit of the sixth instrument of ratification or accession, the Protocol shall enter into force on the ninetieth day following the date of deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession.

Article F

1. Any Contracting State may denounce this Protocol at any time by a written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

2. Such denunciation shall take effect for the Contracting State concerned one year from the date upon which it is received by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

3. Any Contracting State which has made a declaration under article C, paragraph 1, may at any time thereafter, by a written notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, declare that the Protocol shall cease to extend to such territory one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

Article G

Any Contracting State may request revision of this Protocol at any time by a written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The General Assembly shall recommend the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such request.

Article H

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all Members of the United Nations and non-member States referred to in article B:

(a) Of signatures, ratifications and accessions received in accordance with article B;

(b) Of the date on which this Protocol will come into force in accordance with article E;

(c) Of reservations, or withdrawals thereof, made in accordance with article D;

(d) Of denunciations received in accordance with article F;

(e) Of requests for revision received in accordance with article G.

In faith whereof the undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Convention on behalf of their respective Governments, and of which the English and French official texts are equally authentic.

Done at ........ this .......... day of .........., in a single copy, which shall remain deposited in the archives of the United Nations, and certified true copies of which shall be delivered to all the Members of the United Nations and to the non-member States referred to in article B.

1 Attention is drawn to the need to bring this provision into line with Article E below, in respect of the time of coming into force of the Protocol for the territory or territories named in notifications under Article C, paragraph 1.

2 It will be observed that this draft paragraph, which is adapted from Article 35, paragraph 1, of the draft Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, would in its present from have the effect of extending the Protocol to the territory or territories referred to a certain period after receipt of a notification made, not only at the time of ratification or accession, but also at the time of signature. The provision appears to call for adjustment in this respect.