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THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE GENERAL CLAIMS COMMISSION, UNITED STATES AND MEXICO THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE GENERAL CLAIMS COMMISSION, UNITED STATES AND MEXICO UNDER THE CONVENTION OF SEPTEMBER 8, 1923 PROEFSCHRIFT TER VERKRIJGING VAN DEN GRAAD VAN DOCTOR IN DE RECHTSGELEERDHEID AAN DE RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT TE LEIDEN, OP GEZAG VAN DEN RECTOR MAGNIFICUS DR J. A. J. BARGE, HOOGLEERAAR IN DE FACULTEIT DER GENEESKUNDE, VOOR DE FACULTEIT DER RECHTSGELEERDHEID TE VERDEDIGEN OP VRIJDAG 6 MEI 1938, DES NAMIDDAGS TE 4 UUR DOOR JACOBUS GIJSBERTUS DE BEUS GEBOREN TE BATAVIA 'S-GRA VENHAGE MARTINUS NIJHOFF 1938 ISBN 978-94-011-8683-4 ISBN 978-94-011-9491-4 DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-9491-4 (eBook) AAN MIJN OUDERS AUTHOR'S NOTE The author is much indebted to Professor van Eysinga, member of the Permanent Court of International Justice, and Professor van Asbeck, member of the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations, for having placed at his disposal the Opinions of the General Claims Commission, as weH as the documents relating to them, which were found among Professor van Vollenhoven's papers. He is equaHy thankful to the former for his careful examination of the manuscript and for his valuable remarks. Furthermore, the author is very grateful to Mr. C. H. A. Lewes, LL.B., of the English Bar, for the thorough and conscientious manner in which he has corrected the faults in English in the original text. CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTORY • • • • Importance of the decisions of the General Claims Commission - 1. - Other works dealing with the decisions of the General Claims Commission - 3. - Object of this book - 5. - Origin of the Mexican-American General Claims Commission - 6. - Activity of the Commission - 7. - Composition of the Commission - 8. - Scheme of the book - 9. 123 CHAPTER 11. JURISDICTION OF THE COMMISSION • • • • Definition in the Convention of September 8, 1923 - 10. Claims "incident to recent revolutions" - 12. - Jurisdiction over contract claims - 15. - Effect of acknowledgment of obligation - 21. - Article V of the Convention (exhaustion of local remedies) - 21. - Claims connected with conflicts between governments. Administrative acts during occupation - 23. - Effect of rank of delinquent official upon jurisdiction - 27. - Claims based on acts of a municipality in its civil capacity - 27. - Questions of competency as between tribunals of one state - 28. - Difference between a defence raising a question of jurisdiction and one based on the merits of a case - 29. - 10 CHAPTER 111. CLAIMANTS . • . • • • • • • • • • • • Character of a claim - 33. - Right of action of heirs as representatives - 44. - Independent right of action of relatives - 48. 33 CHAPTER IV. THE CALVO CLAUSE Contents of the opinions - 49. - Objections of Mr. Nielsen - 61. - Interpretation of the Calvo clause - 67. - Rejection of the clause in its extreme form - 70. - Lawfulness of the clause in its limited form - 72. - Calvo clause and jurisdiction - 74. - Calvo c1ause and Artic1e V of the Convention - 76. - Calvo c1ause and international delinquency - 78. - Origin of the Calvo c1ause - 81. - Conclusions - 83. - The way to proceed with cases involving the Calvo c1ause - 85. 49 x CONTENTS CHAPTER V. 88 ACTS IMPUTABLE TO ASTATE Appearance of authorization - 88. - Agents whose delictual acts may be imputed to aState - 89. - Minor officials - 90. - Position of a "Sindico" - 94. - What acts of agents are imputable to the State? - 97. CHAPTER VI. RESPONSlBILITY OF THE STATE FOR ACTS OF REVOLUTIONISTS. • . . . . . . . . • • . <