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Treaty of Neuilly, and Protocol the United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan.
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CONTRACTS, PRESCRIPTIONS, JUDGMENTS.
SECTION V. ARTICLE 180.
(a) Any contract concluded between enemies shall be regarded as having been dissolved as from the
time when any two of the parties became enemies, except in respect of any debt or other pecuniary
obligation arising out of any act done or money paid thereunder, and subject to the exceptions and
special rules with regard to particular contracts or classes of contracts contained herein or in the
Annex hereto.
(b) Any contract of which the execution shall be required in the general interest, within six months from the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty, by the Government of the Allied or
Associated Power of which one of the parties is a national, shall be excepted from dissolution under this Article.
When the execution of the contract thus kept alive would, owing to the alteration of trade
conditions, cause one of the parties substantial prejudice, the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal provided for by Section Vl shall be empoweredl to grant to the prejudiced party equitable compensation.
(c) Having regard to the provisions of the constitution and law of the United States of America, of
Brazil, and of Japan, neither the present Article, nor Article 183, nor the Annex hereto shall apply to
contracts made between nationals of these States and Bulgarian nationals; nor shall Article 189
apply to the United States of America or its nationals.
(d) The present Article and the Annex hereto shall not apply to contracts the parties to which became
enemies by reason of one of them being an inhabitant of territory of which the sovereignty has been
transferred, if such party shall acquire under the present Treaty the nationality of an Allied or
Associated Power, nor shall they apply to contracts between nationals of the Allied and Associated
Powers between whom trading has been prohibited by reason of one of the parties being in Allied
or Associated territory in the occupation of the enemy.
(e) Nothing in the present Article or the Annex hereto shall be deemed to invalidate a transaction
lawfully carried out in accordance with a contract between enemies if it has been carried out with the
authority of one of the belligerent Powers.
ARTICLE 181.
Transfers of territory under the present Treaty shall not preju- dice the private rights referred to in
the Treaties of Constantinople, 1913, of Athens, 1913, and of Stamboul, 1914.
Transfers of territory by or to Bulgaria under the present Treaty shall similarly and to the same
extent ensure the protection of these private rights.
In case of disagreement as to the application of this Article the difference shall be submitted to an
arbitrator appointed by the Council of the League of Nations.
ARTICLE 182.
Concessions, guarantees of receipts, and rights of exploitation in Bulgarian territory as fixed by the
present Treaty in which nationals of the Allied and Associated Powers, or companies or
associations controlled by such nationals, are interested may in case either of abnormal conditions
of working or of dispossession resulting from conditions or measures of war be extended on the
application of the interested party, which must be presented within three months from the coming
into force of the present Treaty, for a period to be determined by the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal, which
shall take aecount of the period of dispossession or of abnormal conditions of working.
All arrangements approved or agreements come to before the entry of Bulgaria into the war between
the Bulgarian authorities and companies or associations controlled by Allied financial groups are
confirmed. Nevertheless, periods of time, prices and conditions therein laid down may be revised
having regard to the new economic conditions. In case of disagreement the decision shall rest with
the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal.
ARTICLE 183.
(a) All periods of prescription, or limitation of right of action, whether they began to run before or
after the outbreak of war shall be treated in the territory of the High Contracting Parties so far as
regards relations between enemies, as having been suspended for the duration of the war. They
shall begin to run again at earliest three months after the coming into force of the present Treaty.
This provision shall apply to the period prescribed for the presentation of interest or dividend
coupons or for the presentation for repayment of securities drawn for repayment or repayable on
any other ground.
(b) Where, on account of failure to perform any act or comply with any formality during the war,
measures of execution have been taken in Bulgarian territory to the prejudice of a national of an
Allied or Associated Power, the claim of such national shall if the matter does not fall within the
competence of the Courts of an Allied or Associated Power, be heard by the Mixed Arbitral
Tribunal provided for by Section VI.
(c) Upon the application of any interested person who is a national of an Allied or Associated
Power, the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal shall order the restoration of the rights which have been
prejudiced by the measures of execution referred to in paragraph (b), wherever, having regard to the
particular circumstances of the case, such restoration is equitable and possible.
If such restoration is inequitable or impossible the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal may grant compensation
to the prejudiced party to be paid by the Bulgarian Government.
(d) Where a contract between enemies has been dissolved by reason either of failure on the part of
either party to carry out its provisions or of the exercise of a right stipulated in the contract itself the
party prejudiced may apply to the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal for relief. The Tribunal will have the
powers provided for in paragraph (c).
(e) The provisions of the preceding paragraphs of this Article shall apply to the nationals of Allied
and Associated Powers who have been prejudiced by reason of measures referred to above taken by
Bulgaria in invaded or occupied territory, if they have not been otherwise compensated.
(f) Bulgaria shall compensate any third party who may be prejudiced by any restitution or
restoration ordered by the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal under the provisions of the preceding paragraphs
of this Article.
(g) As regards negotiable instruments, the period of three months provided under paragraph (a)
shall commence as from the date on which any exceptional regulations applied in the territories of
the interested Power with regard to negotiable instruments shall have definitely ceased to have
force.
ARTICLE 184.
As between enemies no negotiable instrument made before the war shall be deemed to have become
invalid by reason only of failure within the required time to present the instrument for acceptance or
payment or to give notice of non-acceptance or non-payment to drawers or indorsers or to protest
the instrument, nor by reason of failure to complete any formality during the war.
Where the period within which a negotiable instrument should have been presented for acceptance
or for payment, or within which notice of non-acceptance or non-payment should have been given
to the drawer or indorser, or within which the instrument should have been protested, has elapsed
during the war, and the party who should have presented or protested the instrument or have given
notice of non-acceptance or non-payment has failed to do so during the war, a period of not less
than three months from the coming into force of the present Treaty shall be allowed within which
presentation, notice of non-acceptance or non-payment or protest may be made.
ARTICLE 185.
Judgments given by the Courts of an Allied or Associated Power in all cases which under the
present Treaty they are competent to decide shall be recognised in Bulgaria as final, and shall be
enforced without it being necessary to have them declared executory.
If a judgment or measure of execution in respect of any dispute which may have arisen has been
given during the war by a Bulgarian judicial authority against a national of an Allied or Associated
Power or a company or association in which one of such nationals was interested, in a case in
which either such national or such company or association was not able to make their defence, the
Allied or Associated national who has suffered prejudice thereby shall be entitled to recover
compensation, to be fixed by the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal provided for in Section VI.
At the instance of the national of the Allied or Associated Power the compensation above mentioned
may, upon order to that effect of the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal, be effected where it is possible by
replacing the parties in the situation which they occupied before the judgment was given by the
Bulgarian Court.
The above compensation may likewise be obtained before the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal by the
nationals of Allied or Associated Powers who have suffered prejudice by judicial measures taken in
invaded or occupied territories, if they have not been otherwise compensated.
ARTICLE 186.
Any company incorporated in accordance with some law other than that of Bulgaria owning
property, rights or interests in Bulgaria, which is now or shall hereafter be controlled by nationals
of the Allied and Associated Powers, shall have the right, within five years from the coming into
force of the present Treaty, to transfer its property, rights and interest to another company
incorporated in accordance with Bulgarian law or the law of one of the Allied and Associated
Powers whose nationals control it; and the company to which the property is transferred shall
continue to enjoy the same rights and privileges which the other company enjoyed under the laws of
Bulgaria and the terms of the present Treaty. This company shall not be subjected to any special tax
on account of this transfer.
ARTICLE 187.
For the purpose of Sections III, IV, V and Vll, the expression "during the war" means for each
Allied or Associated Power the period between the commencement of the state of war between that
Power and Bulgaria and the coming into force of the present Treaty.
ANNEX.
I. General Provisions.
I.
Within the meaning of Articles 180, 183 and 184, the parties to a contract shall be regarded as
enemies when trading between them shall have been prohibited by or otherwise become unlawful
under laws, orders or regulations to which one of those parties was subject. They shall be deemed
to have become enemies from the date when such trading was prohibited or otherwise became
unlawful.
2.
The following classes of contracts are excepted from dissolution by Article 180 and, without
prejudice to the rights contained in Article 177 (b) of Section IV, remain in force subject to the
application of domestic laws, orders or regulations made during the war by the Allied and
Associated Powers and subject to the terms of the contracts:
(a) Contracts having for their object the transfer of estates or of real or personal property where the
property therein had passed or the object had been delivered before the parties became enemies;
(b) Leases and agreements for leases of land and houses;
(c) Contracts of mortgage, pledge or lien;
(d) Concessions concerning mines, quarries or deposits;
(e) Contracts between individuals or companies and States, provinces, municipalities, or other
similar juridical persons charged with administrative functions, and concessions granted by States,
provinces, municipalities, or other similar juridical persons charged with administrative functions,
including contracts and concessions concluded or accorded by the Turkish Government in the
territories ceded by the Turkish Empire to Bulgaria before the coming into force of the present
Treaty.
3
lf the provisions of a contract are in part dissolved under Article 180, the remaining provisions of
that contract shall, subject to the same application of domestic law as is provided for in pararaph 2,
continue in force if they are severable, but where they are not severable the contract shall be deemed
to have been dissolved in its entirety
II. Provisions relating to certain classes of Contracts.
Stock Exhcange and Commercial Exchange Contracts.
4
(a) Rules made during the war by any recognised Exchange or Commercial Association providing
for the closure of contracts entered into before the war by an enemy are confirmed by the High
Contncting Parties, as also any action taken thereunder, provided
(1) That the eontract was expressed to be made subject to the rules of the Exchange or Association
in question;
(2) That the rules applied to all persons concerned;
(3) That the conditions attaching to the closure were fair and reasonable
(b) The preceding paragraph shall not apply to rules made during the occupation by Excanges or
Commercial Associations in the districts occupied by the enemy
5
The sale of a security held for an unpaid debt owing by an enemy shiall be deemed to have been
valid irrespective of notice to the owner if the creditor acted in good fairth and with reasonable care
and prudence, and no claim by the debtor on the ground of such sale shall be admitted
This stipulation shall not apply to any sale of securities effected by an enemy during the occupation
in regions invaded or occupied by the enemy
Negotiable Instruments.
6
As regards Powers which adopt Section III and the Annex thereto the pecuniary obligations existing
between enemies and resulting from the issue of negotiable instruments shalll be adjusted in
conformity with the said Annex by the instrumentality of the Clearing Offices, which shall assume
the rights of the holder as regards the various remedies open to him
If a person has either before or during the war become liable upon a negotiable instrument in
accordance with an undertaking given to him by a person who has subsequently become an enemy,
the latter shall remain liablele to indemnify the former in respect of his liability notwithstanding the
outbreak of war
III Contracts of Insurance
8
Contracts of insurance entered into by any person with another person who subsequently became an
enemy will be dealt with in accordance with the following paragraphs
Fire Insurance.
9
Contracts for the insurance of property against fire entered into by a person interested in such
property with another person who subsequently became an enemy shall not be deemed to have been
dissolved by the outbreak of war, or by the fact of the person becoming an enemy, or on account of
the failure during the war and for a period of three months thereafter to perform his obligations
under the contract, but they shall be dissolved at the date when the annual premium becomes
payable for the first time after the expiration of a period of three months after the coming into force
of the present Treaty.
A settlement shall be effected of unpaid premiums which became due during the war, or of claims
for losses which occurred during the war.
10.
Where by administrative or legislative action an insurance against fire effected before the war has
been transferred during the war from the original to another insurer, the transfer will re recognised
and the liability of the original insurer will be deemed to have ceased as from the date of the
transfer. The original insurer will, however, be entitled to receive on demand full information as to
the terms of the transfer, and if it should appear that these terms were not equitable they shall be
amended so far as may be necessary to render them equitable.
Furthermore, the insured shall, subject to the concurrence of the original insurer, be entitled to
retransfer the contract to the original insurer as from the date of the demand.
Life Insurance.
11.
Contracts of life insurance entered into between an insurer and a person who subsequently became
an enemy shall not be deemed to have been dissolved by the outbreak of war, or by the fact of the
person becoming an enemy.
12.
Any sum which during the war became due upon a contract deemed not to have been dissolved
under paragraph 1 l shall be recoverable after the war with the addition of interest at five per cent.
per annum from the date of its becoming due up to the day of payment.
Where the contract has lapsed during the war owing to non-payment of premiums, or has become
void from breach of the conditions of the contract, the assured or his representatives or the persons
entitled shall have the right at any time within twelve months of the coming into force of the present
Treaty to claim from the insurer the surrender value of the policy at the date of its lapse or
avoidance.
Where the contract has lapsed during the war owing to non-payment of premiums the payment of
which has been prevented by the enforcement of measures of war, the assured or his representative
or the persons entitled shall have the right to restore the contract on payment of the premiums with
interest at five per cent. per annum within three months from the coming into force of the present
Treaty.
13.
Where contracts of life insurance have been entered into by a local branch of an insurance company
established in a country which subsequently became an enemy country, the contract shall, in the
absence of any stipulation to the contrary in the contract itself, be governed by the local law, but the
insurer shall be entitled to demand from the insured or his representatives the refund of sums paid
on claims made or enforced under measures taken during the war, if the making or enforcement of
such claims was not in accordance with the terms of the contract itself or was not consistent with the
laws or treaties existing at the time when it was entered into.
14
In any case where by the law applicable to the contract the insurer remains bound by the contract
notwithstanding the non-payment of premiums until notice is given to the insured of the termination
of the contract, he shall be entitled where the giving of such notice was prevented by the war to
recover the unpaid premiums with interest at five per cent. per annum from the insured.
15.
Insurance contracts shall be considered as contracts of life insurance for the purpose of paragraphs
1l to 14 when they depend on the probabilities of human life combined with the rate of interest for
the calculation of the reciprocal engagements between the two parties.
Marine Insurance.
16.
Contracts of marine insurance, including time policies and voyage policies, entered into between an
insurer and a person who subsequently became an enemy, shall be deemed to have been dissolved
on his becoming an enemy, except in cases where the risk undertaken in the contract had attached
before he became an enemy.
Where the risk had not attached, money paid by way of premium or otherwise shall be recoverable
from the insurer.
Where the risk had attached effect shall be given to the contract notwithstanding the party becoming
an enemy, and sums due under the contract either by way of premiums or in respect of losses shall
be recoverable after the coming into force of the present Treaty.
In the event of any agreement being come to for the payment of interest on sums due before the war
to or by the nationals of States which have been at war and recovered after the war, such interest
shall in the case of losses recoverable under contracts of marine insurance run from the expiration of
a period of one year from the date of the loss.
17.
No contract of marine insurance with an insured person who subsequently became an enemy shall
be deemed to cover losses due to belligerent action by the Power of which the insurer was a national
or by the allies or associates of such Power.
18.
Where it is shown that a person who had before the war entered into a contrect of marine insurance
with an insurer who subsequently became an enemy entered after the outbreak of war into a new
contract covering the same risk with an insurer who was not an enemy, the new contract shall be
deemed to be substituted for the original contract as from the date when it was entered into, and the
premiums payable shall be adjusted on the basis of the original insurer having remained liable on the
contract only up till the time when the new contract was entered into.
Other Insurances.
19
Contracts of insurance entered into before the war between an insurer and a person who
subsequently became an enemy, other than contracts dealt with in paragraphs 9 to 18, shall be
treated in all respects on the same footing as contracts of fire insurance between the same persons
would be dealt with under the said paragraphs.
Re-insurance
20.
All treaties of re-insurance with a person who became an enemy shall be regarded as having been
abrogated by the person becoming an enemy, but without prejudice in the case of life or marine
risks which had attached before the war to the right to recover payment after the war for sums due
in respect of such risks.
Nevertheless if, owing to invasion, it has been impossible for the re-insured to find another
re-insurer, the treaty shall remain in force until three months after the coming into force of the
present Treaty.
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