BOUNDARIES Convention signed at Washington April 11, 1908 Ratifications exchanged at Washington June 4, 1908 Entered into force June 4, 1908 Proclaimed by the President of the United States July 1, 1908 ARTICLE I 35 Stat. 2003; Treaty Series 497 The boundary through Passamaquoddy Bay The High Contracting Parties agree that each shall appoint, without delay, an expert geographer or surveyor to serve as Commissioners for the purpose of more accurately defining and marking the international boundary line between the United States and the Dominion of Canada in the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay from the mouth of the St. Croix River to the Bay of Fundy, and that in defining and marking said boundary line the Commissioners shall adopt and follow, as closely as may be, the line surveyed and laid down by the Commissioners appointed under Article II of the Treaty of July 22, 1892,1 between the United States and Great Britain, so far as said Commissioners agreed upon the location of said line, namely: (1) From a point at the mouth of the St. Croix River defined by the ranges established by them, by a connected series of six straight lines defined by ranges and cross ranges, to a point between Treat Island and Friar Head, likewise defined by ranges and cross ranges established by them; and also (2) From a point in Quoddy Roads, defined by the intersection of the range passing through the position of the Beacon of 1886 and Lubec Channel Light, with a range established by them on the west shore of Quoddy Roads along the course of this latter range, which is about 80° 35' east of true south, into the Bay of Fundy. 1 In ascertaining the location of the above-described line, the Commissioners shall be controlled by the indications of the range marks and monuments established along its course by said former Commissioners and by the charts upon which the said Commissioners marked the line as tentatively agreed upon by them. The remaining portion of the line, lying between the two above-described sections, and upon the location of which said former Commissioners did not agree, shall pass through the center of the Lubec Narrows Channel between Campo Bello Island and the mainland, and, subject to the provisions hereinafter stated, it shall follow on either side of the said Narrows such courses as will connect with the parts of the line agreed upon as aforesaid, and such boundary shall consist of a series of straight lines defined by distances and courses; but inasmuch as differences have arisen in the past as to the location of the line with respect to Pope's Folly Island above Lubec Narrows and with respect to certain fishing grounds east of the dredged channel below Lubec Narrows, it is agreed that each of the High Contracting Parties shall present to the other within six months after the ratification of this Treaty a full printed statement of the evidence, with certified copies of original documents referred to therein which are in its possession, and the arguments upon which it bases its contentions, with a view to arriving at an adjustment of the location of this portion of the line in accordance with the true intent and meaning of the provisions relating thereto of the treaties of 17832 and 1814 3 between the United States and Great Britain, and the award of the Commissioners appointed in that behalf under the treaty of 1814; it being understood that any action by either or both Governments or their representatives authorized in that behalf or by the local governments on either side of the line, whether prior or subsequent to such treaties and award, tending to aid in the interpretation thereof, shall be taken into consideration in determining their true intent and meaning. Such agreement, if reached, shall be reduced to writing in the form of a protocol and shall be communicated to the said Commissioners, who shall lay down and mark this portion of the boundary in accordance therewith and as herein provided. 3 In the event of a failure to agree within six months after the date of exchanging the printed statements aforesaid, the question of which Government is entitled to jurisdiction over such island and fishing grounds under treaty provisions, and proceedings thereunder, interpreted in accordance with their true intent and meaning as above provided, and by reason of any rights arising under the recognized principles of international law, shall be referred forthwith for decision upon the evidence and arguments submitted as aforesaid, with such additional statement of facts as may be appropriate, and an argument in reply on each side, to an arbitrator to be agreed upon by the two Governments, or, in case of a failure to agree, to be appointed by 2 Treaty signed at Paris Sept. 3, 1783 (TS 104, ante, p. 8). 3 Treaty signed at Ghent Dec. 24, 1814 (TS 109, ante, p. 41). a third Power selected by the two Governments by common accord, or, if no agreement is thus arrived at, each Government shall select a different Power and the choice of the arbitrator shall be made in concert by the Powers thus selected. The decision of such arbitrator shall be final, and the line shall be laid down and marked by the said Commissioners in accordance therewith and as herein provided. The arbitrator shall be requested to deliver, together with his award, a statement of all the costs and expenses incurred by him in connection with the arbitration, which shall forthwith be repaid by the two Governments in equal moieties. It is further agreed that if, under the foregoing provisions, the boundary be located through the channel to the east of the dredged channel above mentioned, the latter shall be equally free and open for the passage of ships, vessels, and boats of both parties. The entire boundary shall be marked by permanent range marks established on land and, if desirable in the opinion of Commissioners, by buoys in the water, so far as practicable, and by such other boundary marks and monuments and at such points as the Commissioners may determine to be necessary; but the said Commissioners shall proceed to define and mark and chart the portion of the line agreed upon by the former Commissioners under the Treaty of 1892 aforesaid without waiting for the final determination of the location of the remaining portion of the line. The course of the said boundary line as defined and marked as aforesaid shall be laid down by said Commissioners on quadruplicate sets of accurate modern charts prepared or adopted by them for that purpose, which charts shall be certified and signed by the Commissioners, and two duplicate originals thereof shall be filed by them with each Government; and they shall also prepare in duplicate and file with each Government a joint report or reports under their hands and seals describing in detail the course and location of the boundary line and the range marks and monuments and buoys marking it. The line so defined and laid down shall be taken and deemed to be the international boundary from the Bay of Fundy to the mouth of the St. Croix River, as established by treaty provisions and the proceedings thereunder. ARTICLE II The boundary from the mouth of the source of the St. Croix River Whereas Article II of the Treaty of 1783 between the United States and Great Britain provides that a line drawn along the middle of the River St. Croix from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source shall be, between those points, the international boundary between the United States and the British possessions in North America, and the identity of the River St. Croix has been determined by the Commissioners appointed for that purpose under Article V [5] of the Treaty of 1794 between the United States and Great Britain, and the location of the mouth and the source of said river has been duly established, and the course of said river has been described, surveyed, and charted by said Commissioners, as appears from their joint report dated the 25th day of October, 1798,5 and from the chart or plan of said river prepared and filed by them with said report, but said line of boundary along the middle of said river was not laid down by them on said chart or plan, and was not marked or monumented by them along the course of said river; and whereas, pursuant to an additional article, dated March 15, 1798, supplementing the provisions of the Treaty of 1794 above referred to, a monument was erected by joint action of the two Governments marking the source of the River St. Croix, but said line of boundary through the River St. Croix has not otherwise been monumented and has never been laid down on charts by joint action of the two Governments: therefore, in order to complete and render thoroughly effective the demarcation of the boundary described and established as aforesaid, It is agreed that each of the High Contracting Parties shall appoint, without delay, an expert geographer or surveyor as a Commissioner, and the Commissioners so appointed shall jointly lay down upon accurate modern charts, to be prepared or adopted by them for that purpose, the line of boundary along the middle of the River St. Croix from its mouth to its source as defined and established by the existing treaty provisions and the proceedings thereunder, above referred to, with the agreed understanding, however, that the line of boundary through said river shall be a water line throughout and shall follow the center of the main channel or thalweg as naturally existing, except where such course would change, or disturb, or conflict with the national character of an island as already established by mutual recognition and acquiescence, in which case the line shall pass on the other side of any such island, following the middle of the channel nearest thereto, or, if the Commissioners find that the national character of any island is in dispute, the question of its nationality shall be submitted by them to their respective Governments, with a chart or map certified jointly by said Commissioners, showing the depth and volume of the water at its high and low stages between such island and the river banks on each side and indicating the course of the main channel of the river as it passes such island, together with a descriptive statement by said Commissioners showing the reasons for selecting such channel as the main channel; and in all such cases the High Contracting Parties agree that the location of the boundary with respect to each island in dispute shall be determined and settled in accordance with the following rules: Treaty signed at London Nov. 19, 1794 (TS 105, ante, p. 13). (1) The nationality of each island in dispute shall be determined by the predominance of the claims established on either side to such island, arising from the exercise of jurisdiction and sovereignty over it, including such exercise of jurisdiction by the local governments on either side of the line. (2) The burden of proving the nationality of any such island shall be upon the party seeking to change the general course of the boundary as above prescribed so as to include such island on its own side of the boundary. (3) The selection by the Commissioners of the main channel passing such island shall not be conclusive upon the parties hereto and is subject to review, but the burden of proving the main channel to be other than the one selected shall be upon the party proposing the change. The Government proposing such change in the prescribed course of the boundary shall, upon the submission of the question of the nationality of any island or islands by the Commissioners as aforesaid, promptly present to the other Government a printed statement, with certified copies of any original documents in its possession referred to therein, showing the grounds and arguments upon which its claim of jurisdiction and ownership with respect to such island rests. Unless an agreement is reached upon the presentation of such statement, the Government to which such statement is presented shall within six months after its receipt present in reply a similar statement showing the grounds and arguments upon which the claims of the other Government are contested. If an agreement is reached between the two Governments, it shall be reduced to writing in the form of a protocol and shall be communicated to the said Commissioners, who shall proceed to lay down and mark the boundary so as to leave such island on the side of the boundary to which it is shown it belongs, in accordance with the determination of its nationality arrived at as aforesaid. In the event of a failure by the two Governments to come to an agreement within six months after the presentation of the printed statements in reply herein above provided for, then the question of the nationality of the islands in dispute shall be referred forthwith for decision under the rules herein above set forth for the determination of that question, and under the recognized principles of international law not inconsistent therewith, and upon the evidence and arguments submitted as aforesaid, with such additional statement of facts as may be appropriate, and such further printed argument on each side as may be desired, to an arbitrator to be agreed upon by the two Governments, or, in case of a failure to agree, to be appointed by a third Power selected by the two Governments by common accord, or, if no agreement is thus arrived at, each Government shall select a different Power and the choice of the arbitrator shall be made in concert by the Powers thus selected. The decision of such arbitrator shall be final, and the line shall be laid down and marked by the said Commissioners in accordance therewith and as herein provided. |