The
Palestine Mandate (1922)
The Council of the League of Nations:
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the
purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenant of the
League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the
administration of the territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the
Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixed by them; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that
the Mandatory should be responsible for putting into effect the declaration
originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic
Majesty, and adopted by the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in
Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood
that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights
of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political
status enjoyed by Jews in any other country; and
Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the
historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for
reconstituting their national home in that country; and
Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His
Britannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine; and
Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been
formulated in the following terms and submitted to the Council of the League for
approval; and
Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in
respect of Palestine and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of
Nations in conformity with the following provisions; and
Whereas by the afore-mentioned Article 22
(paragraph 8), it is provided that the degree of authority, control or
administration to be exercised by the Mandatory, not having been previously
agreed upon by the Members of the League, shall be explicitly defined by the
Council of the League of Nations;
confirming the said Mandate, defines its terms as follows:
ARTICLE 1. The Mandatory shall have full powers of
legislation and of administration, save as they may be limited by the terms of
this mandate.
ART. 2. The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the
country under such political, administrative and economic conditions as will
secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the
preamble, and the development of self-governing institutions, and also for
safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine,
irrespective of race and religion.
ART. 3. The Mandatory shall, so far as circumstances
permit, encourage local autonomy.
ART. 4. An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognized as
a public body for the purpose of advising and co-operating with the
Administration of Palestine in such economic, social and other matters as may
affect the establishment of the Jewish national home and the interests of the
Jewish population in Palestine, and, subject always to the control of the
Administration to assist and take part in the development of the
country.
The Zionist organization, so long as its organization and
constitution are in the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall be
recognized as such agency. It shall take steps in consultation with His
Britannic Majesty's Government to secure the co-operation of all Jews who are
willing to assist in the establishment of the Jewish national home.
ART. 5. The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that
no Palestine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under
the control of the Government of any foreign Power.
ART. 6. The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring
that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not
prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and
shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article
4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands
not required for public purposes.
ART. 7. The Administration of Palestine shall be
responsible for enacting a nationality law. There shall be included in this law
provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship
by Jews who take up their permanent residence in Palestine.
ART. 8. The privileges and immunities of foreigners,
including the benefits of consular jurisdiction and protection as formerly
enjoyed by Capitulation or usage in the Ottoman Empire, shall not be applicable
in Palestine.
Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the
afore-mentioned privileges and immunities on August 1st, 1914, shall have
previously renounced the right to their re-establishment, or shall have agreed
to their non-application for a specified period, these privileges and immunities
shall, at the expiration of the mandate, be immediately reestablished in their
entirety or with such modifications as may have been agreed upon between the
Powers concerned.
ART. 9. The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that
the judicial system established in Palestine shall assure to foreigners, as well
as to natives, a complete guarantee of their rights. Respect for the personal
status of the various peoples and communities and for their religious interests
shall be fully guaranteed. In particular, the control and administration of
Waqfs shall be exercised in accordance with religious law and the dispositions
of the founders.
ART. 10. Pending the making of special extradition
agreements relating to Palestine, the extradition treaties in force between the
Mandatory and other foreign Powers shall apply to Palestine.
ART. 11. The Administration of Palestine shall take all
necessary measures to safeguard the interests of the community in connection
with the development of the country, and, subject to any international
obligations accepted by the Mandatory, shall have full power to provide for
public ownership or control of any of the natural resources of the country or of
the public works, services and utilities established or to be established
therein. It shall introduce a land system appropriate to the needs of the
country, having regard, among other things, to the desirability of promoting the
close settlement and intensive cultivation of the land.
The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency
mentioned in Article 4 to construct or operate, upon fair and equitable terms,
any public works, services and utilities, and to develop any of the natural
resources of the country, in so far as these matters are not directly undertaken
by the Administration. Any such arrangements shall provide that no profits
distributed by such agency, directly or indirectly, shall exceed a reasonable
rate of interest on the capital, and any further profits shall be utilized by it
for the benefit of the country in a manner approved by the Administration.
ART. 12. The Mandatory shall be entrusted with the control
of the foreign relations of Palestine and the right to issue exequaturs to
consuls appointed by foreign Powers. He shall also be entitled to afford
diplomatic and consular protection to citizens of Palestine when outside its
territorial limits.
ART. 13. All responsibility in connection with the Holy
Places and religious buildings or sites in Palestine, including that of
preserving existing rights and of securing free access to the Holy Places,
religious buildings and sites and the free exercise of worship, while ensuring
the requirements of public order and decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who
shall be responsible solely to the League of Nations in all matters connected
herewith, provided that nothing in this article shall prevent the Mandatory from
entering into such arrangements as he may deem reasonable with the
Administration for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this article into
effect; and provided also that nothing in this mandate shall be construed as
conferring upon the Mandatory authority to interfere with the fabric or the
management of purely Moslem sacred shrines, the immunities of which are
guaranteed.
ART. 14. A special commission shall be appointed by the
Mandatory to study, define and determine the rights and claims in connection
with the Holy Places and the rights and claims relating to the different
religious communities in Palestine. The method of nomination, the composition
and the functions of this Commission shall be submitted to the Council of the
League for its approval, and the Commission shall not be appointed or enter upon
its functions without the approval of the Council.
ART. 15. The Mandatory shall see that complete freedom of
conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the
maintenance of public order and morals, are ensured to all. No discrimination of
any kind shall be made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the ground of
race, religion or language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the
sole ground of his religious belief.
The right of each community to maintain its own schools for
the education of its own members in its own language, while conforming to such
educational requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose,
shall not be denied or impaired.
ART. 16. The Mandatory shall be responsible for exercising
such supervision over religious or eleemosynary bodies of all faiths in
Palestine as may be required for the maintenance of public order and good
government. Subject to such supervision, no measures shall be taken in Palestine
to obstruct or interfere with the enterprise of such bodies or to discriminate
against any representative or member of them on the ground of his religion or
nationality.
ART. 17. The Administration of Palestine may organize on a
voluntary basis the forces necessary for the preservation of peace and order,
and also for the defense of the country, subject, however, to the supervision of
the Mandatory, but shall not use them for purposes other than those above
specified save with the consent of the Mandatory. Except for such purposes, no
military, naval or air forces shall be raised or maintained by the
Administration of Palestine.
Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration
of Palestine from contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the forces of
the Mandatory in Palestine.
The Mandatory shall be entitled at all times to use the
roads, railways and ports of Palestine for the movement of armed forces and the
carriage of fuel and supplies.
ART. 18. The Mandatory shall see that there is no
discrimination in Palestine against the nationals of any State Member of the
League of Nations (including
companies incorporated under its laws) as compared with those of the Mandatory
or of any foreign State in matters concerning taxation, commerce or navigation,
the exercise of industries or
professions, or in the treatment of merchant vessels or civil aircraft.
Similarly, there shall be no discrimination in Palestine against goods
originating in or destined for any of the said States, and there shall be
freedom of transit under equitable conditions across the mandated area.
Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this
mandate, the Administration of Palestine may, on the advice of the Mandatory,
impose such taxes and customs duties as it may consider necessary, and take such
steps as it may think best to promote the development of the natural resources
of the country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It may also, on
the advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs agreement with any State
the territory of which in 1914 was wholly included in Asiatic Turkey or Arabia.
ART. 19. The Mandatory shall adhere on behalf of the
Administration of Palestine to any general international conventions already
existing, or which may be concluded hereafter with the approval of the League of
Nations, respecting the slave traffic, the traffic in arms and ammunition, or
the traffic in drugs, or relating to commercial equality, freedom of transit and
navigation, aerial navigation and postal, telegraphic and wireless communication
or literary, artistic or industrial property.
ART. 20. The Mandatory shall co-operate on behalf of the
Administration of Palestine, so far as religious, social and other conditions
may permit, in the execution of any common policy adopted by the League of
Nations for preventing and combating disease, including diseases of plants and
animals.
ART. 21. The Mandatory shall secure the enactment within
twelve months from this date, and shall ensure the execution of a Law of
Antiquities based on the following rules. This law shall ensure equality of
treatment in the matter of excavations and archaeological research to the
nationals of all States Members of the League of Nations.
(1) "Antiquity" means any construction or any
product of human activity earlier than the year 1700 A. D.
(2) The law for the protection of antiquities shall proceed
by encouragement rather than by threat.
Any person who, having discovered an antiquity without
being furnished with the authorization referred to in paragraph 5, reports the
same to an official of the competent Department, shall be rewarded according to
the value of the discovery.
(3) No antiquity may be disposed of except to the competent
Department, unless this Department renounces the acquisition of any such
antiquity.
No antiquity may leave the country without an export
license from the said Department.
(4) Any person who maliciously or negligently destroys or
damages an antiquity shall be liable to a penalty to be fixed.
(5) No
clearing of ground or digging with the object of finding antiquities shall be
permitted, under penalty of fine, except to persons authorized by the competent
Department.
(6) Equitable terms shall be fixed for expropriation,
temporary or permanent, of lands which might be of historical or archaeological
interest.
(7) Authorization to excavate shall only be granted to
persons who show sufficient guarantees of archaeological experience. The
Administration of Palestine shall not, in granting these authorizations, act in
such a way as to exclude scholars of any nation without good grounds.
(8) The proceeds of excavations may be divided between the
excavator and the competent Department in a proportion fixed by that Department.
If division seems impossible for scientific reasons, the excavator shall receive
a fair indemnity in lieu of a part of the find.
ART. 22. English, Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official
languages of Palestine. Any statement or inscription in Arabic on stamps or
money in Palestine shall be repeated in Hebrew and any statement or inscription
in Hebrew shall be repeated in Arabic.
ART. 23. The Administration of Palestine shall recognize
the holy days of the respective communities in Palestine as legal days of rest
for the members of such communities.
ART. 24. The Mandatory shall make to the Council of the
League of Nations an annual report to the satisfaction of the Council as to the
measures taken during the year to carry out the provisions of the mandate.
Copies of all laws and regulations promulgated or issued during the year shall
be communicated with the report.
ART. 25. In the territories lying between the Jordan and
the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall
be entitled, with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to
postpone or withhold application of such provisions of this mandate as he may
consider inapplicable to the existing local conditions, and to make such
provision for the administration of the territories as he may consider suitable
to those conditions, provided that no action shall be taken which is
inconsistent with the provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18.
ART. 26. The Mandatory agrees that, if any dispute whatever
should arise between the Mandatory and another member of the League of Nations
relating to the interpretation or the application of the provisions of the
mandate, such dispute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation, shall be
submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice provided for by
Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
ART. 27. The consent of the Council of the League of
Nations is required for any modification of the terms of this mandate.
ART. 28. In the event of the termination of the mandate
hereby conferred upon the Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations shall
make such arrangements as may be deemed necessary for safeguarding in
perpetuity, under guarantee of the League, the rights secured by Articles 13 and
14, and shall use its influence for securing, under the guarantee of the League,
that the Government of Palestine will fully honor the financial obligations
legitimately incurred by the Administration of Palestine during the period of
the mandate, including the rights of public servants to pensions or gratuities.
The present instrument shall be deposited in original in
the archives of the League of Nations and certified copies shall be forwarded by
the Secretary-General of the League of Nations to all members of the League.