The Free Zones On Wednesday a decision of the Permanent
Court of International Justice supported Switzerland's conten- tion in her long drawn-out dispute with France on the question of the Free Zones. For a matter of three hundred years the Canton of Geneva enjoyed special trading privileges, the effect of which was to set back the French customs posts about twenty-five miles from the French political frontier. After the War it was decided to abro- gate this prescriptive right, and, after protracted nego- tiations, which came to nothing, the French authorities took the law into their own hands in November, 1923. Later the two countries agreed to submit their differences on the point of law to the World Court, though it was four years before this agreement was ratified by France. By the ruling now given the two countries are referred back to Article 435 of the Treaty of Versailles, which provided for the suppression of the Free Zones by agree- Ment with Switzerland. Some ten years, therefore, have been wasted in bickering, simply because France would have it that the terms of that Treaty were mandatory, not merely permissive. Those who are determined that the machinery of the League of Nations shall not be used for perpetuating a particular situation will welcome the judgment of the Court. A rider was added, stipulating that the two States should settle the point of fact by some compromise before May 1st, 1930.
Previous page
