THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, JANUARY 9, 1920.
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occupied by the enemy before the Armistice will not be guaranteed by the States of which those territories form part.
(e) The sums due to the nationals of one of the High Contracting Parties by the nationals of an Opposing State will be debited to the clearing office of the country of the debtor, and paid to the creditor by the clearing office of the country of the creditor.
(d) Debts shall be paid or credited in the currency of such one of the Allied and Associated Powers, their colonies or protectorates, or the British Dominions or India, as may be concerned. If the debts are payable in some other currency they shall be paid or credited in the currency of the country con- cerned, whether an Allied or Associated Power, Colony, Protectorate, British Dominion or India, at the pre-war rate of exchange.
For the purpose of this provision the pre-war rate of exchange shall be defined as the average cable transfer rate prevailing in the Allied or Asso- ciated country concerned during the month immediately preceding the out- break of war between the said country concerned and Germany.
If a contract provides for a fixed rate of exchange governing the conver- sion of the currency in which the debt is stated into the currency of the Allied or Associated country concerned, then the above provisions concerning the rate of exchange shall not apply.
In the case of new States the currency in which and the rate of exchange at which debts shall be paid or credited shall be determined by the Repara- tion Commission provided for in Part VIII (Reparation).
(e) The provisions of this Article and of the Annex hereto shall not apply as between Germany on the one hand and any one of the Allied and Associated Powers, their colonies or protectorates, or any one of the British Dominions or India on the other hand, unless within a period of one month from the deposit of the ratifications of the present Treaty by the Power in question, or of the ratification on behalf of such Dominion or of India, notice to that effect is given to Germany by the Government of such Allied or Associated Power or of such Dominion or of India as the case may be.
(f) The Allied and Associated Powers who have adopted this Article and the Annex hereto may agree between themselves to apply them to their respective nationals established in their territory so far as regards matters between their nationals and German nationals. In this case the payments made by application of this provision will be subject to arrangements between the allied and associated clearing offices concerned.
ANNEX.
1. Each of the High Contracting Parties will, within three months from the notifica- tion provided for in Article 296, paragraph (e), establish a clearing office for the collec- tion and payment of enemy debts.
Local clearing offices may be established for any particular portion of the territories of the High Contracting Parties. Such local clearing offices may perform all the func- tions of a central clearing office in their respective districts, except that all transactions with the clearing office in the Opposing State must be effected through the central clearing office.
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2. In this Annex the pecuniary obligations referred to in the first paragraph of Article 296 are described as enemy debts", the persons from whom the same are due as enemy debtors", the persons to whom they are due as enemy creditors", the clearing office in the country of the creditor is called the "Creditor Clearing Office", and the clearing office in the country of the debtor is called the "Debtor Clearing Office".
3. The High Contracting Parties will subject contraventions of paragraph (a) of Article 296 to the same penalties as are at present provided by their legislation for trading with the enemy. They will similarly prohibit within their territory all legal process relating to payment of enemy debts, except in accordance with the provisions of
this Annex.