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| For Bulgaria: | For Turkey: |
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
| Savoff | Talaat |
| G. D. Natchovits | Mahmoud |
| A. Tocheff | Halil |
PROTOCOL NO. I
A. The high contracting parties have agreed to add to the description of the frontier contained in article one of the treaty the following remarks:
1. The frontier is established according to the map of the Austrian General Staff on the scale of 1:200,000, and its course is traced on an annexed sketch copied from that map.
The references to the lower part and to the tributary of the Maritza are recorded according to the topographical map on the scale of 1:50,000, and are entered upon a detailed and complete map of that region indicating the definitive boundary from Mandra to the mouth.
2. Mixed commissions composed of Ottoman and Bulgarian officers shall draw the map of the new frontier line for a distance of two kilometers on both sides of that line on the scale of 1:25,000. The definitive boundary shall be marked on this map.
These commissions shall be divided into three sections and shall begin their work simultaneously in the following regions: the coast of the Black Sea, the territory situated between the Maritza and the Arda, and that comprised between the Arda and Mandra.
After this operation the boundary line shall be established on the spot, and pyramids shall be erected under the care of the said mixed commissions. The protocols of the definitive frontier shall be drawn up by the commissions.
3. In tracing the boundary line the commissions shall draw up plans of the private and public properties left on the two sides of the line.
The two high governments shall examine the measures to be taken to avoid differences which might eventually arise from the exploitation of such properties.
It is well understood that until an agreement has been reached on this subject the owners shall continue to enjoy their properties freely as in the past.
4. The protocols previously drawn up by the two parties concerning such portions of the old Turco-Bulgarian frontier as are now maintained without change shall remain in force.
If the boundary-stones or Koules in those parts are destroyed or damaged they shall be rebuilt or repaired.
5. As for the rivers and streams other than the Toundja, the Maritza and the Arda, the boundary line shall follow the channel (thalweg) of the water-courses. As for the three rivers mentioned, the boundary line is indicated in the protocol.
B. The delimitation in regard to the islands in the bed of the Maritza shall be entrusted to a special commission.
It is likewise agreed that the two governments bind themselves to come to an arrangement when the time arrives for making the Maritza navigable.
C. The two governments agree to facilitate the optional and mutual exchange of Bulgarian and Moslem populations and of their properties within a zone not exceeding 15 kilometers along the entire common frontier.
The exchange shall take place by entire villages.
The exchange of rural and urban properties shall take place under the auspices of the two governments and with the participation of the elders of the villages to be exchanged.
Mixed commissions appointed by the two governments shall proceed to the exchange, and if there is occasion for it, to indemnification for the differences arising from the exchange of properties between these villages and individuals.
Done in duplicate at Constantinople, the 16/29 September, 1913.
| For Bulgaria: | For Turkey: |
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
| Savoff | Talaat |
| G. D. Natchovits | Mahmoud |
| A. Tocheff | Halil |
ANNEX NO. II. The Question of the Muftis
ARTICLE I
A head mufti shall reside in Sofia and shall act as intermediary between the muftis of Bulgaria in their relations with the Sheik-ul-Islamat for religious and civil matters of the Sheri, and with the Bulgarian Ministry of Public Worship.
He shall be elected by the muftis of Bulgaria and from amongst them, assembled especially for that purpose. The mufti-vekilis shall take part in this assembly, but only as electors.
The Bulgarian Minister of Public Worship shall notify, through the Imperial Legation in Sofia, the election of the head mufti to the Sheik-ul-Islamat, which shall send him a menshur and the murassele authorizing him to exercise his functions, and to grant in turn, the same power to the other muftis of Bulgaria.
The head mufti shall have the right, within the limits prescribed by the Sheri, of supervision and control over the muftis of Bulgaria, over the Moslem religious and charitable institutions, as also over their staffs and their mutevellis.
ARTICLE II
The muftis are elected by the Moslem electors of Bulgaria.
The head mufti verifies whether the mufti elected possesses all the qualities required by the Sheri, and in the affirmative case, he informs the Sheik-ul-Islamat of the necessity of giving him the necessary authorization to issue fetvas (menshur). Together with the menshur thus obtained he shall deliver to the new mufti the murassele necessary for conferring upon him the right of religious jurisdiction over Moslems.
The muftis may, on condition of having their choice ratified by the head mufti, propose the nomination, within the limits of their districts and in localities where the necessity has arisen, of mufti-vekilis, who shall have to fulfil the duties determined by the present arrangement, under the direct supervision of the local muftis.
ARTICLE III
The remuneration of the head mufti, the muftis, and the mufti-vekilis, as well as of the personnel of their offices, shall be assumed by the Royal Bulgarian Government, and shall be fixed in consideration of the dignity and importance of their positions.
The organization of the bash-muftilik shall be fixed by a regulation elaborated by the head mufti and duly published.
The head mufti, muftis, and mufti-vekilis and their personnel shall enjoy all the rights which the laws assure to Bulgarian officials.
ARTICLE IV
The removal of muftis and their vekils shall take place according to the law on public officials.
The head mufti, or his deputy, shall be called upon to sit in the disciplinary council whenever the latter shall have to pronounce upon the removal of a mufti or mufti-vekili. However, the opinion of the head mufti or his deputy shall serve the said council as the basis for its consideration of charges of a purely religious nature.
The order of removal of a mufti or mufti-vekili shall fix the day for the election of his successor.
ARTICLE V
The heudjets and judgments rendered by the muftis, shall be examined by the head mufti, who shall confirm them if he finds them conforming to the precepts of the Sheri, and transmit them to the proper department in order to be carried into effect.
The heudjets and judgments which are not confirmed by reason of non-conformity with the Sheri shall be returned to the muftis who rendered them, and the matters of which they treat shall be examined and settled again according to the provisions of the said law. The heudjets and judgments not found to conform to the prescriptions of the Sheri, or the examination of which by the Sheik-ul-Islamat has been requested by the interested parties, shall be sent by the head mufti to His Highness the Sheik-ul-Islamat.
The heudjets and judgments confirmed by the chief mufti, or approved by the Sheik-ul-Islamat, shall be carried into effect by the proper Bulgarian authorities. In that case, they shall be accompanied by a Bulgarian translation.
ARTICLE VI
The head mufti shall, whenever the occasion arises, make to the other muftis the necessary recommendations and communications in matters of marriage, divorce, testaments, successions and guardianships, alimony (nafaka) and other matters of the Sheri, as also in regard to the administration of the property of orphans. Moreover, he shall examine complaints and claims relative to the above-mentioned matters, and make known to the proper department what is to be done according to the Sheri law.
The muftis being also charged with the supervision and administration of the vakoufs, the head mufti shall have among his principal functions that of requiring the rendering of their accounts and of ordering the preparation of statements of accounts relating thereto.
The books relative to the accounts of the vakoufs may be kept in the Turkish language.
ARTICLE VII
The head mufti and the muftis shall inspect, if necessary, the councils of public instruction and the Moslem schools, as well as the medresses of Bulgaria, and shall adopt measures for the creation of educational institutions in localities where their need may be felt. The head mufti shall, if occasion arises, communicate with the proper department in matters concerning Moslem public instruction.
The Royal Government shall establish at its own expense primary and secondary Moslem schools in the proportion provided by the Bulgarian law on public instruction. Instruction shall take place in the Turkish language and in conformity with the official program, with obligatory instruction in the Bulgarian language.
All laws relating to obligatory instruction and to the number and rights of teachers shall continue to be applied to the teaching body in Moslem communities.
The salaries of the teaching and other personnel of these institutions shall be regulated by the Bulgarian treasury on the same conditions as for those who teach in Bulgarian schools.
A special institution shall also be created for the training of naibs.
ARTICLE VIII
In every centre or city having a numerous Moslem population a Moslem community charged with vakouf matters and secondary public instruction shall be elected. The corporate personality of these communities shall be recognized in all circumstances and by all authorities.
As the vakoufs of each district must be administered, according to the laws and provisions of the Sheri, by the respective Moslem community, it is the corporate personality of the latter which shall be considered as owner of these vakoufs.
The public Moslem cemeteries and those situated near mosques are included in the domain of vakouf properties belonging to the Moslem communities, who shall dispose of them at their convenience and in conformity with the laws of hygiene.
No vakouf property can in any case be expropriated unless its value is paid to the respective community.
The good preservation of vakouf real property situated in Bulgaria shall be safeguarded. No building devoted to religion or charity shall be torn down except in case of unavoidable necessity and in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.
In case a vakouf building shall be expropriated for imperative reasons, this can only be done after the designation of another lot of ground of the same value in respect to location, and after the payment of the value of the building.
The sums paid as the price of vakouf real property which shall be expropriated for imperative reasons shall be handed over to the Moslem communities to be entirely devoted to the maintenance of vakouf buildings,
ARTICLE IX
Within six months after the signing of the present arrangement a special commission, of which the head mufti shall by right be a member, shall be appointed by the Bulgarian Government and shall have as its object the examination and verification, within three years from the date of its constitution, of the claims formulated by the mutevellis or their agents.
Those of the parties interested who are not satisfied with the decisions of the commission may have recourse to the proper tribunals of the country.
Done in duplicate at Constantinople, the 16/29 September, 1913.
| For Bulgaria: | For Turkey: |
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
| Savoff | Talaat |
| G. D. Natchovits | Mahmoud |
| A. Tocheff | Halil |
ANNEX NO. 111. Arbitration
ARTICLE I
In case any difference or dispute should arise provided for in Article 17 of the treaty concluded this day between the Imperial Ottoman Government on the one hand and the Royal Government of Bulgaria on the other, this difference or this dispute shall be referred to the arbitration of The Hague in conformity with the provisions below.
ARTICLE II
The government which is the plaintiff shall notify the government which is the defendant of the question or questions which it intends to submit to arbitration as soon as they arise and shall give succinct but precise information in regard to them.
ARTICLE III
The arbitral tribunal to which the question or questions will be submitted shall be composed of five members who shall be designated in the following manner:
Each party as soon as possible and within a period which shall not exceed two months from the date of the notification specified in the preceding article shall name two arbiters.
The umpire shall be chosen among the sovereigns of Sweden, Norway and Holland. If there is no agreement in the choice of one of these three sovereigns it shall be decided by lot. If the defending party does not name its arbiters within the aforementioned period of two months, it shall be able to do so up to the day of the first meeting of the arbitral tribunal. After this period, the party which is the plaintiff shall indicate the sovereign who is to select the umpire. After the choice of the said umpire, the tribunal shall be validly composed of the umpire and the two arbiters chosen by the plaintiff.
ARTICLE IV
The powers in litigation shall be represented before the arbitral tribunal by agents, counsel or lawyers, in conformity with the provisions of Article 62 of the Hague Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes.
These agents, counsel or lawyers shall be designated in time by the parties, in order that the arbitration proceedings may not suffer any delay.
However, if the party which is the defendant does not appear, proceedings shall go on by default as far as it is concerned.
ARTICLE V
The arbitral tribunal, once constituted, shall meet at The Hague at a date which shall be fixed by the arbiters and within one month after the nomination of the umpire. After the arrangement, in conformity with the text and spirit of the convention of The Hague of 1907, of all questions of procedure which might arise and which have not been foreseen by the present mutual agreement, the said tribunal shall adjourn its next meeting to a date which it shall fix.
However, it is agreed that the tribunal shall not be able to open the discussions on the questions at issue earlier than two months nor later than three months after the delivery of the counter-reply provided for by Article 7.
ARTICLE VI
The arbitral procedure shall comprise two distinct phases: the written information and the discussions, which shall consist of the development of the grounds of the parties before the tribunal.
The only language which the tribunal shall use and which shall be employed before it shall be the French language.
ARTICLE VII
Within a period of ten months at the latest from the notification provided for in Article 2 the party which is the plaintiff shall deliver to each of the members of the arbitral tribunal five copies and to the defending party thirty copies of complete written or printed copies of its memorandum containing all documents in support of its demand which refer to the question or questions at issue. Within ten months at the latest after this delivery, the defending party shall deliver to each of the members of the tribunal, as well as to the party which is the plaintiff, as many complete manuscript or printed copies as indicated above of its counter-memorandum with all documents in its support.
Within one month after this delivery, the party which is the plaintiff shall notify the president of the arbitral tribunal whether it intends to present a reply. In case it so intends, it shall have four months at the most counting from this notification to communicate the said reply under the same conditions as the memorandum. The defending party shall then have five months counting from this communication to present its counter-reply under the same conditions as the countermemorandum.
The delays fixed by the present article may be prolonged by common accord by the parties or by the tribunal in case it shall judge it necessary for arriving at a just decision.
But the tribunal shall not take into consideration memoranda, countermemoranda and other communications presented to it by the parties after the expiration of the last delay fixed by it.
ARTICLE VIII
If in the memoranda or other documents exchanged one or other of the parties has referred to or made allusion to a document or paper in its exclusive possession and of which it shall not have attached a copy, it shall be obliged, if the other party demands it, to furnish it with a copy at the latest within thirty days.
ARTICLE IX
The decisions of the arbitral tribunal on the question or questions at issue shall be pronounced within a maximum delay of one month after the closure by the president of the discussions relative to that or those questions.
ARTICLE X
The judgment of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and will have to be executed strictly, without any delay.
ARTICLE XI
Each party bears its own expenses and an equal share of the expenses of the tribunal.
ARTICLE XII
In everything which is not provided for by the present arrangement, the stipulations of The Hague convention of 1907 for the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes shall be applied to the arbitrations resulting from the present arrangement, with the exception, however, of the articles which have been reserved by the contracting parties.
Done in two copies at Constantinople the 16/29 September, 1913.
| For Bulgaria: | For Turkey: |
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
| Savoff | Talaat |
| G. D. Natchovits | Mahmoud |
| A. Tocheff | Halil |
ANNEX NO. IV. Protocol No.2
As the frontier line cuts the Maritza River and the Moustafa Pacha- Adrianople-Dedeaghatch railway, which run between Ottoman and Bulgarian territories, it has been agreed between the two contracting parties that in order to keep commercial and other relations from the slightest obstacles, the regulations and usages which at present govern commercial intercourse both on the Maritza River and on the said railway line, as well as all duties, taxes and so forth proceeding from the said regulations, shall be fully maintained, and that all facilities compatible with the said regulations and usages shall be accorded. No modification can be introduced without a previous agreement between the two contracting states and the administrations of the said railway and river. Direct conveyance of merchandise shall be exempt from all duties and taxes whatsoever; however, each government shall be able to regulate the inspection of the said conveyance.
The provisions above shall be applied in the case of the railway only until the day when the two high contracting parties shall have constructed simultaneously, Bulgaria a connecting line to the Aegean Sea through its territory, and Turkey a line terminating at the said sea.
It is understood that in time of peace Bulgaria shall be free, until the construction of the anticipated line, which shall take place at the latest within ten years, to transport upon the said railway as well as upon the river recruits, troops, arms, munitions, provisions, etc.
The Ottoman state shall always have the right to take necessary measures of supervision.
However, this transportation of troops and so forth shall not commence earlier than three months after this day.
Done in two copies at Constantinople, the 16/29 September, 1913.
| For Bulgaria: | For Turkey: |
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
| Savoff | Talaat |
| G. D. Natchovits | Mahmoud |
| A. Tocheff | Halil |
ANNEX NO. V. Declaration
In regard to Article 10, the Imperial Ottoman Government declares that it has not consented, since the occupation by Bulgarian forces of the ceded territories, of cessions of right to private individuals, with a view to restricting the sovereign rights of the Bulgarian state.
Done in two copies at Constantinople, the 16/29 September, 1913.
| For Bulgaria: | For Turkey: |
| (Signed) | (Signed) |
| Savoff | Talaat |
| G. D. Natchovits | Mahmoud |
| A. Tocheff | Halil |
[1] Official text translated from La Turquie, Constantinople, September 30, 1913.
Source: Amercian Journal of International Law: Vol. 8, No. 1, Supplement: Official Documents. (Jan., 1914).
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