6. The Commission

(a) The Commission will consist of three Officers, of general or equivalent rank, or their deputies, appointed by and representing the respective Military Governors.

(b) In principle, it will meet once a month, or as necessary, for the ordinary sessions, under the chairmanship of one of the members in rotation, to examine the work undertaken by the Board; to prepare and present its recommendations to the Military Governors; to decide on any special missions of inspection to be carried out in the zones; to take all necessary measures to facilitate the functioning of the Board and all its implementing services.

(c) Each member of the Commission may be assisted at the meetings by his Deputy, a Chief, Secretary, or any other experts that he may deem necessary, either from the Board or from outside the Board. (d) The Commission will hold extraordinary meetings at the request of one of its members.

(e) The majority rule will govern the decisions of the Commission, provided that the minority member may refer the question to the Military Governors, this to have a suspensory effect until the decision has been rendered.

7. Committees of Deputies

The Deputies to the Commission will form a permanent Committee at the headquarters of the Board in order to direct its business. In particular, they will co-ordinate the work of the Divisions and provide a chairman (of the nationality of the chairman of the Commission for the month) at joint meetings of two or more Divisions.

8. Secretariat

(a) The Secretariat will be composed of three Chief Secretaries, one for each national element.

The Duty Secretaryship will be rotated among the Chief Secretaries so that the nationality of the Duty Secretary will correspond to that of the chairman of the Commission. A permanent integrated staff of secretaries, clerks, interpreters and other personnel will be provided as necessary, each power contributing a reasonably proportionate share of the personnel required.

(b) The Secretariat will be in charge of the administrative functioning of the Board, and will be responsible for ensuring liaison between the elements of the Board and outside agencies, for administrative arrangements for all meetings; for the performance of secretarial functions at all meetings of any element of the Board; for the drawing up of minutes and reports; for the handling of correspondence; for arranging for and notifying the proper authorities of scheduled inspections; for distributing documents and keeping of archives.

(c) The Secretariat will have a tripartite integrated information section which will be responsible for the centralization and keeping up-to-date of the information collected by the Board.

9. Divisions

(a) There will be three Divisions:

Military, Industrial and Scientific Research.

Within each Division, each power (U. S., U. K. and French) will establish and maintain its national element. These Divisions will operate on a coordinated basis as indicated in the organizational chart attached. While the internal organization of the national elements need not be identical, they should in general parallel each other in their functions and capabilities.

(b) Any specialist sections or working parties deemed necessary for the study of particular problems may be established within the Divisions. Such sections or parties may be integrated, all three Powers supplying members without obligation to maintain equality either in qualifications or numbers.

(c) Within the scope of the Terms of Reference, each Division, or any national element thereof, will be responsible, each in its own sphere or as specified by the Commission for the preparation of any necessary regulating measures and recommendations for the implementation and control thereof, which are to be submitted to the Commission. Recommendations of national elements shall be tripartitely considered and resolved, insofar as is possible, within the Divisions before being presented to the Commission.

(d) Divisional meetings will take place at the headquarters of the Board. Chairmanship will be rotated among the chiefs of the national elements thereof, so that the nationality of the Division chairmen will correspond to that of the Chairman of the Commission. The Chiefs of the national elements may be assisted by any members of their elements whom they deem necessary, or by experts temporarily attached for duty to that element or from outside.

(e) Resolution of matters of joint interest to two or more Divisions shall normally be accomplished through the medium of informal lateral coordination; however, joint divisional meetings may be arranged by the Committee of Deputies upon the request of any national element.

(f) During the period when existing organizations responsible for the control of industry and of scientific research are maintained in their present form, certain functions of the Board may, with the agreement of each Military Governor, be performed by personnel regularly assigned to full-time duty with the Board, or temporarily attached for such duty. As these organizations of each representative Military Government, whose work is associated with that of the Board, phase out, the proper divisions of the Board will be expanded to assume the necessary controls to prevent the resurgence of German military, industrial, or scientific war potential.

10. Inspection Groups

(a) The Divisions will organize, instruct and dispatch inspectors and/or integrated tripartite inspection groups formed from personnel assigned or attached to the Board as often as necessary in order to verify in the three Zones the conditions of execution of the measures ordered by the Military Governors. The Commission may order any special inspections it deems necessary.

(b) Administrative arrangements for these inspections will be made by the Secretariat.

(c) Inspection groups shall have free access at any time to inspect without prior notice for the purposes set forth in paragraph 2 hereof, any place, installation or activity, except that the local Military Government shall be given reasonable advance notice of such intended

visits.

11. The creation of the Board implies that disarmament and demilitarization are matters of tripartite responsibility. Until the system of control at Land levels is changed, and as long as unilateral control continues in the Land, the Regional Commissioner (or his equivalent) in each Land will act as the agent of the Military Governors for disarmament and demilitarization. For this purpose he will report to the Military Governors through the Board and will receive his instructions through the same channel. He will provide such information as may be requested and will be responsible for the continuous observation of the execution of prescribed security measures. He will give full facilities for visits by the inspection groups referred to in paragraph 10 above. If he is succeeded by a Tripartite Control Commission, his function will be transferred to that commission. When and if Military Government is no longer adequately represented at Land level, the Board will establish such tripartite agencies as it deems necessary to ensure control in the Lands.

12. Nomination of Members of the Board

The members of the Board and experts will be appointed by the respective Military Governors, and accredited to the Board by the corresponding member of the Commission.

13. Rules of Procedure

The Committee of Deputies will establish routine and procedure for the Board.

98. AGREEMENTS ON GERMANY BY THE UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND FRANCE, APRIL 8, 1949 1

(a) Communiqué

1

The Foreign Ministers of the United States, United Kingdom, and France have discussed in Washington the whole range of issues now pending in connection with Germany and have arrived at complete agreement.

The text of an occupation statute in a new and simpler form has been approved and is being transmitted to the German Parliamentary Council at Bonn. Agreement was reached on the basic principles to govern the exercise of Allied powers and responsibilities and also the tripartite Allied control machinery. The Foreign Ministers confirmed and approved agreements on the subject of plant dismantling, prohibited and restricted industries, and the establishment of an International Ruhr Authority, all of which were recently negotiated in London.

The occupation statute will define the powers to be retained by the occupation authorities upon the establishment of the German Federal Republic and set forth basic procedures for the operation of Allied supervision. Subject only to the limitations of the statute, the German Federal State and the participating Laender will have full legislative, executive, and judicial powers, in accordance with the basic law and with their respective constitutions. The statute aims to permit the German people to exercise democratic self-government. Provision is made for a review of the terms of the statute after a year in force.

1 Department of State Bulletin, April 17, 1949, pp. 499-501.

With the establishment of the German Federal Republic, there will be a marked change in the organization to carry out occupation responsibilities. Military Government as such will be terminated, and the functions of the Allied authorities will become mainly supervisory. Each of the Allied establishments in Germany will come under the direction of a High Commissioner, aside from the occupation forces which will remain headed by military commanders. The three High Commissioners together will constitute an Allied High Commission, which will be the supreme Allied agency of control. In order to permit the German Federal Republic to exercise increased responsibility for domestic affairs and to reduce the burden of occupation costs, staff personnel shall be kept to a minimum.

The German Government authorities will be at liberty to take administrative and legislative action, and such action will have validity if not disapproved by Allied authorities. There will be certain limited fields in which the Allies will reserve the right to take direct action themselves or to direct German authorities to take action. However, these fields will be limited, and aside from security matters, the exercise of direct powers by the Allies is regarded in many instances as self-liquidating in nature.

It was agreed that a major objective of the three Allied Governments was to encourage and facilitate the closest integration, on a mutually beneficial basis, of the German people, under a democratic federal state within the framework of a European association. In this connection it is understood that the German Federal Republic will negotiate a separate bilateral ECA agreement with the United States and should participate as a full member in the Organization for European Economic Cooperation, thus becoming a responsible partner in the European Recovery Program.

(b) Proclamation of Occupation Statute

In the exercise of the supreme authority which is retained by the Governments of France, the United States and the United Kingdom, We, GENERAL PIERRE KOENIG, Military Governor and Commanderin-Chief of the French Zone of Germany,

General LUCIUS D. CLAY, Military Governor and Commander-inChief of the United States Zone of Germany, and

General SIR BRIAN HUBERT ROBERTSON, Military Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the British Zone of Germany,

Do HEREBY JOINTLY PROCLAIM THE FOLLOWING

STATUTE:

OCCUPATION

1. During the period in which it is necessary that the occupation continue, the Governments of France, the United States and the United Kingdom desire and intend that the German people shall enjoy self-government to the maximum possible degree consistent with such occupation. The Federal State and the participating Laender shall have, subject only to the limitations in this Instrument, full legislative, executive and judicial powers in accordance with the Basic Law and with their respective constitutions.

2. In order to ensure the accomplishment of the basic purposes of the occupation, powers in the following fields are specifically reserved, including the right to request and verify information and statistics needed by the occupation authorities:

(a) disarmament and demilitarization, including related fields of scientific research, prohibitions and restrictions on industry and civil aviation;

(b) controls in regard to the Ruhr, restitution, reparations, decartelization, deconcentration, nondiscrimination in trade matters, foreign interests in Germany and claims against Ger

many;

(c) foreign affairs, including international agreements made by or on behalf of Germany;

(d) displaced persons and the admission of refugees;

(e) protection, prestige, and security of Allied forces, dependents, employees, and representatives, their immunities and satisfaction of occupation costs and their other requirements;

(f) respect for the Basic Law and the Land constitutions;
(g) control over foreign trade and exchange;

(h) control over internal action, only to the minimum extent necessary to ensure use of funds, food and other supplies in such manner as to reduce to a minimum the need for external assistance to Germany;

(i) control of the care and treatment in German prisons of persons charged before or sentenced by the courts or tribunals of the occupying powers or occupation authorities; over the carrying out of sentences imposed on them; and over questions of amnesty, pardon or release in relation to them.

3. It is the hope and expectation of the Governments of France, the United States and the United Kingdom that the occupation authorities will not have occasion to take action in fields other than those specifically reserved above. The occupation authorities, however, reserve the right, acting under instructions of their Governments, to resume, in whole or in part, the exercise of full authority if they consider that to do so is essential to security or to preserve democratic government in Germany or in pursuance of the international obligations of their governments. Before so doing, they will formally advise the appropriate German authorities of their decision and of the reasons therefor.

4. The German Federal Government and the governments of the Laender shall have the power, after due notification to the occupation authorities, to legislate and act in the fields reserved to these authorities, except as the occupation authorities otherwise specifically direct, or as such legislation or action would be inconsistent with decisions. or actions taken by the occupation authorities themselves.

5. Any amendment of the Basic Law will require the express approval of the occupation authorities before becoming effective. Land constitutions, amendments thereof, all other legislation, and any agreements made between the Federal State and foreign governments, will become effective twenty-one days after official receipt by the occupation authorities unless previously disapproved by them, provisionally or finally. The occupation authorities will not disapprove legislation unless in their opinion it is inconsistent with the Basic Law, a Land Constitution, legislation or other directives of the occupation authorities themselves or the provisions of this Instrument, or unless it constitutes a grave threat to the basic purposes of the occupation.