Roustan to By the President of the Republic: The, June 4, 1883

No. 156. Mr. Roustan to Mr. Frelinghuysen.

Mr. Secretary of State: I had the honor, in my note of the 20th of November last, to refer to the desire felt by the Government of the Republic that the Washington Cabinet should facilitate the working of the French courts in Tunis by renouncing the benefit of consular jurisdiction in the regency in behalf of American citizens.

Since that time, a court of first instance and one for the maintenance of peace, established by the French Government, have been sitting in the states of the Bey. I have the honor herewith to transmit to you, by order of my Government, the text of the law organizing French courts in Tunis, that of the decree of the Bey authorizing the exercise thereof, and that of two sets of regulations, one of which has reference to the appointment of associate judges in criminal cases, and the other to the establishment of the districts of justices of the peace. It will be sufficient, Mr. Secretary of State, for you to read these documents in order to be able to form a correct idea of the judicial organization recently established in the regency, and to convince yourself that it secures to American citizens all the judicial guarantees that they can claim in civilized countries. The minister of foreign affairs therefore hopes that the Government of the United States will have no objection to settling with the French Government a question that now seems to be merely one of pure form, inasmuch as the consular jurisdiction of the United States was abolished at the same time as the United States consulate-general in the regency; the majority of the European powers have, moreover, raised no obstacles to the settlement of this question.

Accept, &c.,

decree of the bey of tunis, dated may 5, 1883.

By our decree of the 10th Djoumadi El Tarn, 1300, we have promulgated in the regency the French law of March 27, 1683, establishing French courts in Tunis. We have heard that several friendly powers, whose consuls, in virtue of capitulations and treaties concluded with our predecessors, have been invested with certain judicial powers, are willing to renounce this privilege, if their countrymen become amenable to the French courts recently established.

Article 2 of the law of March 27, 1883, allows us to extend the competence of these courts with the consent of the French Government.

Having secured that consent, we hereby issue the following decree:

sole article.

Subjects or citizens of friendly powers, whose consular courts shall be abolished,, shall be amenable to the French courts in the same manner as French citizens.