Galerie

Danzig-Polish Post Office Dispute 1925 | den Danzig -- polnischen Poststreit

settlement identité des parties en Iitige, mais egalement identité de la matiére).

Now although it is not quite clear why the High Commissioner, in paragraph 6 of his decision, expressed his opinion on the scope of the utilization of the Polish postal service, there can be no doubt that the said opinion is irrelevant to the point actually decided by him and therefore has no binding force.

This conclusion, which  drawn from the very nature of judicial decisions, is not affected by Danzig’s contention that the decision of the High Commissioner may be considered to be in the nature of a declaratory judgment (Feststellungsurteil). In the decision of December 23^rd, 1922, as well as in every other decision of the High Commissioner, the operative portion is clearly distinguished from the Statement of reasons; the Court is unable to see any ground for extending the binding force attaching to the declaratory judgment on the point decided to reasons which were only intended to explain the declaration contained in the operative portion of the judgment and all the more so if these reasons relate to points of law on which the High Commissioner was not asked to give a decision.

The opinion expressed by General Haking in paragraph 6 of the decision of December 23^rd, 1922, is relied upon by Danzig also as an interpretation of the true scope and meaning of the previous decision of May 25^th, 1922. In the observations last submitted by Danzig and signed by Professor Verzijl, stress is laid on the fact that General Haking’s decisions are logically connected one with the other and are clearly based upon a restrictive conception of the Polish postal service.

This may be so. If General Haking had felt himself constrained to give a decision upon the points now at issue he very probably would have settled them in conformity with Danzig's contention. This, however, does not import that these points can be considered as having been decided.

*  *  *

On January 4^th, 1923, the President of the Senate of the Free City made an application to the High Commissioner for a decision upon Poland’s claim that her postal service extended over the whole of the town of Danzig, a claim which the Senate regarded as unjustified. The High Commissioner, on January 6th, transmitted a copy of the application to the Commissioner-General of

Danzig-Polish Post Office Dispute, Seite 26.