CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

DALIBOR JÍLEK CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ free passport regime. However, the idea of a total abolition of passport or visa restrictions or a complete return to the pre-war conditions proved to be a utopian ideal. Instead of restoring the pre-war liberal conditions, governments gave preference to the gradual unification of national rules, principally in the standardization of different types of non-diplomatic passports. Together, the states drafted the introduction of a uniform type of ordinary (non- diplomatic) passports that would be recognized for individual travel and would meet the needs of each country. These passports should supersede all other types of travel documents. Moreover, the new passports were intended to facilitate the control of non-nationals’ travel. 68 The passports of this type were to be introduced by 1 July 1921 at the latest. The resolution established two more categories of collective passports too. Family passports were supposed to be issued for wife, husband and children under the age of 15 years, whereas collective passports were designed for emigrants. 69 The valid length of an ordinary passport was set for two years with the possibility of its extension. The resolution presumed the issuance of an international type of passport for a one-off trip to a designated state without it being considered a provisional document also. Fees for issuing the passport could not be of a tax character. Moreover, it was forbidden to impose discriminatory charges between countries for which the passport was issued. Additionally, the resolution from 21 October 1921 placed emphasis on the absolute equality between nationals and non-nationals. No distinction was to be made based on nationality when the government issued a certificate to persons other than its own nationals. The outside and inside form of the international type of passport was unified in accordance with Annex I to the resolution. The passport had 32 pages. The resolution introduced an exact pattern for the first four pages, whereas the rest of the pages were numbered and kept for issuing visas. The passport had to be produced in at least two languages, French and the issuing state’s national language. The document was made with cardboard binding. On the contrary, the outside and inside form of a diplomatic passport, whose holders were listed hierarchically in Annex II, was left entirely to the discretion of the issuing state. Czechoslovakia acceded to the Paris Resolution on 10 July 1921. The provisions of section 2 of Government Regulation no. 215/1921 Coll. complied with the recommendation and modified the outside and inside form of the travel document. The passport had to contain the following data: name and surname, nationality, occupation, place and date of birth, residency, the holder’s description and signature, which country it is valid for, and the time period of its validity. The passport had to feature an accurate photo of the holder. The time period of the document’s validity was set to two years as recommended. The passport, whose holder was a non-national, had to fulfil the requirements set by section 3 of the regulation. 70 In order to cross the border, a visa from the Czechoslovak foreign representation was required in addition to a valid and proper passport. An exception for sections 1, 2, and 3 could be set by the Minister of Interior, in agreement with the

68 Ibidem , Annex I, p. 4. 69 Ibidem , p. 2.

70 See section 3, the first sentence of Regulation no. 215/1921 Coll., 9 July 1921 issuing transitional police-law provisions on passports: “Non-national may cross the frontier of the Czechoslovak Republic only on the basis of a passport complying with the requirements of section 2 and provided for travel to the country by visas of the relevant foreign office of the Czechoslovak Republic.”

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