CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ CZECHOSLOVAKIA: CERTIFICATES AND PASSPORTS OF REFUGEES participating ministers. Exceptions to section 3 had to be published in the Official Letter ( Úřední list ) of the Czechoslovak Republic. The international type of ordinary passports, recommended by the Paris resolution, was formally recognized by the Agreement concerning Passports and Visas, negotiated in 1922. 71 The agreement was concluded between the successor states of Austria-Hungary. This happened despite the Supreme Court making it clear in its decision from 30 September 1924, that “(…) the Czechoslovak state, established on 28 October 1918, is not the legal successor of the former Austrian state. As the history of the coup d’état proves, the Czechoslovak state was established neither by former Austria, nor by any international instrument of the Allied and Associated Powers, but by itself (...)”. 72 The Graz agreement was a formal legal result of both international conferences convened in present-day Slovenia’s Porto Rose and in Graz. In section A, part 2 of the agreement (On Issuing Passports), the time period of the validity of ordinary passports was again fixed at a maximum of two years and a minimum of one year. However, the Czechoslovak organs commonly began to issue passports for a period of one year. 73 A year later, the Ministry of Interior, in agreement with the Ministry of Finance, amended circular no. 46053-3 of 23 July 1921. 74 Since the summer of 1923, the competent organs issued passports with a two- year validity to all applicants unless public interest required a shorter period of time. In cases where a party to the regional agreement issued a passport to persons other than its own nationals, absolute equality was applied between nationals and non-nationals. However, section D part 6 of the agreement, which regulated entrance visas, declared that if the country of destination was not stated in the passport, an entrance visa into that country could not be issued. The only exception was the legitimate exercise of the right to asylum . The Graz agreement regulated granting of preliminary visas in cases where the validity of the passport was uncertain. The agreement abolished exit visas for nationals of the contracting parties. 75 On the other hand, the agreement carefully governed entrance visas, which were granted once for one trip only or for the time period of the passport’s validity. One-year visas were valid for an unlimited number of travels (border crossings). Entrance visas applied to all state borders of the contracting parties, unless exceptional health or national security issues on the part of the state occurred. The agreement also set up the regime of transit visas, the validity of which coincided with the validity of the entrance visa. Granting entrance or transit visas to Russian or Ukrainian refugees remained outside the scope of the agreement. All national legislation on granting visas to these refugees remained unaffected. 76 Transit visas through Czechoslovakia were only granted by its representative authorities with the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the prior consent of 71 No. 158/1922 Coll. The presidential agreement entered into force on 27 March 1922 between Czechoslovakia, Italy, Hungary and Austria. 72 Rv. I. 839/24 (V. C. sv. VI, č. 4186). 73 Graz passport agreement, implementing degree (Štýrsko-hradecká pasová dohoda; prováděcí výnos). Circular of the Ministry of Interior no. 45939-5, 14 June 1922. Official gazette of the Ministry of Interior of the Czechoslovak Republic , Praha, Rolnické tiskárny, 1922, ročník IV, p. 172. 74 Issuing passports for two years (Vystavování cestovních pasů na dobu dvou let). Circular of the Ministry of Interior no. 86.811-5, 27 August 1923. Official gazette of the Ministry of Interior of the Czechoslovak Republic , Praha, Rolnické tiskárny, 1923, ročník V, p. 377. 75 See point 5 of the Agreement. 76 O fficial gazette of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , 1927, no. 5, p. 41.

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