Annuaire de législation haïtienne: the laws, decrees and arrêtés of 1905
- The volume carries the customs law, the consolidation of the public debt and the code of criminal instruction.
- The editor argues that Syrian traders hold the same civil rights as any other foreign resident under the Constitution.
- The Syrian colony petitioned the Turkish ambassador in Washington over the law of 13 August 1903.
- That law regulated access to retail and import commerce, making the dispute a trade-policy matter.
The second year of the Annuaire, covering the laws, decrees and arrêtés of general interest voted in 1905.
The editor's review returns at length to the status of Syrian traders, arguing that beyond the special law of 13 August 1903 regulating that category of foreigner, a Syrian stands on the same footing as any other foreign resident: the Constitution grants civil rights to foreigners without distinction, subject to statutory restrictions, so Turkish subjects are covered by the same legal category as British, German, American and French nationals. The passage records a live diplomatic dispute, the Syrian colony in Haiti having petitioned the Turkish ambassador in Washington over the application of the 1903 law, and the Department of External Relations arguing that Turkey, unrepresented in Haiti, could ask a friendly power to extend its good offices.
The volume carries the customs law, the consolidation of the public debt, the code of criminal instruction, and the budget and contract material of the year. The Syrian-trader question is not incidental to the economy: the 1903 law regulated entry into retail and import commerce, and the dispute over it is a documented instance of trade policy conducted through the status of a merchant community.
How to cite
Annuaire de législation haïtienne (E. Mathon, éditeur), Annuaire de législation haïtienne: the laws, decrees and arrêtés of 1905, https://archive.org/details/annuairedelegisl14math
- Rights holder
- Government of Haiti