Depositary
STATUS AS AT : 19-05-2025 11:16:47 EDT
CHAPTER VIII
OBSCENE PUBLICATIONS
6. Agreement for the Repression of Obscene Publications
Paris, 4 May 1910
Entry into force
:
15 September 1911.
Registration :
5 July 1920, No. 22 1
Note :

The following list was provided by the Government of France at the time of the transfer to the Secretary-General of the depositary functions in respect of the Agreement
(1) States which ratified the Agreement

Austria-Hungary

Belgium

Brazil

Denmark

France

Germany

Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Italy

Netherlands

Portugal

Russia

Spain

Switzerland

United States of America

(2) States which acceded to the Agreement

Albania

Bulgaria

China2,3

Czechoslovakia4

Egypt

Estonia

Finland

Ireland

Latvia

Luxembourg

Monaco

Norway

Poland

Romania

San Marino

Siam

(3) The Agreement was declared applicable to the following colonies, dominions and protectorates

Australia

Bahamas

Barbados

Basutoland

Bechuanaland

Belgian Congo

and Ruanda-Urundi

Bermuda

British East Africa

British Guiana

British Honduras

Canada

Ceylon

Cyprus

Falkland Islands (Malvinas)

Fiji

Gambia

German Colonies

Gibraltar

Gilbert and Ellice Islands

Gold Coast

Hong Kong2

Iceland and Danish West Indies

India

Iraq

Jamaica

Kenya

Leeward Islands

(Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis)

Malay States

Malta

Mauritius

Netherlands East Indies, Surinam and Curaçao

Newfoundland

New Zealand

Northern Nigeria

Northern Rhodesia

Nyasaland

Palestine

St. Helena

Samoa

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Solomon Islands

Somaliland

Southern Nigeria

Southern Rhodesia

South West Africa

Straits Settlements

Swaziland

Tanganyika

Transjordan

Trinidad and Tobago

Turks and Caicos Islands

Uganda

Union of South Africa

Virgin Islands

Wei-hai-wei

Western Pacific Islands

Windward Islands (Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent)

Zanzibar

(4) States which by their accession to or their ratification of the Convention of 12 September 1923 for the Suppression of the Circulation of, and Traffic in, Obscene Publications, ipso facto accepted the Agreement of 4 May 1910 by virtue of article10 of the Convention of 12 September 1923

Afghanistan

Colombia

Cuba

Salvador

Greece

Guatemala

Iran

Japan

Mexico

Paraguay

Turkey

Yugoslavia (former)5

Actions subsequent to the assumption of depositary functions by the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Participant 2, 6
Acceptance(A)
 Accession(a), Succession(d)
Czech Republic 4
  30 Dec 1993 d
Fiji
    1 Nov 1971 d
Kazakhstan
  3 Sep 2024 A
  
Liberia
 16 Sep 2005 A
  
Slovakia 4
  28 May 1993 d
Zimbabwe
    1 Dec 1998 d
End Note
1British and Foreign State Papers , volume 103, p. 251. This Agreement is listed under No. 22a in the League of Nations  Treaty Series and in the United Nations  Treaty Series (Annex C).
2The Secretary-General, received on 6 and 10 June 1997, communications regarding the status of Hong Kong from China and the United Kingdom of Great Brtiain and Northern Ireland (see also note 2 under “China” and note 2 under “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume).  Upon resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, China notified the Secretary-General that the Agreement will also apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
3See note concerning signatures, ratifications, accessions, etc., on behalf of China  (note 1 under “China” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume).
4See note 1 under “Czech Republic” and note 1 under “Slovakia” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
5See note 1 under “Bosnia and Herzegovina", "Croatia", "former Yugoslavia", "Slovenia", "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" and "Yugoslavia"  in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.
6In a communication received by the Secretary-General on 4 October 1974, the Government of the German Democratic Republic stated that the German Democratic Republic had declared the reapplication of the Convention as of 18 December 1958.
In this connection, the Secretary-General received on 2 March 1976 the following communication from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany:
With reference to the communication by the German Democratic Republic of 30 September 1974, concerning the application, as from 18 December 1958, of the Agreement of 4 May 1910 for the Suppression of the Circulation of Obscene Publications, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany declares that in the relation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic the declaration of application has no retroactive effect beyond 21 June 1973.
Subsequently, in a communication received on 17 June 1976, the Government of the German Democratic Republic declared:
"The Government of the German Democratic Republic takes the view that in accordance with the applicable rules of international law and the international practice of States the regulations on the reapplication of agreements concluded under international law are an internal affair of the successor State concerned. Accordingly, the German Democratic Republic was entitled to determine the date of reapplication of the Agreement for the Suppression of the Circulation of Obscene Publications, May 4th, 1910 to which it established its status as a party by way of succession."
See also note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.
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