# MANDATE FOR PALESTINE

The Council of the League of Nations:

Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the purpose of giving 
effect to the provisions of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of 
Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the 
administration of the territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the 
Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixed by them; and

Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should 
be responsible for putting into effect the declaration originally made on 
November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, and adopted by 
the said Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home 
for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing should be done 
which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish 
communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in 
any other country; and

Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the 
Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their 
national home in that country; and

Whereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Britannic Majesty as the 
Mandatory for Palestine; and

Whereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been formulated in the 
following terms and submitted to the Council of the League for approval; and

Whereas His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in respect of Palestine 
and undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of Nations in conformity 
with the following provisions; and

Whereas by the aforementioned Article 22 (paragraph 8), it is provided that the 
degree of authority, control or administration to be exercised by the 
Mandatory, not having been previously agreed upon by the Members of the League, 
shall be explicitly defined by the Council of the League of Nations;

Confirming the said mandate, defines its terms as follows:

## ARTICLE 1.

The Mandatory shall have full powers of legislation and of administration, save 
as they may be limited by the terms of this mandate.

## ARTICLE 2.

The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such 
political, administrative and economic conditions as will secure the 
establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and 
the development of self-governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the 
civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of 
race and religion.

## ARTICLE 3.

The Mandatory shall, so far as circumstances permit, encourage local autonomy.

## ARTICLE 4.

An appropriate Jewish agency shall be recognised as a public body for the 
purpose of advising and co-operating with the Administration of Palestine in 
such economic, social and other matters as may affect the establishment of the 
Jewish national home and the interests of the Jewish population in Palestine, 
and, subject always to the control of the Administration, to assist and take 
part in the development of the country.

The Zionist organisation, so long as its organisation and constitution are in 
the opinion of the Mandatory appropriate, shall be recognised as such agency.  
It shall take steps in consultation with His Britannic Majesty’s Government to 
secure the co-operation of all Jews who are willing to assist in the 
establishment of the Jewish national home.

## ARTICLE 5.
The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Palestine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of, the Government of any foreign Power.

## ARTICLE 6.
The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.

## ARTICLE 7.

The Administration of Palestine shall be responsible for enacting a nationality 
law. There shall be included in this law provisions framed so as to facilitate 
the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent 
residence in Palestine.

## ARTICLE 8.

The privileges and immunities of foreigners, including the benefits of consular 
jurisdiction and protection as formerly enjoyed by capitulation or usage in the 
Ottoman Empire, shall not be applicable in Palestine.

Unless the Powers whose nationals enjoyed the above-mentioned privileges and 
immunities on August 1st, 1914, shall have previously renounced the right to 
their re-establishment, or shall have agreed to their non-application for a 
specified period, these privileges and immunities shall, at the expiration of 
the mandate, be immediately re-established in their entirety or with such 
modifications as may have been agreed upon between the Powers concerned.

## ARTICLE 9.

The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that the judicial system 
established in Palestine shall assure to foreigners, as well as to natives, a 
complete guarantee of their rights.

Respect for the personal status of the various peoples and communities and for 
their religious interests shall be fully guaranteed. In particular, the control 
and administration of Wakfs shall be exercised in accordance with religious law 
and the dispositions of the founders.

## ARTICLE 10.

Pending the making of special extradition agreements relating to Palestine, the 
extradition treaties in force between the Mandatory and other foreign Powers 
shall apply to Palestine.

## ARTICLE 11.

The Administration of Palestine shall take all necessary measures to safeguard 
the interests of the community in connection with the development of the 
country, and, subject to any international obligations accepted by the 
Mandatory, shall have full power to provide for public ownership or control of 
any of the natural resources of the country or of the public works, services 
and utilities established or to be established therein. It shall introduce a 
land system appropriate to the needs of the country, having regard, among other 
things, to the desirability of promoting the close settlement and intensive 
cultivation of the land.

The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency mentioned in Article 4 to 
construct or operate, upon fair and equitable terms, any public works, services 
and utilities, and to develop any of the natural resources of the country, in 
so far as these matters are not directly undertaken by the Administration. Any 
such arrangements shall provide that no profits distributed by such agency, 
directly or indirectly, shall exceed a reasonable rate of interest on the 
capital, and any further profits shall either be reinvested in the undertakings 
or be utilised for the benefit of the country in a manner approved by the 
Administration.

## ARTICLE 12.

The Mandatory shall be entrusted with the control of the foreign relations of 
Palestine and the right to issue exequaturs to consuls appointed by foreign 
Powers. He shall also be entitled to afford diplomatic and consular protection 
to citizens of Palestine when outside its territorial limits.

## ARTICLE 13.

All responsibility in connection with the Holy Places and religious buildings 
or sites in Palestine, including that of preserving existing rights and of 
securing free access to the Holy Places, religious buildings and sites and the 
free exercise of worship, while ensuring the requirements of public order and 
decorum, is assumed by the Mandatory, who shall be responsible solely to the 
League of Nations in all matters connected herewith, provided that nothing in 
this article shall prevent the Mandatory from entering into such arrangements 
as he may deem reasonable with the Administration for the purpose of carrying 
the provisions of this article into effect; and provided also that nothing in 
this mandate shall be construed as conferring upon the Mandatory authority to 
interfere with the fabric or the management of purely Moslem sacred shrines, 
the immunities of which are guaranteed.

## ARTICLE 14.

A Commission shall be appointed by the Mandatory to study, define and determine 
the rights and claims in connection with the Holy Places and the rights and 
claims relating to the different religious communities in Palestine. The method 
of nomination, the composition and the functions of this Commission shall be 
submitted to the Council of the League for its approval, and the Commission 
shall not be appointed or enter upon its functions without the approval of the 
Council.

## ARTICLE 15.

The Mandatory shall see that complete freedom of conscience and the free 
exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the maintenance of public 
order and morals, are ensured to all. No discrimination of any kind shall be 
made between the inhabitants of Palestine on the ground of race, religion or 
language. No person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his 
religious belief.

The right of each community to maintain its own schools for the education of 
its own members in its own language, while conforming to such educational 
requirements of a general nature as the Administration may impose, shall not be 
denied or impaired.

## ARTICLE 16.

The Mandatory shall be responsible for exercising such supervision over 
religious or eleemosynary bodies of all faiths in Palestine as may be required 
for the maintenance of public order and good government. Subject to such 
supervision, no measures shall be taken in Palestine to obstruct or interfere 
with the enterprise of such bodies or to discriminate against any 
representative or member of them on the ground of his religion or nationality.

## ARTICLE 17.

The Administration of Palestine may organise on a voluntary basis the forces 
necessary for the preservation of peace and order, and also for the defence of 
the country, subject, however, to the supervision of the Mandatory, but shall 
not use them for purposes other than those above specified save with the 
consent of the Mandatory. Except for such purposes, no military, naval or air 
forces shall be raised or maintained by the Administration of Palestine.

Nothing in this article shall preclude the Administration of Palestine from 
contributing to the cost of the maintenance of the forces of the Mandatory in 
Palestine.

The Mandatory shall be entitled at all times to use the roads, railways and 
ports of Palestine for the movement of its forces and the carriage of its fuel 
and supplies.

## ARTICLE 18.

The Mandatory shall see that there is no discrimination in Palestine against 
the nationals of any State Member of the League of Nations (including companies 
incorporated under its laws) as compared with those of the Mandatory or of any 
foreign State in matters concerning taxation, commerce or navigation, the 
exercise of industries or professions, or in the treatment of merchant vessels 
or civil aircraft. Similarly, there shall be no discrimination in Palestine 
against goods originating in or destined for any of the said States, and there 
shall be freedom of transit under equitable conditions across the mandated 
area.

Subject as aforesaid and to the other provisions of this mandate, the 
Administration of Palestine may, on the advice of the Mandatory, impose such 
taxes and customs duties as it may consider necessary, and take such steps as 
it may think best to promote the development of the natural resources of the 
country and to safeguard the interests of the population. It may also, on the 
advice of the Mandatory, conclude a special customs agreement with any State 
the territory of which in 1914 was wholly included in Asiatic Turkey or Arabia.

## ARTICLE 19.

The Mandatory shall adhere on behalf of the Administration of Palestine to any 
general international conventions already existing, or which may be concluded 
hereafter with the approval of the League of Nations, respecting the slave 
traffic, the traffic in arms and ammunition, or the traffic in drugs, or 
relating to commercial equality, freedom of transit and navigation, aerial 
navigation and postal, telegraphic and wireless communications or literary, 
artistic or industrial property.

## ARTICLE 20.

The Mandatory shall co-operate on behalf of the Administration of Palestine, so 
far as religious, social and other conditions may permit, in the execution of 
any common policy adopted by the League of Nations for preventing and combating 
disease, including diseases of plants and animals.

## ARTICLE 21.

The Mandatory shall secure the enactment within twelve months from this date, 
and shall ensure the execution of a Law of Antiquities based on the principles 
contained in Article 421 of the Treaty of Sèvres. This law shall replace the 
former Ottoman Law of Antiquities, and shall ensure equality of treatment in 
regard to excavations and archaeological research to the nationals of all 
States Members of the League of Nations.

## ARTICLE 22.

English, Arabic and Hebrew shall be the official languages of Palestine. Any 
statement or inscription in Arabic on stamps or money in Palestine shall be 
repeated in Hebrew and any statement or inscription in Hebrew shall be repeated 
in Arabic.

## ARTICLE 23.

The Administration of Palestine shall recognise the holy days of the respective 
communities in Palestine as legal days of rest for the members of such 
communities.

## ARTICLE 24.

The Mandatory shall make to the Council of the League of Nations an annual 
report to the satisfaction of the Council as to the measures taken during the 
year to carry out the provisions of the mandate. Copies of all laws and 
regulations promulgated or issued during the year shall be communicated with 
the report.

## ARTICLE 25.

In the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern boundary of 
Palestine as ultimately determined, the Mandatory shall be entitled, with the 
consent of the Council of the League of Nations, to postpone or withhold 
application of such provisions of this mandate as he may consider inapplicable 
to the existing local conditions, and to make such provision for the 
administration of the territories as he may consider suitable to those 
conditions, provided that no action shall be taken which is inconsistent with 
the provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18.

## ARTICLE 26.

The Mandatory agrees that, if any dispute whatever should arise between the 
Mandatory and another Member of the League of Nations relating to the 
interpretation or the application of the provisions of the mandate, such 
dispute, if it cannot be settled by negotiation, shall be submitted to the 
Permanent Court of International Justice provided for by Article 14 of the 
Covenant of the League of Nations.

## ARTICLE 27.

The consent of the Council of the League of Nations is required for any 
modification of the terms of this mandate.

## ARTICLE 28.

In the event of the termination of the mandate hereby conferred upon the 
Mandatory, the Council of the League of Nations shall make such arrangements as 
may be deemed necessary for safeguarding in perpetuity, under guarantee of the 
League, the rights secured by Articles 13 and 14, and shall use its influence 
for securing, under the guarantee of the League, that the Government of 
Palestine will fully honour the financial obligations legitimately incurred by 
the Administration of Palestine during the period of the mandate, including the 
rights of public servants to pensions or gratuities.

The present instrument shall be deposited in original in the archives of the 
League of Nations and certified copies shall be forwarded by the 
Secretary-General of the League of Nations to all Members of the League.

Done at London the twenty-fourth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and 
twenty-two.

## Note on Transjordan (Memorandum by the British Government, approved September 16, 1922):

The British Government submitted a memorandum to the Council of the League of 
Nations on September 16, 1922, relating to the application of Article 25 of the 
Mandate, which was approved. The memorandum clarified that certain provisions 
of the Mandate, particularly those related to the establishment of the Jewish 
national home, would not apply to the territory known as Transjordan (east of 
the Jordan River). The key points are as follows:

- **Articles Not Applicable in Transjordan**: Articles 4, 6, 7 (the sentence 
  regarding Palestinian citizenship for Jews), 11 (second sentence of the first 
  paragraph and the second paragraph), 13, 14, 22, and 23 were declared 
  inapplicable to Transjordan.
- **Administration**: In Transjordan, actions that would be taken by the 
  Administration of Palestine would be undertaken by the Administration of 
  Transjordan under the general supervision of the Mandatory.
- **Responsibility**: His Britannic Majesty’s Government accepted full 
  responsibility as Mandatory for Transjordan and undertook that the 
  administration of the territory would be consistent with the provisions of 
  the Mandate not declared inapplicable.