Treaty Establishing the German Confederation
Confederation, and of its organic institutions, with respect to its
exterior, military, and interior relations.
Maintenance of Peace in Germany. Disputes to be settled
through Mediation of the Diet, or by an Austregal Court.
ART. XI. The States of the Confederation engage to defend not
only the whole of Germany, but each individual State of the
Union, in case it should be attacked, and they mutually guaran-
tee to each other such of their possessions as are comprised in
this Union.
When war shall be declared by the Confederation, no mem-
ber can open a separate negotiation with the enemy, nor make
peace, nor conclude an armistice, without the consent of the
other members.
The Confederated States engage, in the same manner, not to
make war against each other, on any pretext, nor to pursue their
differences by force of arms, but to submit them to the Diet,
which will attempt a mediation by means of a Commission. If
this should not succeed, and a juridical sentence becomes nec-
essary, recourse shall be had to a well organized AustregalCourt
(Austrägalinstanz), to the decision of which the contending par-
ties are to submit without appeal.
Particular Arrangements.
ART. XII. Besides the points settled in the preceding Articles,
relative to the establishment of the Confederation, the Confed-
erated States have agreed to the arrangements contained in the
following Articles, with regard to the subjects hereafter men-
tioned, which Articles shall have the same force and validity as
the preceding ones.
Formation of Supreme Tribunals.
ART. XIII. Those members of the Confederation whose posses-
sions do not contain a population to the number of 300,000
souls, shall unite themselves to the reigning Houses of the same
line, or to others of the Confederated States whose population
added to theirs will amount to the number here specified, for
the purpose of jointly forming a Supreme Tribunal.
In those States, however, of a smaller population, where sim-
ilar tribunals of the Third Instance already exist, they shall be
continued on their present footing, provided the population of
the State to which they belong be not less than 150,000 souls.
The Four Free Cities shall have the right of uniting together
in the formation of a common and supreme Tribunal.
Each party appearing before these joint and supreme Tri-
bunals shall be authorised to demand a reference of the pro-
ceedings to the Faculty of Law belonging to a foreign University,
or to a Court of Reference (siège d’échevin) to whom the final
sentence shall be submitted.
Separate Assemblies of States.
ART. XIV. There shall be Assemblies of the States in all the
countries belonging to the Confederation.
Rights of Mediatised Princes.
ART. XV. In order to secure to the ancient States of the Empire,
mediatised in 1806, and in the subsequent years, the enjoy-
ment of equal rights in all countries belonging to the Confed-
eration, and conformable to the relations at present existing
between them, the Confederated States establish the following
principles:
A. The Houses of the Mediatised Princes and Counts are
nevertheless to rank equally with the high Nobility of
Germany, and are to retain the same privileges of
birthright with the Sovereign Houses (Ebenburtigkeit) as
they have hitherto enjoyed.
B. The heads of these Houses are to form the principal class
of the States in the countries to which they belong: they,
as well as their families, are to be included in the number
of the most privileged persons,particularly in respect to
taxes.
C. With regard to themselves, their families and property,
they are generally to retain all the rights and privileges
attached to their possessions, and which do not belong to
the Supreme Authority, or to the attributes of Govern-
ment.
Among the rights which are secured to them by this Article,
are specially included :–- The perfect liberty of residing in any State belonging to
the Confederation, or at peace with it. - The maintenance of family compacts, conformably to the
ancient Constitution of Germany; and the right of con-
necting their estates and the members of their families by
obligatory arrangements, which, however, ought to be
made known to the Sovereign, and to the public authori-
ties.
The laws by which this right has been hitherto restricted,
shall not be applicable to future cases. - The privilege of being amendable only to superior tri-
bunals, and of being exempt from all military conscrip-
tion for themselves and families. - The exercise of civil and criminal jurisdiction, in the First
Instance, and, if the possessions are sufficiently extensive,
in the Second Instance, the exercise of the forest jurisdic-
tion, of the local police, and of the inspection of churches,
schools, and charitable institutions, the whole con-
formably to the laws of the country to which they remain
subject, as well as to the military regulations and supreme
authority reserved to the Governments, respecting objects
of the above-mentioned prerogatives, for the better deter-
mining them, and, in general, for the adjusting and con-
solidating the rights of Mediatised Princes, Counts, and
Lords, in a manner uniform to all the States of the Ger-
man Confederation. The Ordinance issued upon this sub-
ject by His Majesty the King of Bavaria, in 1807, shall be
adopted as a general rule.