London Protocol

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London Protocol is a name used to describe several different documents.

Contents 1 1829 2 1830 3 1832 4 1852 5 1877 6 1944 7 2000 8 Notes 9 References

[edit] 1829

On 22 March 1829, a conference of ambassadors of the three protecting powers (Britain, France and Russia) established the borders of Greece, which was to encompass all lands south of the line running from the Ambracian Gulf to the Pagasetic Gulf, including Negroponte (Euboea) and the Cyclades but not Crete. Greece was, however, to remain an autonomous tributary state under a prince that would explicitly not belong to the ruling families of the three powers. A further conference in London on 30 November of the same year decided that Greece should instead be given full independence, but its borders were moved back to the Aspropotamos River-Maliac Gulf line.^[1]

[edit] 1830

On February 3, 1830, the sovereignty of Greece was confirmed in a London Protocol.^[2]

[edit] 1832

On August 30, 1832, a London Protocol was signed to ratify and reiterate the terms of the Treaty of Constantinople.

[edit] 1852

On May 8, 1852, after the First War of Schleswig, another London Protocol was signed. The international treaty that became known as the "London Protocol" was the revision of an earlier protocol, which had been ratified on August 2, 1850, by the major Germanic powers of Austria and Prussia. The second, actual London Protocol was recognized by the five major European powers (Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom), as well as the two major Baltic Sea powers of Denmark and Sweden.

The Protocol affirmed the integrity of the Danish federation as a "European necessity and standing principle". Accordingly, the duchies of Schleswig (a Danish fief), and Holstein and Lauenburg (German fiefs) were joined by personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark. However, Frederick VII of Denmark was childless, so a change in dynasty was imminent and the lines of succession for the duchies and Denmark conflicted. That meant that, contrary to the Protocol, the new King of Denmark would not also be the new duke of Holstein and duke of Lauenburg. So for this purpose, the line of succession to the duchies was modified. Further, it was affirmed that the duchies were to remain as independent entities, and that Schleswig would have no greater constitutional affinity to Denmark than Holstein. Frederick VII died a mere three days after the protocol was signed, but his successor Christian IX confirmed the protocol.^[3]

The major powers primarily wanted to ensure, by guaranteeing Denmark's territorial integrity, that the strategically significant port of Kiel would not fall into Prussian hands.^{[citation needed]} Eleven years later, this treaty became the trigger for the German–Danish war of 1864. Prussia and Austria declared Denmark in violation of the Protocol, by the November Constitution, which Christian IX of Denmark signed on November 18, 1863.^[4]

[edit] 1877

The London Protocol was signed on March 21, 1877 between Russia and the United Kingdom. The Russians agreed not to establish any client states in case they attained victory in the looming Russo–Turkish War. In return, the British agreed to remain neutral in any conflict between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. The agreement was an effort to maintain a balance of power in the Balkans and to avoid intervention by the other Great Powers. Russian attempts to create a large Bulgaria in the Treaty of San Stefano led to the British withdrawal from the Protocol and threatened military intervention, quieted only by the Congress of Berlin.

[edit] 1944

In the London Protocol signed on September 12, 1944, the Allies of World War II (then without France) agreed on dividing Germany into three occupation zones after the war.

[edit] 2000

The London Protocol is also an alternative name (possibly French in origin^[5]) for the London Agreement (2000) between certain contracting States to the European Patent Convention, aiming to reduce the number of translations required of granted European patents.^[6]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Encyclopedia of World History 2001
2. ^ London Protocol 1830
3. ^ Holt 1917, p. 75.
4. ^ Holt 1917, p. 75–76.
5. ^ http://www.senat.fr/opecst/resume/4pages_protocole_londres_anglais.pdf
6. ^ European Patent Office Website

[edit] References

• Holt, Alexander Wheeler & Chilton (1917), The History of Europe from 1862 to 1914: From the Accession of Bismarck to the Outbreak of the Great War, Macmillan . Accessed online at Google Books.