on the 5th of November, 1815, by the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, were constituted a single free and independent State, under the denomination of the United States of the Ionian Islands, placed under the immediate and exclusive protection of His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, his heirs and successors[1].
Their Majesties the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of the French, the King of Prussia, and the Emperor of all the Russias, accept, on the conditions hereinafter specified, the renunciation by Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland of the Protectorate of the Ionian Islands; and, in conjunction with Her Majesty, recognize the union of the said States with the Hellenic Kingdom.
Neutralisation.Art. II. The Ionian Islands after their union to the Kingdom of Greece, shall enjoy the advantages of a perpetual neutrality; Exclusion of armed forces.consequently no armed force, either naval or military, shall at any time be assembled or stationed upon the territory or in the waters of those Islands, beyond the number that may be strictly necessary for the maintenance of public order, and to secure the collection of the public revenue.
The High Contracting Parties engage to respect the principle of neutrality stipulated by the present Article[2].
Fortifications to be demolishedArt. III. As a necessary consequence of the neutrality to be thus enjoyed by the United States of the Ionian Islands the fortifications constructed in the Island of Corfu and its immediate dependencies, having no longer any object, shall be demolished, and the demolition thereof shall be effected previously to the withdrawal of the troops employed by Great Britain for the occupation of those Islands in her character as Protecting Power. This demolition shall take place in such manner as Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain shall deem- ↑ Supra, p. 23.
- ↑ The exclusion of armed forces was rescinded, and neutralisation of the islands was restricted to Corfu and Paxo, by a protocol signed by the five Powers, 25th January, 1860; infra, Texts No. VIII. Cf. Art. 2 of the Treaty of 29th March, 1864, between the three Powers and the King of the Hellenes (Texts, No. IX).
