Concessions and leases in international relations
In international relations, a concession is a "synallagmatic act by which a State transfers the exercise of rights or functions proper to itself to a foreign private test which, in turn, participates in the performance of public functions and thus gains a privileged position vis-a-vis other private law subjects within the jurisdiction of the State concerned." International concessions are not defined in international law and do not generally fall under it. Rather, they are governed by the municipal law of the conceding state. There may, however, be a law of succession for such concessions, whereby the concession is continued even when the conceding state ceases to exist.
In international law, a lease is "an arrangement whereby territory is leased or pledged by the owner-State to another State. In such cases, sovereignty is, for the term of the lease, transferred to the lessee State." The term "international lease" is sometimes also used to describe any leasing of property by one state to another or to a foreign national, but the normal leasing of property, as in diplomatic premises, is governed by municipal, not international, law. Sometimes the term "quasi-international lease" is used for leases between states when less than full sovereignty over a territory is involved. A true international lease, or "political" lease, involves the transfer of sovereignty for a specified period of time. Although they may have the same character as cessions, the terminability of such leases is now fully accepted.
American concessions
Current
- Guantanamo Bay Naval Base: leased from Cuba under 1903 and 1934 treaties in perpetuity; no civilian administration, only military command.
- Pituffik Space Base: a concession granted to the United States rent free by Denmark in perpetuity pursuant to the 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement which provides that the United States shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the area in question.
- Zangezur corridor : a transport corridor in Armenia to be leased by the United States for 99 years, as stipulated under the 2025 Armenia–Azerbaijan peace agreement.
- The numerous cemeteries and monuments administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission. These are located in Belgium, Cuba, France, Gibraltar, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Panama, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, South Korea, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. The most popular sites among these are the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France and the John F. Kennedy Memorial at Runnymede, United Kingdom.
Former
- Panama Canal Zone: territory in Panama obtained under the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty in 1903. Returned to full Panaminian control in 1999 after the signing of the Torrijos–Carter Treaties in 1977.
- Corn Islands: leased from Nicaragua for 99 years under the Bryan–Chamorro Treaty. Returned in 1970 after the treaty was annulled.
- Two in imperial China:
- *1848/54 American concession in Shanghai established, until on 21 September 1863 an International Settlement in Shanghai was created by union of the American and British concessions.
- * American concession of Tianjin.
Austro-Hungarian concession holders
- The Austro-Hungarian concession of Tianjin, in China. Officially surrendered by Austria in 1919 and Hungary in 1920 respectively.
Belgian concession holders
- The Guatemalan parliament issued a decree on 4 May 1843 by virtue of which the district of Santo Tomas was given "in perpetuity" to the Compagnie belge de colonisation, a private Belgian company under the protection of King Leopold I. Belgian colonizing efforts ceased after a few years, due to the lack of financial means and the harsh climate.
- The Lado enclave, in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, leased to the Congo Free State
- Belgian concession of Tianjin
British concession holders
Held by the United Kingdom
- On 9 June 1898, the New Territories were leased from China for 99 years as a leased territory under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory. On 19 December 1984, the UK agreed to restore all of Hong Kong—including the territories ceded in perpetuity—to China on 1 July 1997.
- On 20 November 1846, a British concession in Shanghai was established ; on 27 November 1848, this concession was expanded, but on 21 September 1863 an International Settlement in Shanghai was created by union of the American and British concessions.
- On 29 December 1877, representants of North Borneo Chartered Company met Abdul Momin, Sultan of Brunei. Before, in January 1876, Gustav Overbeck purchased from Joseph William Torrey for $15,000 the concessionary rights of American Trading Company of Borneo to territories in northern Borneo, conditional on the successful renewal of the concessions from local authorities. Overbeck was appointed Maharaja of Sabah and Rajah of Gaya and Sandakan in a 29 December 1877 treaty with Brunei Sultan Abdul Momin, who still claimed ownership of northern Borneo. The Sultan agreed to make the concession for 15,000 Spanish dollars. However, since it turned out that the Sultan of Brunei had already ceded some areas to the Sultan of Sulu, further negotiations were needed. With the assistance of William Clark Cowie, a Scottish adventurer and friend of Sultan Jamal-ul Azam of Sulu, the Sultan signed a concession treaty on 22 January 1878 and received 5,000 Spanish dollars.
- The British concession of Tianjin, in which the trade centred, was situated on the right bank of the river Peiho below the native city, occupying some. It was held on a lease in perpetuity granted by the Chinese government to the British Crown, which sublet plots to private owners in the same way as at Hankou. The local management was entrusted to a municipal council organized on lines similar to those at Shanghai.
- The British concession on the Shamian Island in Guangzhou.
- Namwan Assigned Tract leased from autonomous Mengmao Chiefdom under Qing China sovereignty to British India.
Privately held
- Tati Concessions Land 1872–1911, in a small part of present Botswana, detached from the Matabele kingdom.
Canadian concessions
Chinese concessions
Between 1882 and 1884, the Qing Empire obtained concessions in Korea at Incheon, Busan and Wonsan. The Chinese concession of Incheon and those in Busan and Wonsan were occupied by Japan in 1894 after the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War. After China's defeat in that war, Korea declared the unequal treaties with Qing China to be void, and unilaterally withdrew the extraterritoriality and other powers granted to China in respect of the concessions. The concessions were formally abolished in 1898.Dutch concessions
In Japan, since 1609, the Dutch East India Company had run a trading post on the island of Hirado. Also, after a rebellion by mostly Catholic converts, all Portuguese were expelled from Dejima in 1639. So, in 1641, The Dutch were forced, by government officials of Tokugawa shogunate, to move from Hirado to Dejima in Nagasaki. The Dutch East India Company's trading post at Dejima was abolished when Japan concluded the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States in 1858.French concessions
- The French concession in Shanghai was established on 6 April 1849. On 17 July 1854 a Municipal Council established. The concession was relinquished by Vichy France to a Japan-sponsored puppet government in China, and was formally returned to China by France in 1946.
- French concession of Tianjin
- French Leased Territory of Guangzhouwan
- French concession of Hankou
- The French concession on the Shamian Island in Guangzhou
Finnish concessions
- Saimaa Canal: leased from Russia under 1963 and 2010 treaties in period of 50 years; civilian and commercial administration
German concessions
- On 6 March 1898, Qingdao was leased "for 99 years" to Germany ; it was already occupied by Germany since 14 November 1897. On 23 August 1914, Republic of China canceled the German lease. The concession was occupied by Japan on 7 November 1914.
- German concession of Tianjin
- One of the concessions in Hankou
Italian concessions
Japanese concessions
In China:- the Japanese concession of Tianjin.
- the only non-Western concession in Hankou.
- Busan
- Incheon
Portuguese concession
- Macau: around 1552–1553, the Portuguese obtained permission to establish a settlement as a reward for defeating pirates and to mediate in trade between China and Japan and between both nations and Europe; it was leased from the empire of China from 1670. The concession turned into a Portuguese colony in the mid-19th century. The Chinese government assumed sovereignty over Macau on 20 December 1999, ending 329 years of Portuguese colonial rule.
- Portuguese India: In 1498, Vasco da Gama managed to secure a letter of concession for trading rights from the Zamorin, Calicut's ruler on the Malabar Coast. In 1500, on Cochin and Cannanore, Pedro Álvares Cabral succeeded in making advantageous treaties of the City-state with the local rulers. In 1502, the Portuguese built a trade post in Pulicat because its location at the mouth of a lagoon made it a great natural harbor. Then, Timoji prompted the Portuguese to conquer Goa, the main port for the horse trade, so Portugal invested in the capture of Goa to the Sultanate of Bijapur with the support of Timoji and recognized by the Raja of Cochin, Cannanore and emperor Krishnadevaraya.
- Nagasaki and Dejima: In 1580, Ōmura Sumitada cedes jurisdiction over Nagasaki and Mogi to the Portuguese Jesuits, but in 1588 Toyotomi Hideyoshi exerts direct control over Nagasaki, Mogi, and Urakami from the Jesuits. Then, the Portuguese are interned on Dejima in 1636, but after Shimabara Rebellion, Portuguese ships are prohibited from entering Japan. Consequently, the Portuguese concessions are banished from Dejima and Japan.