The New Germany Part 19

The Realm, in acquiring the railways, shall acquire all rights of expropriation and all sovereign prerogatives in connection with the railway system. In case of dispute the Supreme Court of Judicature shall decide the extent of such rights.

ARTICLE 91.

The Government shall, with the consent of the Reichsrat, issue all regulations concerning construction, management, and traffic of the railways. With the consent of the Reichsrat it may delegate these powers to the competent Minister.

ARTICLE 92.

The national railways shall be administered as an independent economic concern though their Budget and their accounts shall be incorporated in the national Budget and accounts; they shall be responsible for their own expenditure, including interests on, and sinking-fund for, their own debt, and they shall acc.u.mulate their own reserve-fund. A special law shall regulate the extent of the sinking-fund and of the reserve-fund, as well as the purposes to which the reserve-fund may be put.

ARTICLE 93.

The Government shall, with the consent of the Reichsrat, set up Advisory Committees for Railway Communication and Rates for the national railways.

ARTICLE 94.

When the Realm has taken over the railways serving public communication within a particular district, new railways serving public communication may not be built within such district except by the Realm or with the consent of the Realm. Should the building of new lines, or the alteration of existing lines, touch on the province of the police authorities of a Land, the railway administrative authorities must consult the local authorities before deciding.

Where the Realm has not yet taken over the administration of the railways, it may, by act of the Realm, build at its own cost, or commission others to build, with the right of expropriation, such railways as may be essential to public communication or national defence notwithstanding that those Lands, through whose territories such railways run, object; nevertheless, the sovereign prerogatives of the Lands shall not hereby be affected.

Every railway must permit another railway to effect a junction with it at the cost of the latter.

ARTICLE 95.

Railways serving purposes of public communication which are not administered by the Realm are subject to the supervision of the Realm.

Railways subject to the supervision of the Realm shall be constructed and equipped on the same principles as those laid down by the Realm.

They must be maintained in good working order and must be extended to meet traffic requirements. Pa.s.senger and goods traffic must be served according to their requirements.

In regulating rates, the aim must be to maintain uniform and low rates.

ARTICLE 96.

All railways, including those not serving purposes of public communication, must accede to requirements of the Realm made in the interests of national defence.

ARTICLE 97.

The Realm shall acquire as its property and administer the waterways serving purposes of public communication.

When the Realm has taken over the waterways, new waterways serving the purposes of public communication shall not be constructed or extended except by the Realm or with its consent.

In administering, extending, or constructing waterways, the Realm shall co-operate with the Lands to safeguard the requirements and development of agriculture and of irrigation.

Every waterways administration must permit another inland waterways system to effect a junction with it at the cost of the latter. The same shall apply to the connections between waterways and railways.

In taking over the waterways the Realm acquires the right to expropriate, to fix rates, and to administer the river police system.

The undertakings of the River Development Companies in regard to the natural waterways of the Rhine, Weser, and Elbe shall be taken over by the Realm.

ARTICLE 98.

The Government shall, with the consent of the Reichsrat set up Advisory Committees to co-operate in the administration of waterways.

ARTICLE 99.

No dues may be levied over natural waterways except such as are applied to construction, plant, or other works facilitating communication. They must not exceed, in the case of State or munic.i.p.al construction, the costs incurred by building and upkeep. Costs incurred by the building and upkeep of works which do not exclusively facilitate communication but are also designed for other purposes, may only be defrayed out of dues levied on shipping pro rata. Interest and sinking-fund for the capital involved are reckoned as part of the cost of construction.

This shall apply to dues levied on artificial waterways and on constructions in connection with them or in harbours.

In the administration of inland ca.n.a.ls shipping dues may be levied on a basis of the total combined costs of a ca.n.a.l, a river, or of a whole waterways system.

This shall also apply to floating of constructions on the navigable waterways.

The Realm is alone ent.i.tled to levy heavier dues on foreign ships and their freights than are levied on German ships and their freights.

The Realm is ent.i.tled, by legislation, to obtain contributions from users of the waterways by other methods, in order to serve the upkeep and extension of the German waterways system.

ARTICLE 100.

An act of the Realm may levy part of the cost of upkeep and construction of inland waterways on any person benefiting, otherwise than by navigation, from the construction of dams in cases where more than one Federal State has partic.i.p.ated in the costs of construction or where such costs have been borne by the Realm.

ARTICLE 101.

The Realm shall acquire and administer all marine signals, in particular beacons, light-ships, buoys, and land beacons. When the Realm has taken these over, new marine signals shall not be constructed or extended except by the Realm or with its consent.

SECTION VII

JUSTICE

ARTICLE 102.

Judges are independent and subject to the law only.

ARTICLE 103.