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! 52 THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES
;
Accordingly, the tribunal held:
That persons who were authorised to fly the French flag ‘arc entitled
: in the territorial waters of Muscat to the inviolability provided by the
French-Muscat treaty of 1844’. But that right cannot be extended ‘to
any other person or dhow, and the owner, masters and crew of such
dhows or members of their families who do not enjoy any right of
extra-territoriality which exempts them from the jurisdiction of the
Sultan of Muscat'.

Present British treaties with Muscat
(i) The Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, dated 20
September 19511
1 This treaty forms the latest of a series of treaties of this kind concluded
r \ between Muscat and the United Kingdom in the years 1798, 1839,
18912 and 1939. The present treaty which replaced the treaty of 5
February 19393 was formally concluded between ‘His Majesty the
King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British Dominions
Beyond the Seas, and Sultan Sarid bin Taimur, Sultan of Muscat and
Oman and Dependencies’. It was signed by the British Resident in the
Arabian Gulf in his capacity as the British plenipotentiary, and by the
Sultan himself. It entered into force on 19 May 1952 after the exchange
of its instruments of ratification.
Generally, the treaty re-affirms in its preamble the friendly relations
which already subsist between the parties and provides for promoting
and extending their commercial relations. Some of the significant
provisions of the treaty are the following:
Article 5 provides for freedom of trade and navigation between the
two parties on the basis of most-favoured nation treatment. In con­
trast, this most-favoured nation treatment was not reciprocal in the
replaced treaty of 1939, which conferred trade privileges upon the
United Kingdom’s nationals alone. Article 11 provides for the ex­
change of consular representation between the two parties on a recip­
rocal basis. It states that

such consuls shall be permitted to perform such consular functions and shall
enjoy privileges and immunities as in accordance with international law or
practice relating to consuls as recognized in the territories which they reside.
Although similar reciprocal provisions were provided in the 1939

1 U.K.T.S. No. 44 (1951), Cmd. 8633. Also sec Muscat No. 1 (1952), Cmd. 8462.
2Aitchison, pp. 287, 292, 310.
3 U.K.T.S. No. 29 (1939), Cmd. 6037.