OCR Text |
Show of a second dam which Aargau might construct in her own interests• "The interest of this decision lies in its clear repudiation of the theory that inter-state relations in water-courses are to be governed by the private law of riparian rights 8 From the international point of view the question is not one of property, but of Jurisdiction !. So long as the sovereign power of the state is exercised in a reasonable and beneficial manner, its exercise cannot be vetoed by the assertion of any absolute proprietary right* The ruling of the Bundesgericht essentially rests upon the principle of the equitable apportionment of benefits, 1 which was later adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States.1 H. A. Smith, The Economic Use of International Rivers (1931) 39-i±O. ~ ! ! '. r The same author discusses the DoriauyersJnkung case which arose between German states, as followsi ¦" ' *¦ '¦ ' ' wNo river has had more diplomatic history than the Danube • . • "The head waters of the great river are formed by a number of streams issuing out of the mountains of the Black Forest* As the main stream passes be- tween the Baden towns of Braulingen and Rufingen and the Wurttemberg town of Fridingen, it loses by per- colation a' considerable volume of its water during certain periods of the year. This water sinks through cracks and pores in the chalky bed, ultimately emerging above-ground to form the source of the small river Aach, which flows through southern Baden into Lake Constance (Bodensee). By reason of this percolation , the water of the Aach is particularly fich in certain mineral solutions, which make it specially valuable for industrial purposes. Thus we see that the per- colation takes place in two states, but the whole of the benefit goes to Baden. Wurttemberg, on the other hand, is entirely a loser. For gome six or seven miles in her territory the bed of the river dries up completely for varying periods. • • w. • # Conflict arose from the fact that each of the two states took active steps to alter nature in its own interests. Ultimately the measures taken became the subject of cross-actions before the German Staatsgeriohtshof, each party seeking an injunction to restrain the activities of the other. Wurttemberg claimed that Baden was bound, not only to discontinue -2*0- ., |