Some International and Legal Aspects of the Suez Canal Question

The impact of the nationalization by the Egyptian Government on July 26, 1956, of the Suez Canal Company (Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez) upon international affairs is still reverberating. The questions of international law and other problems to which it gives rise are manifold, but this article will be restricted to an examination of four of them: first, the international and legal status of the Suez Canal Company; second, the nature and legal status of concession agreements which are referred to in the text of the Convention of October 29, 1888; third, the international status and control of the Suez Canal, particularly under the 1888 Convention; and fourth, the matter of compensation.