Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits

The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, often called simply the Montreux Convention, is the international agreement governing the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits in Turkey. It was signed on 20 July 1936 at the Montreux Palace in Switzerland and went into effect on 9 November 1936, settling the long running Straits Question about who should control the strategically vital link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It guarantees complete freedom of passage for civilian vessels in peacetime, while military vessels are limited in number, tonnage and weaponry, and warships must give advance notice to the Turkish authorities. In wartime, if Turkey is not involved in the conflict, warships of the nations at war may not pass through the straits except when returning to their base, and when Turkey is at war or feels threatened it may decide on the passage of warships as it sees fit. The convention replaced the terms of the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 on the straits and remains in force without further amendments.