William H. Seward of the United States, on behalf of President Abraham Lincoln and Richard Bickerton Pemell, Lord Lyons of the United Kingdom on behalf of Victoria of the United Kingdom

“ Whenever a merchant-vessel is searched by a ship of war, the commander of the said ship shall, in the act of so doing, exhibit to the commander of the merchant-vessel the special instructions by which he is duly authorized to search; and shall deliver to such commander a certificate, signed by himself, stating his rank in the naval set of his country, and the name of the vessel he commands, and also declaring that the only object of the search is to ascertain whether the vessel is employed in the African slave trade, or is fitted up for the said trade. ”

“ The two high contracting parties shall each name a judge and an arbitrator, who shall be authorized to hear and to decide, without appeal, all cases of capture or detention of vessels which, in pursuance of the stipulations of the aforesaid treaty, shall be brought before them.
The judges and the arbitrators shall, before they enter upon the duties of their office, respectively make oath before the principal magistrate of the place in which such courts shall respectively reside, that they will judge fairly and faithfully; that they will have no preference either for claimant or for captor ”

“ But if there be no United States Consul or Vice-Consul to fill the place of the United States arbitrator, then the British arbitrator shall be called in in those cases in which the United States arbitrator would be called in; and in case the vacancy be both of the United States judge and of the United States arbitrator, and there be neither United States Consul nor Vice-Consul to fill, ad interim, the vacancies, then the British judge and the British arbitrator shall sit, and, in all cases brought before them for adjudication, shall proceed to adjudge the same and pass sentence accordingly. ”