If one of the parties asks for arbitration, the Council shall proceed to constitute the Committee of Arbitrators in the manner provided in sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 2 of Article 4 above.
If no party asks for arbitration, the Assembly shall again take the dispute under consideration and shall have in this connection the same powers as the Council. Recommendations embodied in a report of the Assembly, provided that it secures the measure of support stipulated at the end of paragraph 10 of Article 15 of the Covenant, shall have the same value and effect, as regards all matters dealt with in the present Protocol, as recommendations embodied in a report of the Council adopted as provided in paragraph 3 of Article 4 above.
If the necessary majority cannot be obtained, the dispute shall be submitted to arbitration and the Council shall determine the composition, the powers and the procedure of the Committee of Arbitrators as laid down in paragraph 4 of Article 4.
In the event of a dispute arising between two or more signatory States, these States agree that they will not, either before the dispute is submitted to proceedings for pacific settlement or during such proceedings, make any increase of their armaments or effectives which might modify the position established by the Conference for the Reduction of Armaments provided for by Article 17 of the present Protocol, nor will they take any measure of military, naval, air, industrial or economic mobilisation, nor, in general, any action of a nature likely to extend the dispute or render it more acute.
It shall be the duty of the Council, in accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of the Covenant, to take under consideration any complaint as to infraction of the above undertakings which is made to it by one or more of the States parties to the dispute. Should the Council be of opinion that the complaint requires investigation, it shall, if it deems it expedient, arrange for enquiries and investigations in one or more of the countries concerned. Such enquiries and investigations shall be carried
Les mesures ainsi prises par li Conseil sont destinées uniquement à faciliter li règlement pacifique des différends et ne doivent préjuger en rien du règlement lui-même.
Si, à la suite de ces enquêtes et investigations, une infraction quelconque aux dispositions du premier alinéa du présent article est établie, il est du devoir du Conseil de sommer l'Etat ou les Etats coupables de l'infraction de la faire disparaître. Si l'Etat ou les Etats en question ne se conforment pas à cette sommation, le Conseil déclare lesdits Etats coupables d'une violation du Pacte ou du présent Protocole et doit décider les mesures à prendre en vue de faire cesser au plus tôt une situation de nature à menacer la paix du monde.
Pour l'application du présent article, le Conseil prendra sa décision à la majorite des deux tiers.
Les Etats signataires s'engagent à s'abstenir de toute action qui pourrait constituer une menace d'agression contre un autre Etat.
Dans li cas où un des Etats signataires estime qu'un autre Etat procédé à des préparatifs de guerre, il a le droit d'en saisir le Conseil.
Celui-ci, après avoir vérifié les faits, opère comme il est dit à l'article 7, alinéas 2, 4 et 5.
L'existence de zones demilitarisées étant de nature à prévenir les agressions et à en faciliter la détermination sans équivoque conformément à l'article 10 ci-dessous, l'établissement de pareilles zones est recommandé entre les Etats qui y seraient également consentants, comme un moyen d'éviter une violation du présent Protocole.
Les zones démilitarisées déjà existantes en vertu de certains Traités ou Conventions, ou qui seraient établies à l'avenir entre Etats également consentants, pourront faire l'objet d'un contrôle temporaire ou permanent, organisé par le Conseil, à la demande et aux frais d'un ou de plusieurs Etats limitrophes.
out with the utmost possible despatch, and the signatory States undertake to afford every facility for carrying them out.
The sole object of measures taken by the Council as above provided is to facilitate the pacific settlement of disputes and they shall in no way prejudge the actual settlement.
If the result of such enquiries and investigations is to establish an infraction of the provisions of the first paragraph of the present Article, it shall be the duty of the Council to summon the State or States guilty of the infraction to put an end thereto. Should the State or States in question fail to comply with such summons, the Council shall declare them to be guilty of a violation of the Covenant or of the present Protocol, and shall decide upon the measures to be taken with a view to end as soon as possible a situation of a nature to threaten the peace of the world.
For the purposes of the present Article decisions of the Council may be taken by a two-thirds majority.
The signatory States undertake to abstain from any act which might constitute a threat of aggression against another State.
If one of the signatory States is of opinion that another State is making preparations for war, it shall have the right to bring the matter to the notice of the Council.
The Council, if it ascertains that the facts are as alleged, shall proceed as provided in paragraphs 2, 4, and 5 of Article 7.
The existence of demilitarised zones being calculated to prevent aggression and to facilitate a definite finding of the nature provided for in Article 10 below, the establishment of such zones between States mutually consenting thereto is recommended as a means of avoiding violations of the present Protocol.
The demilitarised zones already existing under the terms of certain treaties or conventions, or which may be established in future between States mutually consenting thereto, may at the request and at the expense of one or more of the conterminous States, be placed under a temporary or permanent system of supervision to be organized by the Council.
Est agresseur tout Etat qui recourt à la guerre en violation des engagements prévus au Pacte ou au présent Protocole. Est assimilée au recours à la guerre la violation du statut d'une zone démilitarisée.
Dans le cas d'hostilités engagées, est présumé agresseur, sauf décision contraire du Conseil prise à l'unanimité:
1. Tout Etat qui aura refusé de soumettre le différend à la procédure pour règlement pacifique prévue aux articles 13 et 15 du Pacte, complétés par le présent Protocole—ou qui aura refusé de se conformer, soit à une décision judiciaire ou arbitrale, soit à une recommandation unanime du Conseil—ou qui aura passé outre à un rapport unanime du Conseil, à une décision judiciaire ou arbitrale reconnaissant que le différend qui s'est élevé entre lui et l'autre Etat belligérant porte sur une question que le Droit international laisse à la compétence exclusive de cet Etat; toutefois, dans ce dernier cas, l'Etat ne sera présumé agresseur que s'il n'a pas soumis auparavant la question au Conseil ou à l'Assemblée, conformément à l'article 11 du Pacte.
2. Tout Etat qui aura violé une des mesures provisoires prescrites par le Conseil pendant la période de procédure, visées à l'article 7 du présent Protocole.
Hors les hypothèses visées aux numéros 1 et 2 du présent article, si le Conseil n'a pu déterminer dans le plus bref délai l'agresseur, il aura l'obligation de prescrire aux belligérants un armistice dont il fixera les conditions à la majorité des deux tiers et dont il surveillera l'observation.
Tout belligérant ayant refusé l'armistice ou en ayant violé les conditions, sera réputé agresseur.
Le Conseil enjoindra aux Etats signataires d'appliquer sans retard contre l'agresseur les sanctions visées à l'article 11 du présent Protocole, et tout Etat signataire, ainsi requis, sera dès lors fondé à exercer les droits d'un belligérant.
Every State which resorts to war in violation of the undertakings contained in the Covenant or in the present Protocol is an aggressor. Violation of the rules laid down for a demilitarised zone shall be held equivalent to resort to war.
In the event of hostilities having broken out, any State shall be presumed to be an aggressor, unless a decision of the Council, which must be taken unanimously, shall otherwise declare:
1. If it has refused to submit the dispute to the procedure of pacific settlement provided by Articles 13 and 15 of the Covenant as amplified by the present Protocol, or to comply with a judicial sentence or arbitral award or with a unanimous recommendation of the Council, or has disregarded a unanimous report of the Council, a judicial sentence or an arbitral award recognising that the dispute between it and the other belligerent State arises out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of the latter State; nevertheless, in the last case the State shall only be presumed to be an aggressor if it has not previously submitted the question to the Council or the Assembly, in accordance with Article 11 of the Covenant.
2. If it has violated provisional measures enjoined by the Council for the period while the proceedings are in progress as contemplated by Article 7 of the present Protocol.
Apart from the cases dealt with in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present Article, if the Council does not at once succeed in determining the aggressor, it shall be bound to enjoin upon the belligerents an armistice, and shall fix the terms, acting, if need be, by a two-thirds majority and shall supervise its execution.
Any belligerent which has refused to accept the armistice or has violated its terms shall be deemed an aggressor.
The Council shall call upon the signatory States to apply forthwith against the aggressor the sanctions provided by Article 11 of the present Protocol, and any signatory State thus called upon shall thereupon be entitled to exercise the rights of a belligerent.
Dès que le Conseil a fait aux Etats signataires l'injonction prévue au dernier alinéa de l'article 10 du présent Protocole, les obligations desdits Etats en ce qui concerne les sanctions de toute nature visées aux alinéas 1 et 2 de l'article 16 du Pacte, deviennent immédiatement opérantes afin que ces sanctions puissent porter leurs effets contre l'agresseur sans aucun retard.
Ces obligations doivent être interprétées en ce sens que chacun des Etats signataires est tenu de collaborer loyalement et effectivement pour faire respecter le Pacte de la Société des Nations et pour s'opposer à tout acte d'agression dans la mésure que lui permettent sa situation géographique et les conditions spéciales de ses armements.
Conformément à l'alinéa 3 de l'article 16 du Pacte, les Etats signataires prennent l'engagement, individuel et collectif, de venir à l'aide de l'Etat attaqué ou menacé, et de se prêter un mutuel appui, grâce à des facilités et à des échanges réciproques en ce qui concerne le ravitaillement en matières premières et denrées de toute nature, les ouvertures de crédit, les transports et le transit et, à cet effet, de prendre toutes mesures en leur pouvoir pour maintenir la sécurité des communications terrestres et maritimes de l'Etat attaqué ou menacé.
Si les deux Parties au différend sont agresseurs au sens de l'article 10, les sanctions économiques et financières s'appliquent a l'une et à l'autre.
En raison de la complexité des conditions dans lesquelles le Conseil pourrait être appelé à remplir les fonctions visées à l'article 11 ci-dessus concernant les sanctions économiques et financières et pour préciser les garanties qui sont offertes par le présent Protocole aux Etats signataires, le Conseil invitera immédiatement les organisations économiques et financières de la Société des Nations à procéder à une étude et à
As soon as the Council has called upon the signatory States to apply sanctions, as provided in the last paragraph of Article 10 of the present Protocol, the obligations of the said States, in regard to the sanctions of all kinds mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 16 of the Covenant, will immediately become operative in order that such sanctions may forthwith be employed against the aggressor.
Those obligations shall be interpreted as obliging each of the signatory States to co-operate loyally and effectively in support of the Covenant of the League of Nations, and in resistance to any act of aggression, in the degree which its geographical position and its particular situation as regards armaments allow.
In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 16 of the Covenant the signatory States give a joint and several undertaking to come to the assistance of the State attacked or threatened, and to give each other mutual support by means of facilities and reciprocal exchanges as regards the provision of raw materials and supplies of every kind, openings of credits, transport and transit, and for this purpose to take all measures in their power to preserve the safety of communications by land and by sea of the attacked or threatened State.
If both parties to the dispute are aggressors within the meaning of Article 10, the economic and financial sanctions shall be applied to both of them.
In view of the complexity of the conditions in which the Council may be called upon to exercise the functions mentioned in Article 11 of the present Protocol concerning economic and financial sanctions, and in order to determine more exactly the guarantees afforded by the present Protocol to the signatory States, the Council shall forthwith invite the economic and financial organisations of the League of Nations to consider and report
soumettre un rapport sur la nature des dispositions à prendre pour mettre en vigueur les sanctions et mesures de coopération économique et financière, visées à l'article 16 du Pacte et à l'article 11 du present Protocole.
En possession de ces informations, le Conseil établira par ses organismes compétents:
1. les plans d'action destinés à faire jouer les sanctions economiques et financières contre un Etat agresseur;
2. les plans de coopération économique et financière entre un Etat attaqué et les divers Etats lui portant assistance,
et il communiquera ces plans aux Membres de la Société et aux autres Etats signataires.
Eu égard aux sanctions militaires, navales et aériennes dont l'application éventuelle est prévue à l'article 16 du Pacte et à l'article 11 du présent Protocole, le Conseil aura qualité pour recevoir les engagements d'Etats déterminant par avance les forces militaires, navales et aériennes que ces Etats pourraient faire intervenir immédiatement afin d'assurer l'exécution des obligations dérivant à ce sujet du Pacte et du présent Protocole.
Dès que le Conseil a fait aux Etats signataires l'injonction prévue au dernier alinéa de l'article 10 ci-dessus, ces Etats peuvent en outre faire entrer en ligne, suivant les accords antérieurement faits, leurs forces militaires, navales et aériennes au secours d'un Etat particulier, victime de l'agression.
Les accords visés au précédent alinéa sont enregistrés et publiés par le Secrétariat de la Société des Nations; ils restent ouverts à tout Etat Membre de la Société, qui voudrait y accéder.
Le Conseil a seul qualité pour déclarer qui'l y a lieu de faire cesser l'application des sanctions et de rétablir les conditions normales.
as to the nature of the steps to be taken to give effect to the financial and economic sanctions and measures of co-operation contemplated in Article 16 of the Covenant and in Article 11 of this Protocol.
When in possession of this information, the Council shall draw up through its competent organs:
1. Plans of action for the application of the economic and financial sanctions against an aggressor State;
2. Plans of economic and financial co-operation between a State attacked and the different States assisting it;
and shall communicate these plans to the Members of the League and to the other signatory States.
In view of the contingent military, naval and air sanctions provided for by Article 16 of the Covenant and by Article 11 of the present Protocol, the Council shall be entitled to receive undertakings from States determining in advance the military, naval and air forces which they would be able to bring into action immediately to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations in regard to sanctions which result from the Covenant and the present Protocol.
Furthermore, as soon as the Council has called upon the signatory States to apply sanctions, as provided in the last paragraph of Article 10 above, the said States may, in accordance with any agreements which they may previously have concluded, bring to the assistance of a particular State, which is the victim of aggression, their military, naval and air forces.
The agreements mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be registered and published by the Secretariat of the League of Nations. They shall remain open to all States Members of the League which may desire to accede thereto.
The Council shall alone be competent to declare that the application of sanctions shall cease and normal conditions be re-established.
Pour répondre à l'esprit du présent Protocole, les Etats signataires conviennent que la totalité des frais de toute opération d'ordre militaire, naval ou aérien, entreprise pour la répréssion d'une agression, conformément aux termes de ce Protocole, ainsi que la réparation de tous dommages subis par les personnes civiles ou militaires, et de tous dommages matériels occasionnés par les opérations de part et d'autre, seront supportés par l'Etat agresseur jusqu'à l'extréme limite de sa capacité.
Toutefois, vu l'article 10 du Pacte, il ne pourra, comme suite à l'application des sanctions visées au présent Protocole, être porté atteinte en aucun cas à l'intégrité territoriale ou à l'indépendance politique de l'Etat agresseur.
Les Etats signataires conviennent qu'en cas de différend entre un ou plusieurs parmi eux et un ou plusieurs Etats non signataires du présent Protocole értangers à la Société des Nations, ces Etats étrangers seront invités, aux conditions prévues à l'article 17 du Pacte, à se soumettre aux obligations acceptées par les signataires du présent Protocole aux fins de règlement pacifique.
Si l'Etat invité, refusant d'accepter les dites conditions et obligations, recourt à la guerre centre un Etat signataire, les dispositions de l'article 16 du Pacte, telles qu'elles sont précisées par le présent Protocole, lui sont applicables.
Les Etats signataires s'engagent à prendre part à une Conférence internationale pour la réduction des armements qui devra être convoquée par le Conseil et qui se réunira à Geneve le lundi 15 juin 1925. Tous autres Etats, Membres ou non de la Société, seront invités à cette Conférence.
En vue de la convocation de la Conférence, le Conseil
In conformity with the spirit of the present Protocol the signatory States agree that the whole cost of any military, naval or air operations undertaken for the repression of an aggression under the terms of the Protocol, and reparation for all losses suffered by individuals, whether civilians or combatants, and for all material damage caused by the operations of both sides, shall be borne by the aggressor State up to the extreme limit of its capacity.
Nevertheless, in view of Article 10 of the Covenant, neither the territorial integrity nor the political independence of the aggressor State shall in any case be affected as the result of the application of the sanctions mentioned in the present Protocol.
The signatory States agree that in the event of a dispute between one or more of them and one or more States which have not signed the present Protocol and are not Members of the League of Nations, such non-Member States shall be invited, on the conditions contemplated in Article 17 of the Covenant, to submit, for the purpose of a pacific settlement, to the obligations accepted by the States signatories of the present Protocol.
If the State so invited, having refused to accept the said conditions and obligations, resorts to war against a signatory State, the provisions of Article 16 of the Covenant, as defined by the present Protocol, shall be applicable against it.
The signatory States undertake to participate in an International Conference for the Reduction of Armaments which shall be convened by the Council and shall meet at Geneva on Monday, June 15th, 1925. All other States, whether Members of the League or not, shall be invited to this Conference.
In preparation for the convening of the Conference, the
préparera, en tenant compte des engagements prévus aux articles 11 et 13 du présent Protocole, un programme général pour la reduction et la limitation des armements qui sera mis à la disposition de cette Conférence et communiqué aux gouvernements le plus tôt possible, et au plus tard trois mois avant la réunion.
Si au moins la majorité des Membres représentés en permanence au Conseil et dix autres Membres de la Société n'ont pas déposé leur ratification pour le 1er mai 1925, le Sécretaire général de la Société devra prendre immédiatement l'avis du Conseil pour savoir s'il doit annuler les invitations ou simplement ajourner la Conférence à une date ultérieure, qui sera fixée par le Conseil pour permettre la réunion du nombre necessaire de ratifications.
Toutes les fois que, dans l'article 10 ou dans toutes autres dispositions du présent Protocole, il est fait mention d'une décision du Conseil, elle s'entend dans le sens de l'article 15 du Pacte, à savoir que le vote des représentants des Parties au différend ne compte pas dans le calcul de l'unanimité ou de la majorité requise.
A défaut de stipulations expresses, le présent Protocole n'affecte pas les droits et les obligations des Membres de la Société des Nations, tels qu'ils résultent du Pacte.
Tout différend relatif à l'interpretation du présent Protocole sera soumis à la Cour permanente de Justice Internationale.
Le présent Protocole, dont les textes français et anglais feront foi, sera ratifié.
Council shall draw up with due regard to the undertakings contained in Articles 11 and 13 of the present Protocol a general programme for the reduction and limitation of armaments, which shall be laid before the Conference and which shall be communicated to the Governments at the earliest possible date, and at the latest three months before the Conference meets.
If by May 1st, 1925, ratifications have not been deposited by at least a majority of the permanent Members of the Council and ten other Members of the League, the Secretary-General of the League shall immediately consult the Council as to whether he shall cancel the invitations or merely adjourn the Conference to a subsequent date to be fixed by the Council so as to permit the necessary number of ratifications to be obtained.
Wherever mention is made in Article 10, or in any other provision of the present Protocol, of a decision of the Council, this shall be understood in the sense of Article 15 of the Covenant, namely that the votes of the representatives of the parties to the dispute shall not be counted when reckoning unanimity or the necessary majority.
Except as expressly provided by its terms, the present Protocol shall not affect in any way the rights and obligations of Members of the League as determined by the Covenant.
Any dispute as to the interpretation of the present Protocol shall be submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice.
The present Protocol, of which the French and English texts are both authentic, shall be ratified.
Le dépôt des ratifications sera effectué au Secrétariat de la Société des Nations le plus tôt qu'il sera possible.
Les Etats dont le gouvernement a son siège hors d'Europe auront la faculté de se borner à faire connaître au Secrétariat de la Societe des Nations que leur ratification a été donnée et, dans ce cas, ils devront en transmettre l'instrument aussitôt que faire se pourra.
Dès que la majorité des Membres représentés en permanence au Conseil et dix autres Membres de la Société auront déposé ou effectué leur ratification, un procès-verbal sera dressé par le Secrétariat pour le constater.
La mise en vigueur du Protocole aura lieu après que ce procès-verbal aura été dressé et dès que le plan de réduction des armements aura été adopté par la Conférence prevue à l'article 17.
Si, dans un délai, à fixer par ladite Conférence après l'adoption du plan de réduction des armements, ce plan n'a pas été exécuté, il appartiendra au Conseil de le constater; par l'effet de cette constatation le présent Protocole deviendra caduc.
Les conditions en vertu desquelles le Conseil pourra constater que le plan établi par la Conférence internationale pour la réduction des armements n'a pas été exécuté et que, par conséquent, le présent Protocole est devenu caduc, seront définies par la Conférence elle-même.
Tout Etat signataire qui ne se conformerait pas, après l'expiration du délai fixé par la Conférence, au plan adopté par elle, ne pourra bénéficier des dispositions du présent Protocole.
En foi de quoi les Soussignés, dûment autorisés à cet effet, ont signé le présent Protocole.
Fait à Genève, le deux octobre, mil neuf cent vingt-quatre, en un seul
Fait à Genève, le deux octobre, mil neuf cent vingt-quatre, en un seul exemplaire qui restera déposé dans les archives du Secretariat de la Société des Nations et qui sera enregistré par lui à la date de son entrée en vigueur.
The deposit of ratifications shall be made at the Secretariat of the League of Nations as soon as possible.
States of which the seat of government is outside Europe will be entitled merely to inform the Secretariat of the League of Nations that their ratification has been given; in that case, they must transmit the instrument of ratification as soon as possible.
So soon as the majority of the permanent Members of the Council and ten other Members of the League have deposited or have effected their ratifications, aprocès-verbalto that effect shall be drawn up by the Secretariat.
After the saidprocès-verbalhas been drawn up, the Protocol shall come into force as soon as the plan for the reduction of armaments has been adopted by the Conference provided for in Article 17.
If within such period after the adoption of the plan for the reduction of armaments as shall be fixed by the said Conference, the plan has not been carried out, the Council shall make a declaration to that effect; this declaration shall render the present Protocol null and void.
The grounds on which the Council may declare that the plan drawn up by the International Conference for the Reduction of Armaments has not been carried out, and that in consequence the present Protocol has been rendered null and void, shall be laid down by the Conference itself.
A signatory State which, after the expiration of the period fixed by the Conference, fails to comply with the plan adopted by the Conference, shall not be admitted to benefit by the provisions of the present Protocol.
In faith whereof the Undersigned, duly authorised for this purpose, have signed the present Protocol.
DONE at Geneva, on the second day of October, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, in a single copy, which will be kept in the archives of the Secretariat of the League and registered by it on the date of its coming into force.
After being examined for several years by the Third Committee, the problem of the reduction of armaments has this year suddenly assumed a different, a wider and even an unexpected form.
Last year a draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance was prepared, which the Assembly sent to the Members of the League for their consideration. The replies from the Governments were to be examined by the Fifth Assembly.
At the very beginning of its work, however, after a memorable debate, the Assembly indicated to the Third Committee a new path. On September 6th, 1924, on the proposal of the Prime Ministers of France and Great Britain, M. Edouard Herriot and Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, the Assembly adopted the following resolution:
"The Assembly,
"Noting the declarations of the Governments represented, observes with satisfaction that they contain the basis of an understanding tending to establish a secure peace,
"Decides as follows:
"With a view to reconciling in the new proposals the divergences between certain points of view which have been expressed and, when agreement has been reached, to enable an international conference upon armaments to be summoned by the League of Nations at the earliest possible moment:
"(1) The Third Committee is requested to consider thematerial dealing with security and the reduction of armaments, particularly the observations of the Governments on the draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance, prepared in pursuance of Resolution XIV of the Third Assembly and other plans prepared and presented to the Secretary-General since the publication of the draft Treaty, and to examine the obligations contained in the Covenant of the League in relation to the guarantees of security which a resort to arbitration and a reduction of armaments may require:
"(2) The First Committee is requested:
"(a) To consider, in view of possible amendments, the articles in the Covenant relating to the settlement of disputes;
"(b) To examine within what limits the terms of Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute establishing the Permanent Court of International Justice might be rendered more precise and thereby facilitate the more general acceptance of the clause;
and thus strengthen the solidarity and the security of the nations of the world by settling by pacific means all disputes which may arise between States."
This resolution had two merits, first, that of briefly summarising all the investigations made in the last four years by the different organisations of the League in their efforts to establish peace and bring about the reduction of armaments, and, secondly, that of indicating the programme of work of the Committees in the hope that, with the aid of past experience, they would at last attain the end in view.
The Assembly had assigned to each Committee a distinct and separate task; to the First Committee, the examination of the pacific settlement of disputes by methods capable of being applied in every case; to the Third Committee, the question of the security of nations considered as a necessary preliminary condition for the reduction of their armaments.
Each Committee, after a general discussion which served todetach the essential elements from the rest of the problem, referred the examination of its programme to a Sub-Committee, which devoted a large number of meetings to this purpose.
The proposals of the Sub-Committees then led to very full debates by the Committees, which terminated in the texts analysed below.
As, however, the questions submitted respectively to the two Committees form part of an indivisible whole, contact and collaboration had to be established between the Committees by means of a Mixed Committee of nine members and finally by a joint Drafting Committee of four members.
For the same reason, the work of the Committees has resulted in a single draft protocol accompanied by two draft resolutions for which the Committees are jointly responsible.
Upon these various texts, separate reports were submitted, which, being approved by the Committees respectively responsible for them, may be considered as an official commentary by the Committees.
These separate reports have here been combined in order to present as a whole the work accomplished by the two Committees and to facilitate explanation.
Before entering upon an analysis of the proposed texts, it is expedient to recall, in a brief historical summary, the efforts of the last four years, of which the texts are the logical conclusion.
The problem of the reduction of armaments is presented in Article 8 of the Covenant in terms which reveal at the outset the complexity of the question and which explain the tentative manner in which the subject has been treated by the League of Nations in the last few years.
"The Members of the League recognise that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments tothe lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations."