The Assembly, taking account of the provisions of the Declaration Outlawing Aggressive War, is of opinion
1. Powers which have ratified the said Declaration may, subject to the following provisions, conclude, either as between two of them or as between a larger number, agreements complementary to the said Declaration, exclusively for the purpose of their mutual defense and intended solely to facilitate the carrying out of the measures prescribed in said Declaration, determining in advance the assistance which they would give to each other in the event of any act of aggression.
Such agreements may, if the H.C.P. interested so desire, be negotiated and concluded under the auspices of the Council.
2. Complementary agreements as defined in the preceding paragraph, shall, before being registered, be examined by the Council with a view to deciding whether they are in accordance with the principles of said Declaration and of the Covenant.
In particular, the Council shall consider if the cases of aggression contemplated in these agreements are of a nature to give rise to an obligation to give assistance on the part of the other H.C.P.
The Council may, if necessary, suggest changes in the texts of the agreements submitted to it.
When recognised, the agreements shall be registered in conformity with Article 16 of the Covenant. They shall be regarded as complementary to the said Declaration and shall in no way limit the general obligations of the H.C.P. nor the sanctions contemplated against an aggressor under the terms of said Declaration.
They will be open to any other H.C.P., Party to said Declaration with the consent of the Signatory States.
3. In all cases of aggression, for which provision is made in the agreement constituting a defensive group, the H.C.P. which are members of such group may undertake to put into operationautomatically the plan of assistance agreed upon between them; and in all other cases of aggression or menace or danger of aggression, directly aimed at them, they will consult each other before taking action, and will inform the Council of the measures which they are contemplating.
4. The Council, taking into account the reports and opinions of the Commission set up under Resolution B of this Assembly, shall at any time when requested, consider summarily whether (a) the armaments of any State are in excess of those fixed under the provisions of any agreement relating to reduction or limitation or armaments; or (b) the military or other preparations of any State are of such a nature as to cause apprehension of aggression or an eventual outbreak of hostilities.
5. If the Council shall upon such request be of the opinion that there is reasonable ground for thinking that a menace of aggression has arisen, the parties to the defensive agreements hereinbefore mentioned may put into immediate execution the plan of assistance which they have agreed upon.
6. If the Council shall, upon such request, not be of the opinion that a menace of aggression has arisen, a public report to the effect shall be made and in such case no State shall be under any obligation to put into execution any plan of assistance to which it is a party; but any Member of the League, believing itself to be threatened with a menace of aggression, notwithstanding the fact that the Council has not been of such opinion, may forthwith notify the Council to that effect, and such Member shall thereupon have full liberty of action in military or other preparations for defense, subject, however, to the limitations as to armament which are imposed by any treaty now in force.
[1] In their earlier form, as a Draft Treaty of Disarmament and Security, these proposals were circulated to the Members of the Council of the League in June, 1924. For the text, see World Peace Foundation Pamphlets, Vol. VII, No. 8. In the form here printed, the so-called "American Plan" was given out at Geneva on August 29, 1924, with the following note by General Bliss, Professor Shotwell and myself:
"It has been suggested that the proposals of the Draft Treaty of Disarmament and Security prepared by the American Group, of which we are members, might be drawn up in some form other than that of one Treaty.
"In order to facilitate the examination of this suggestion, we have prepared the four draft papers which follow. These papers are a Draft Declaration Outlawing Aggressive War (with a Draft Assembly Resolution regarding the same) and three Draft Resolutions of the Assembly regarding Disarmament.
"Aside from the necessary drafting changes required by the change of form, the text of these papers is substantially, and except in a few instances, literally the same as that of the Draft Treaty of Disarmament and Security above mentioned."
Two clauses added from the Preamble to the Protocol.
Recognising the solidarity of the members of the international community, and
Asserting that a war of aggression constitutes a violation of this solidarity and an international crime,
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,
In order to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security
by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war,
by the prescription of open, just and honourable relations between nations,
by the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and
by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another,
Agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations.
Unchanged.
Article 2 of the Protocol with verbal changes.
The Members of the League agree in no case to resort to war either with one another or against a State which, if the occasion arises, accepts all the obligations of the Covenant, except in case of resistance to acts of aggression or when acting in agreement with the Council or the Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Covenant.
Phrase agreeing not to resort to war for three months, omitted as unnecessary.
The Members of the League agree that if there should arise between them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture, they will submit the matter either to arbitration or judicial settlement or to inquiry by the Council.
In any case under this Article the award of the arbitrators or the judicial decision shall be made within a reasonable time, and the report of the Council shall be made within six months after the submission of the dispute.
The Members of the League agree that, whenever any dispute shall arise between them which they recognise to be suitable for submission to arbitration or judicial settlement, and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy, they will submit the whole subject-matter to arbitration or judicial settlement.
Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as to any question of international law, as to the existence of any fact which, if established, would constitute a breach of any international obligation, or as to the extent and nature of the reparation to be made for any such breach, are declared to be among those which are generally suitable for submission to arbitration or judicial settlement.
A verbal change in the third paragraph.
For the consideration of any such dispute, the court to which the case is referred shall be the Permanent Court of International Justice, or any tribunal agreed on by the parties to the dispute or stipulated in any convention existing between them.
The Members of the League agree that they will carry out in full good faith any award or decision that may be rendered, and that they will not resort to war against a Member of the League which complies therewith. In the event of any failure to carry out such an award or decision, the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect thereto.
Article 14 of the Covenant, verbally changed.
The Permanent Court of International Justice shall be competent to hear and determine any dispute of an international character which the parties thereto submit to it. The Court may also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or by the Assembly.
Article 3 of the Protocol, with some words added.
The Members of the League undertake to recognize as compulsory,ipso factoand without special agreement, the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice in the cases covered by paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the Statute of the Court, but without prejudice to the right of any Member, when acceding to the special protocol provided for in the said Article and opened for signature on December 16th, 1920, to make reservations compatible with the said clause.
Accession to this special protocol, opened for signature on December 16th, 1920, must be given within a month after the coming into force hereof, and in the case of Members of the League hereafter admitted, within a month after such admission.
Article 20 of the Protocol.
Any dispute as to the interpretation of the Covenant shall be submitted to the Permanent Court of International Justice.
The first three paragraphs of Article 15 of the Covenant, unchanged.
If there should arise between Members of the League any dispute likely to lead to a rupture which is not submitted to arbitration or judicial settlement in accordance with Article 13, the Members of the League agree that they will submit the matter to the Council. Any party to the dispute may effect such submission by giving notice of the existence of the dispute to the Secretary-General, who will make all necessary arrangements for a full investigation and consideration thereof.
For this purpose the parties to the dispute will communicate to the Secretary-General, as promptly as possible, statements of their case with all the relevant facts and papers, and the Council may forthwith direct the publication thereof.
The Council shall endeavour to effect a settlement of the dispute, and, if such efforts are successful, a statement shall be made public giving such facts and explanations regarding the dispute and the terms of settlement thereof as the Council may deem appropriate.
Numbers 1 and 2 of Article 4 of the Protocol, very slightly changed.
If the dispute is not thus settled, the Council shall endeavour to persuade the parties to submit the dispute to judicial settlement or arbitration.
If the parties cannot agree to do so, there shall, at the request of at least one of the parties, be constituted a Committee of Arbitrators. The Committee shall so far as possible be constituted by agreement between the parties.
If within the period fixed by the Council the parties have failed to agree, in whole or in part, upon the number, the names and the powers of the arbitrators and upon the procedure, the Council shall settle the points remaining in suspense. The Council shall with the utmost possible dispatch select in consultation with the parties the arbitrators and their President from among persons who by their nationality, their personal character and their experience, appear to furnish the highest guarantees of competence and impartiality.
After the claims of the parties have been formulated, the Committee of Arbitrators, on the request of any party, shall through the medium of the Council, request an advisory opinion upon any points of law in dispute from the Permanent Court of International Justice, which in such case shall meet with the utmost possible dispatch.
3 of Article 4 of the Protocol, and the fourth, fifth and sixth paragraphs of Article 15 of the Covenant
If none of the parties asks for arbitration, the Council shall take the dispute under consideration and, either unanimously or by a majority vote, shall make and publish a report containing a statement of the facts of the dispute and the recommendations which are deemed just and proper in regard thereto.
Any Member of the League represented on the Council may make public a statement of the facts of the dispute and of its conclusions regarding the same.
If a report by the Council is unanimously agreed to by the Members thereof, other than the Representatives of any of the parties to the dispute, the Members of the League agree to comply with the recommendations of the report.
5 of Article 4 of the Protocol, with verbal changes. Eighth paragraph of Article 15 of the Covenant.
In no case may a solution, in accordance with a unanimous recommendation of the Council accepted by one of the parties concerned, be again called in question.
If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, and is found by the Council to arise out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the Council shall so report and shall make no recommendation as to its settlement.
Seventh paragraph of Article 15 of the Covenant, as modified by 4 of Article 4 of the Protocol.
If the Council fails to reach a report which is unanimously agreed to by the Members thereof, other than the Representatives of any of the parties to the dispute, it shall submit the dispute to arbitration.
The Council shall itself determine the composition, the powers and the procedure of the Committee of Arbitrators and, in the choice of the arbitrators, shall bear in mind the guarantees of competence and impartiality referred to above.
6 of Article 4 of the Protocol, omitting clauses now unnecessary.
The Members of the League undertake that they will carry out in full good faith any judicial sentence or arbitral award that may be rendered and that they will comply, as provided in paragraph ten hereof, with the solutions recommended by the Council. In the event of a Member of the League failing to carry out the above undertakings, the Council shall exert all its influence to secure compliance therewith. If the Council fails therein, it shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect thereto.
Paragraphs nine and ten of Article 15 of the Covenant, and Article 6 of the Protocol.
The Council may in any case under this Article refer the dispute to the Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the request of either party to the dispute, provided that such request be made within fourteen days after the submission of the dispute to the Council.
In any case referred to the Assembly, all the provisions of this Article and of Article 12 relating to the action and powers of the Council shall apply to the action and powers of the Assembly, provided that a report made by the Assembly, if concurred in by the Representatives of those Members of the League represented on the Council and of a majority of the other Members of the League, exclusive in each case of the Representatives of the parties to thedispute, shall have the same force as a report by the Council concurred in by all the Members thereof, other than the Representatives of any of the parties to the dispute; and provided further that in any case referred to the Assembly, the powers of the Council under paragraphs five, six, seven and fourteen hereof shall continue.
7 of Article 4 of the Protocol.
The provisions of this article do not apply to the settlement of disputes which arise as the result of measures of war taken by one or more Members of the League in agreement with the Council or the Assembly.
From Article 5 of the Protocol.
If in the course of an arbitration, such as is contemplated in Article 15, one of the parties claims that the dispute, or part thereof, arises out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that party, the arbitrators shall on this point take the advice of the Permanent Court of International Justice through the medium of the Council. The opinion of the Court shall be binding upon the arbitrators, who, if the opinion is affirmative, shall confine themselves to so declaring in their award.
If the question is held by the Court or by the Council to be a matter solely within the domestic jurisdiction of the State, this decision shall not prevent consideration of the situation by the Council or by the Assembly under Article 11.
Articles 8 and 7 of the Protocol, slightly changed.
The Members of the League undertake to abstain from any act which might constitute a threat of aggression against another State.
If a Member of the League 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.
In the event of a dispute arising between two or more Members of the League, they 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 any agreement in force, 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, to take under consideration any complaint as to infraction of the above undertakings which is made to it by one or more of the parties to the dispute. Should the Council be of opinion that the complaint requires investigation, it shall, if it deems it expedient, arrange for inquiries and investigations in one or more of the countries concerned. Such inquiries and investigations shall be carried out with the utmost possible dispatch and the Members of the League 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 inquiries and investigations is to establish an infraction of the above undertakings, it shall be the duty of the Council to summon the Member or Members of the League guilty of the infraction to put an end thereto. Should any Member of the League in question fail to comply with such summons, the Council shall declare it to be guilty of a violation of the Covenant, and shall recommend 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 this Article decisions of the Council may be taken by a two-thirds majority.
Article 9 of the Protocol, slightly changed.
The existence of demilitarised zones being calculated to prevent aggression and to facilitate a definite finding of the nature provided for in Article 15d, the establishment of such zones between States mutually consenting thereto is to recommend as a means of preserving peace.
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 organised by the Council.
Article 10 of the Protocol, with verbal changes.
Any Member of the League which resorts to war in violation of the undertakings contained in the Covenant 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 Member of the League shall be presumed to be an aggressor (unless a decision of the Council, which must be taken unanimously, shall otherwise declare) which
(a) has refused to submit the dispute to the procedure of pacific settlement provided by the Covenant, or
(b) has refused to comply with a judicial sentence or arbitral award or with a unanimous recommendation of the Council, or
(c) has disregarded a unanimous report of the Council, a judicial sentence or an arbitral award recognizing that the dispute between it and the other belligerent arises out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of the latter State, and has not previously submitted the question to the Council or the Assembly, in accordance with Article 11, or
(d) has violated provisional measures enjoined by the Councilfor the period while the proceedings are in progress as contemplated by Article 15b.
Apart from the cases dealt with in sub-heads a, b, c and d of this Article, if the Council does not at once, by unanimous vote, 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 refuses to accept the armistice or violates its terms shall be deemed an aggressor.
The Council shall call upon the Members of the League to apply forthwith against the aggressor the sanctions provided by the Covenant, and any Member of the League thus called upon shall thereupon be entitled to exercise the rights of a belligerent.
Article 14 of the Protocol.
The Council shall alone be competent to declare that the application of sanctions shall cease and normal conditions be reestablished.
This combines Article 16 of the Covenant and Article 11 of the Protocol. It omits much of the pending amendments to Article 16 of the Covenant as superfluous.
Should any Member of the League resort to war, in disregard of its covenants, it shallipso factobe deemed to have committed an act of war against all other Members of the League, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations and to prohibit all intercourse, at least between persons resident within their territories and persons resident within the territory of the covenant-breaking State, and, if they deem it expedient, also between their nationals and the nationals of the covenant-breaking State, and to prevent all financial, commercial or personal intercourse at least between persons resident within the territory of that State and persons resident within the territory of every other State, and, if they deem it expedient, also between the nationals of that State and the nationals of every other State.
It shall be the duty of the Council in such case to recommend to the several Governments concerned what effective military, naval or air force the Members of the League shall severally contribute to the armed forces to be used to protect the Covenants of the League.
As soon as the Council has called upon the Members of the League to apply sanctions, as provided in Article 15d, the obligations of the Members of the League in regard to the sanctions mentioned in paragraphs one and two of this Article will immediately become operative in order that such sanctions may forthwith be employed against the aggressor.
Those obligations shall be interpreted as obliging each Member of the League to co-operate loyally and effectively in support of the Covenant, and in resistance to any act of aggression, in the degree which its geographical position and its particular situation as regards armaments allow.
The Members of the League agree, further, that they will mutually support one another in the financial and economic measureswhich are taken under this Article, in order to minimise the loss and inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that they will mutually support one another in resisting any special measures aimed at one of their number by the covenant-breaking State, and that they will take the necessary steps to afford passage through their territory to the forces of any of the Members of the League which are co-operating to protect the covenants of the League.
The Members of the League jointly and severally undertake 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 when so invited refuse to accept of Article 15d, the economic and financial sanctions shall be applied to both of them.
Any Member of the League which has violated any covenant of the League may be declared to be no longer a Member of the League by a vote of the Council concurred in by the Representatives of all the other Members of the League represented thereon.
Article 12 of the Protocol, with slight changes.
In view of the complexity of the conditions in which the Council may be called upon to exercise the functions mentioned in Article 16 concerning economic and financial sanctions, and in order to determine more exactly the guarantees afforded to the Members of the League, the Council shall from time to time invite the economic and financial organizations of the League to consider and report 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.
From time to time, 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.
Article 13 of the Protocol, with slight changes.
In view of the contingent military, naval and air sanctions provided for by Article 16, the Council shall be entitled to receive undertakings from Members of the League 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.
Furthermore, as soon as the Council has called upon the Members of the League to apply sanctions, as provided in Article 15d, the said Members of the League 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. They shall remain open to all Members of the League which may desire to accede thereto.
Article 17 of the Covenant, with verbal changes.
In the event of a dispute between a Member of the League and a State which is not a Member of the League, or between States not Members of the League, the State or States not Members of the League shall be invited to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, upon such conditions as the Council may deem just. If such invitation is accepted, the provisions of the Covenant shall be applied with such modifications as may be deemed necessary by the Council.
Upon such invitation being given, the Council shall immediately institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the dispute and recommend such action as may seem best and most effectual in the circumstances.
If a State so invited shall refuse to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute and shall resort to war against a Member of the League, the provisions of Article 16 shall be applicable as against the State taking such action.
If both parties to the dispute when so invited refuse to accept the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, the Council may take such measures and make such recommendations as will prevent hostilities and will result in the settlement of the dispute.
Article 15 of the Protocol, with verbal changes.
The Members of the League agree that the whole cost of any military, naval or air operations undertaken for the repression of an aggression under the terms of the Covenant, 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, neither the territorial integrity nor the political independence of the aggressor State shall in any case be affected as the result of the applications of the sanctions of the Covenant.
Unchanged.
[1] This is my draft. Seesupra, p. 106. In the text it is called the "amended" Covenant.
Transcriber's notes:
In the source book, footnotes on each page were lettered from 'a'. For this ebook, each chapter's footnotes were numbered, sequentially from 1, and moved to the end of the chapter.
Page numbers in this ebook are indicated by numbers enclosed in curly braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page breaks occurred in the original book, in accordance with Project Gutenberg's FAQ-V-99.