§ 246. There can be no doubt that neutral States, whether a complaint has been lodged with them or not, may either singly, or jointly and collectively, exercise intervention in cases of illegitimate acts or omissions of warfare being committed by belligerent Governments, or committed by members of belligerent forces if the Governments concerned do not punish the offenders. It will be remembered that it has been stated above in Vol. I. § 135, No. 4, that other States have a right to intervene in case a State violates in time of peace or war those principles of the Law of Nations which are universally recognised. There is not the slightest doubt that such principles of International Law are endangered in case a belligerent Government commits acts of illegitimate warfare or does not punish the offenders in case such acts are committed by members of its armed forces. But apart from this, the Hague Regulations make illegitimate acts of warfare on land now appear as by right the affair of all signatory States to the Convention, and therefore, in case of war between signatory States, the neutral signatory States certainly would have a right of intervention if acts of warfare were committed which are illegitimate according to the Hague Regulations. It must, however, be specially observed that any such intervention, if it ever occurred, would have nothing to do with the war in general and would not make the intervening State a party to the war, but would concern only the international delinquency committed by the one belligerent through acts of illegitimate warfare. III REPRISALS Vattel, III. p. 142--Hall, § 135--Westlake, II. pp. 112-115, and _Chapters_, pp. 253-258--Taylor, §§ 487 and 507--Wharton, III. § 348B--Moore, VII. § 1114--Bluntschli, §§ 567, 580, 654, 685--Lueder in Holtzendorff, IV. p. 392--Pradier-Fodéré, VIII. Nos. 3214-3221--Bonfils, Nos. 1018-1026--Despagnet, No. 543--Rivier, II. pp. 298-299--Calvo, IV. §§ 2041-2043--Martens, II. § 121--Mérignhac, pp. 210-218--Holland, _War_, Nos. 119-120--Bordwell, p. 305--Spaight, pp. 462-465--_Land Warfare_, §§ 452-460--Halleck in _A.J._ VI. (1912), pp. 107-118. [Sidenote: Reprisals between Belligerents in contradistinction to Reprisals in time of Peace.]