§ 73. That there is at present no part of the Open Sea neutralised is universally recognised, and this applies to the Baltic Sea, which is admittedly part of the Open Sea. Some writers,[106] however, maintain that the littoral States of the Baltic have a right to forbid all hostilities within the Baltic in case of a war between other States than themselves, and could thereby neutralise the Baltic without the consent and even against the will of the belligerents. This opinion is based on the fact that during the eighteenth century the littoral States of the Baltic claimed that right in several conventions, but it appears untenable, because it is opposed to the universally recognised principle of the freedom of the Open Sea. As no State has territorial supremacy over parts of the Open Sea, I cannot see how such a right of the littoral States of the Baltic could be justified.[107] [Footnote 106: See Perels, pp. 160-163, who discusses the question at some length and answers it in the affirmative.] [Footnote 107: See Rivier, II. p. 218; Bonfils, § 504; Nys, I. pp. 448-450.] V THE BELLIGERENTS Vattel, III. § 4--Phillimore, III. §§ 92-93--Taylor, §§ 458-460--Wheaton, § 294--Bluntschli, §§ 511-514--Heffter, §§ 114-117--Lueder in Holtzendorff, IV. pp. 237-248--Klüber, § 236--G. F. Martens, II. § 264--Gareis, § 83--Liszt, § 39, II.--Ullmann, §§ 168-169--Pradier-Fodéré, VI. Nos. 2656-2660--Rivier, II. pp. 207-216--Nys. III. pp. 114-118--Calvo, IV. §§ 2004-2038--Martens, II. § 108--Heilborn, _System_, pp. 333-335. [Sidenote: Qualification to become a Belligerent (_facultas bellandi_).]