Letters to "The Times" upon War and Neutrality (1881-1920)Holland, Thomas Erskine
History
Letters to "The Times" upon War and Neutrality (1881-1920)
Holland, Thomas Erskine
Neutrality; War (International law)
2. Mr. Bowles asserts it to be "an unquestioned doctrine of the Law of
Nations that war abrogates and annuls treaty obligations between
belligerents." One would have supposed it to be common knowledge that
large classes of treaties are wholly unaffected by war. Such are, for
instance, what are called conventions _transitoires_, because their
effect is produced once for all, as in the case of cessions of
territory; and, notably, treaties entered into for the regulation of the
conduct of war, such as the Geneva Convention, many of The Hague
Conventions of 1907, and the Declaration of Paris itself, which Mr.
Bowles appears to think would _ipso facto_ cease to be obligatory
between its signatories on their becoming belligerent.
It is a pleasure to be able to agree with Mr. Bowles in his wish that
the Naval Prize Bill, if reintroduced, should be rejected, though I
would rather say "withdrawn." You have already allowed me (on July 10)
to point out that if the Convention and Declaration are to be
effectively discussed in Parliament they should be disentangled from
that Bill, into which the Convention, and, by implication, the
Declaration, have been incongruously thrust. This practically
non-contentious Consolidation Bill, after several times securing the
approval of the House of Lords, has hitherto for several years awaited
the leisure of the House of Commons, but was suddenly reintroduced last
Session, apparently as an unobtrusive vehicle for the new and highly
debatable matter contained in the two above-mentioned documents. May I
now repeat my suggestion that "the debatable questions arising under the
Convention of 1907 and the Declaration of 1909 should first be threshed
out in discussions on a Bill dealing with these questions only; and that
the decision, if any, thus arrived at should be subsequently inserted,
freed from hypothesis, in the Consolidation Bill"?
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
T. E. HOLLAND.
Oxford, December 28 (1910).
THE DECLARATION OF LONDON
Sir,--I have read Professor Westlake's letters upon the Declaration of
London with the attention due to anything written by my very learned
friend, but, although myself opposed to the ratification alike of the
Prize Court Convention and of its complement, the Declaration, do not at
present wish to enter upon the demerits of either instrument.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account