In the first two cases the presumption exists when, in addition to a
state of war, the special condition referred to is also fulfilled.
In the third case, however, the presumption is dependent upon three
conditions: disobedience to a decision, wilful failure to take
advantage of the remedy provided in Article 11 of the Covenant, and the
existence of a state of war.
This difference is due to the necessity of taking into account the
provisions of Article 5 analysed above, which, by its reference to
Article 11 of the Covenant, renders the application of paragraph 8 of
Article 15 of the Covenant more flexible. After very careful
consideration it appeared that it would be unreasonable and unjust to
regard as _ipso facto_ an aggressor a State which, being prevented
through the operation of paragraph 8 of Article 15 from urging its
claims by pacific methods and being thus left to its own resources, is
in despair driven to war.
It was considered to be more in harmony with the requirements of
justice and peace to give such a State which has been non-suited on the
preliminary question of the domestic jurisdiction of its adversary, a
last chance of arriving at an amicable agreement by offering it the
final method of conciliation prescribed in Article 11 of the Covenant.
It is only if, after rejecting this method, it has recourse to war that
it will be presumed to be an aggressor.
This mitigation of the rigid character of paragraph 8 of Article 15 has
been accepted, not only because it is just, but also because it opens
no breach in the barrier set up by the Protocol against aggressive war:
it in no way infringes the principle--which remains unshaken--that a
war undertaken against a State whose exclusive jurisdiction has been
formally recognised is an international crime to be avenged
collectively by the signatories of the Protocol.
When a State whose demands have been met with the plea of the domestic
jurisdiction of its adversary has employed the resource provided for in
Article 11 of the Covenant, the presumption of aggression falls to the
ground. The aggression itself {190} remains. It will be for the
Council to decide who is responsible for the aggression in accordance
with the procedure which will be described below.
Apart from the above cases, there exists no presumption which can make
it possible automatically to determine who is the aggressor. But this
fact must be determined, and, if no other solution can be found, the
decision must be left to the Council. The same principle applies where
one of the parties is a State which is not a signatory of the Protocol
and not a Member of the League.