Part 1 (1/2)

The Geneva Protocol.

by David Hunter Miller.

FOREWORD

The sources and history of the Protocol of Geneva of course go far back of its date, October 2, 1924. I have not attempted to trace them except in so far as they have a direct bearing on my legal study of the Doc.u.ment itself.

The form of the Protocol of Geneva is certainly not yet finally written; consideration of its legal aspects is perhaps therefore all the more desirable at this time.

The Protocol of Geneva is one chapter in the history of the League of Nations, the history of international relations of our time.

D. H. M.

New York City, December, 1924.

The Geneva Protocol

CHAPTER I.

THE PROTOCOL OF GENEVA.

The Covenant of the League of Nations[1] lays down the principle that national armaments should be reduced to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations.

Thus, in the Covenant, the problem of disarmament[2] and the problem of security are viewed as correlative problems. Their study has gone on in the League of Nations since its organization. During this same period there has been widespread and increasing public interest in the matter.

The theory of the Treaties of Peace was that the disarmament of Germany and her allies was preliminary to a general reduction of armaments the world over.[3] Except as the result of the Was.h.i.+ngton Conference, and by that to only a very limited extent, there has been almost no reduction or limitation of armaments by {2} international agreement since the war.[4] Such lessening of armaments as has taken place has been by voluntary national action.

The study of these questions during the last few years has brought about a much clearer understanding of them, both in the minds of statesmen and generally; and the various proposals that have been made have been the subject of detailed and elaborate criticism from all sides.

The latest of these proposals is the paper which is called The Protocol of Geneva.[5] The Protocol of Geneva is, however, much more than a proposal. It has the active support of a considerable number of Governments.[6] It was unanimously recommended for acceptance by the Fifth a.s.sembly of the League of Nations. It deserves the serious attention of all thoughtful minds.

The object of the Protocol of Geneva cannot be better stated than in the words of its authors:[7]

”to facilitate the reduction and limitation of armaments provided for in Article 8 of the Covenant of the League of Nations by guaranteeing the security of States through the development of methods for the pacific settlement of all international disputes and the effective condemnation of aggressive war.”

While this Protocol is, and doubtless always will be, called ”The Protocol of Geneva,” its official name is ”Protocol for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.”[8]

[1] Article 8. The text of the Covenant is Annex A, p. 117.

[2] Those who criticize the use of the word ”disarmament” as meaning a reduction or limitation of armaments, should consult the dictionaries.

The Standard Dictionary gives the following definition:

”The act of disarming; especially, the reduction of a military or naval establishment to a peace footing.”