Produced by Al Haines
[Transcriber's note: Extensive research found no evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.]
The Geneva Protocol
by
DAVID HUNTER MILLER
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1925
All Rights Reserved
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
COPYRIGHT, 1925,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and printed. Published March, 1925.
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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
Document 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.
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
I. THE PROTOCOL OF GENEVA .................................... 1
II. POINTS OF APPROACH ........................................ 3
III. THE COMING INTO FORCE OF THE PROTOCOL ..................... 5
IV. PARTIES TO THE PROTOCOL ................................... 10
V. RELATIONS INTER SE OF THE SIGNATORIES TO THE PROTOCOL ..... 13
VI. INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES .................................... 18
VII. THE STATUS QUO ............................................ 28
VIII. DOMESTIC QUESTIONS ........................................ 46
IX. COVENANTS AGAINST WAR ..................................... 50
X. AGGRESSION ................................................ 54
XI. THE JAPANESE AMENDMENT .................................... 64
XII. SANCTIONS ................................................. 72
XIII. SEPARATE DEFENSIVE AGREEMENTS ............................. 82
XIV. THE PROTOCOL AND ARTICLE TEN OF THE COVENANT .............. 84
XV. THE PROTOCOL AS TO NON-SIGNATORIES ........................ 86
XVI. THE DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE ................................ 87
XVII. DEMILITARIZED ZONES ....................................... 101
XVIII. SECURITY AND THE PROTOCOL ................................. 103
XIX. INTERPRETATION OF THE PROTOCOL ............................ 104
XX. THE "AMENDED" COVENANT .................................... 106
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ANNEXES.
A. THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS .......................... 117
B. THE PROTOCOL OF GENEVA ......................................... 132
C. THE REPORT TO THE FIFTH ASSEMBLY ............................... 156
D. RESOLUTIONS .................................................... 210
E. REPORT OF THE BRITISH DELEGATES ................................ 217
F. THE AMERICAN PLAN .............................................. 263
G. THE "AMENDED" COVENANT ......................................... 271
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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 Washington 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 Assembly 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."
The Century Dictionary gives this:
"The act of disarming; the reduction of military and naval forces
from a war to a peace footing; as 'a general disarmament is much
to be desired.'"
The Century Dictionary also gives the following quotation as an
instance from Lowe's Life of Bismarck:
"He (Napoleon) in a fit of irresolution broached in Berlin the
question of mutual disarmament."
[3] See, for example, the preamble to the Military, Naval and Air
Clauses of the Treaty of Versailles: "In order to render possible the
initiation of a general limitation of the armaments of all nations,
Germany undertakes strictly to observe the military, naval and air
clauses which follow."
[4] The Treaty of Lausanne (A. J. I. L., Vol. XVIII, Supp., pp. 58, 64)
with its provisions for demilitarized zones, etc., and the Convention
for the Limitation of Armaments in Central America of February 7, 1923
(A. J. I. L., Vol. XVII, Supp. 1923, pp. 114, _et seq._), are to be
noted in this regard.
[5] For the text in French and English, see Annex B, p. 132.
[6] Sixteen States have signed the Protocol and it has been ratified by
Czechoslovakia.
[7] See Report to the Fifth Assembly, Annex C, p. 156, at p. 164. This
Report of MM. Benes and Politis is a notable document, worthy of the
ability and learning of the two Rapporteurs.
[8] It is herein generally called "the Protocol."
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