PROTOCOL FOR THE PACIFIC SETTLEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES.

Documents

Animated by the firm desire to ensure the maintenance of general peace and

the security of nations whose existence, independence or territories may be

threatened;

Recognising the solidarity of the members of the international community;

Asserting that a war of aggression constitutes a violation of this

solidarity and an international crime;

Desirous of facilitating the complete application of the system provided in

the Covenant of the League of Nations for the pacific settlement of

disputes between States and of ensuring the repression of international

crimes; and

For the purpose of realising, as contemplated by Article 8 of the Covenant,

the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with

national safety and the enforcement by common action of international

obligations;

The Undersigned, duly authorised to that effect, agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1.

The signatory States undertake to make every effort in their power to

secure the introduction into the Covenant of amendments on the lines of the

provisions contained in the following articles.

They agree that, as between themselves, these provisions shall be binding

as from the coming into force of the present Protocol and that, so far as

they are concerned, the Assembly and the Council of the League of Nations

shall thenceforth have power to exercise all the rights and perform all the

duties conferred upon them by the Protocol.

ARTICLE 2.

The signatory States agree in no case to resort to war either with one

another or against a State which, if the occasion arises, accepts all the

obligations hereinafter set out, except in case of resistance to acts of

aggression or when acting in agreement with the Council or the Assembly of

the League of Nations in accordance with the provisions of the Covenant and

of the present Protocol.

ARTICLE 3.

The signatory States undertake to recognise as compulsory, ipso facto and

without special agreement, the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of

International Justice in the cases covered by paragraph 2 of Article 36 of

the Statute of the Court, but without prejudice to the right of any State,

when acceding to the special protocol provided for in the said Article and

opened for signature on December 16th, 1920, to make reservations

compatible with the said clause.

Accession to this special protocol, opened for signature on December 16th,

1920, must be given within the month following the coming into force of the

present Protocol.

States which accede to the present Protocol, after its coming into force,

must carry out the above obligation within the month following their

accession.

ARTICLE 4.

With a view to render more complete the provisions of paragraphs 4, 5, 6,

and 7 of Article 15 of the Covenant, the signatory States agree to comply

with the following procedure:

1. If the dispute submitted to the Council is not settled by it as

provided in paragraph 3 of the said Article 15, the Council shall

endeavour to persuade the parties to submit the dispute to judicial

settlement or arbitration.

2. (a) If the parties cannot agree to do so, there shall, at the request

of at least one of the parties, be constituted a Committee of

Arbitrators. The Committee shall so far as possible be constituted by

agreement between the parties.

(b) If within the period fixed by the Council the parties have failed

to agree, in whole or in part, upon the number, the names and the

powers of the arbitrators and upon the procedure, the Council shall

settle the points remaining in suspense. It shall with the utmost

possible despatch select in consultation with the parties the

arbitrators and their President from among persons who by their

nationality, their personal character and their experience, appear to

it to furnish the highest guarantees of competence and impartiality.

(c) After the claims of the parties have been formulated, the

Committee of Arbitrators, on the request of any party, shall through

the medium of the Council request an advisory opinion upon any points

of law in dispute from the Permanent Court of International Justice,

which in such case shall meet with the utmost possible despatch.

3. If none of the parties asks for arbitration, the Council shall again

take the dispute under consideration. If the Council reaches a report

which is unanimously agreed to by the members thereof other than the

representatives of any of the parties to the dispute, the signatory

States agree to comply with the recommendations therein.

4. If the Council fails to reach a report which is concurred in by all

its members, other than the representatives of any of the parties to

the dispute, it shall submit the dispute to arbitration. It shall

itself determine the composition, the powers and the procedure of the

Committee of Arbitrators and, in the choice of the arbitrators, shall

bear in mind the guarantees of competence and impartiality referred

to in paragraph 2 (b) above.

5. In no case may a solution, upon which there has already been a

unanimous recommendation of the Council accepted by one of the

parties concerned, be again called in question.

6. The signatory States undertake that they will carry out in full good

faith any judicial sentence or arbitral award that may be rendered

and that they will comply, as provided in paragraph 3 above, with the

solutions recommended by the Council. In the event of a State failing

to carry out the above undertakings, the Council shall exert all its

influence to secure compliance therewith. If it fails therein, it

shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect thereto, in

accordance with the provision contained at the end of Article 13 of

the Covenant. Should a State in disregard of the above undertakings

resort to war, the sanctions provided for by Article 16 of the

Covenant, interpreted in the manner indicated in the present

Protocol, shall immediately become applicable to it.

7. The provisions of the present article do not apply to the settlement

of disputes which arise as the result of measures of war taken by one

or more signatory States in agreement with the Council or the

Assembly.

ARTICLE 5.

The provisions of paragraph 8 of Article 15 of the Covenant shall continue

to apply in proceedings before the Council.

If in the course of an arbitration, such as is contemplated in Article 4

above, one of the parties claims that the dispute, or part thereof, arises

out of a matter which by international law is solely within the domestic

jurisdiction of that party, the arbitrators shall on this point take the

advice of the Permanent Court of International Justice through the medium

of the Council. The opinion of the Court shall be binding upon the

arbitrators, who, if the opinion is affirmative, shall confine themselves

to so declaring in their award.

If the question is held by the Court or by the Council to be a matter

solely within the domestic jurisdiction of the State, this decision shall

not prevent consideration of the situation by the Council or by the

Assembly under Article 11 of the Covenant.

ARTICLE 6.

If in accordance with paragraph 9 of Article 15 of the Covenant a dispute

is referred to the Assembly, that body shall have for the settlement of the

dispute all the powers conferred upon the Council as to endeavouring to

reconcile the parties in the manner laid down in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of

Article 15 of the Covenant and in paragraph 1 of Article 4 above.

Should the Assembly fail to achieve an amicable settlement:

If one of the parties asks for arbitration, the Council shall proceed to

constitute the Committee of Arbitrators in the manner provided in

sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 2 of Article 4 above.

If no party asks for arbitration, the Assembly shall again take the dispute

under consideration and shall have in this connection the same powers as

the Council. Recommendations embodied in a report of the Assembly, provided

that it secures the measure of support stipulated at the end of paragraph

10 of Article 15 of the Covenant, shall have the same value and effect, as

regards all matters dealt with in the present Protocol, as recommendations

embodied in a report of the Council adopted as provided in paragraph 3 of

Article 4 above.

If the necessary majority cannot be obtained, the dispute shall be

submitted to arbitration and the Council shall determine the composition,

the powers and the procedure of the Committee of Arbitrators as laid down

in paragraph 4 of Article 4.

ARTICLE 7.

In the event of a dispute arising between two or more signatory States,

these States agree that they will not, either before the dispute is

submitted to proceedings for pacific settlement or during such proceedings,

make any increase of their armaments or effectives which might modify the

position established by the Conference for the Reduction of Armaments

provided for by Article 17 of the present Protocol, nor will they take any

measure of military, naval, air, industrial or economic mobilisation, nor,

in general, any action of a nature likely to extend the dispute or render

it more acute.

It shall be the duty of the Council, in accordance with the provisions of

Article 11 of the Covenant, to take under consideration any complaint as to

infraction of the above undertakings which is made to it by one or more of

the States parties to the dispute. Should the Council be of opinion that

the complaint requires investigation, it shall, if it deems it expedient,

arrange for enquiries and investigations in one or more of the countries

concerned. Such enquiries and investigations shall be carried out with the

utmost possible despatch, and the signatory States undertake to afford

every facility for carrying them out.

The sole object of measures taken by the Council as above provided is to

facilitate the pacific settlement of disputes and they shall in no way

prejudge the actual settlement.

If the result of such enquiries and investigations is to establish an

infraction of the provisions of the first paragraph of the present Article,

it shall be the duty of the Council to summon the State or States guilty of

the infraction to put an end thereto. Should the State or States in

question fail to comply with such summons, the Council shall declare them

to be guilty of a violation of the Covenant or of the present Protocol, and

shall decide upon the measures to be taken with a view to end as soon as

possible a situation of a nature to threaten the peace of the world.

For the purposes of the present Article decisions of the Council may be

taken by a two-thirds majority.

ARTICLE 8.

The signatory States undertake to abstain from any act which might

constitute a threat of aggression against another State.

If one of the signatory States is of opinion that another State is making

preparations for war, it shall have the right to bring the matter to the

notice of the Council.

The Council, if it ascertains that the facts are as alleged, shall proceed

as provided in paragraphs 2, 4, and 5 of Article 7.

ARTICLE 9.

The existence of demilitarised zones being calculated to prevent aggression

and to facilitate a definite finding of the nature provided for in Article

10 below, the establishment of such zones between States mutually

consenting thereto is recommended as a means of avoiding violations of the

present Protocol.

The demilitarised zones already existing under the terms of certain

treaties or conventions, or which may be established in future between

States mutually consenting thereto, may at the request and at the expense

of one or more of the conterminous States, be placed under a temporary or

permanent system of supervision to be organised by the Council.

ARTICLE 10.

Every State which resorts to war in violation of the undertakings contained

in the Covenant or in the present Protocol is an aggressor. Violation of

the rules laid down for a demilitarised zone shall be held equivalent to

resort to war.

In the event of hostilities having broken out, any State shall be presumed

to be an aggressor, unless a decision of the Council, which must be taken

unanimously, shall otherwise declare:

1. If it has refused to submit the dispute to the procedure of pacific

settlement provided by Articles 13 and 15 of the Covenant as

amplified by the present Protocol, or to comply with a judicial

sentence or arbitral award or with a unanimous recommendation of the

Council, or has disregarded a unanimous report of the Council, a

judicial sentence or an arbitral award recognising that the dispute

between it and the other belligerent State arises out of a matter

which by international law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction

of the latter State; nevertheless, in the last case the State shall

only be presumed to be an aggressor if it has not previously

submitted the question to the Council or the Assembly, in accordance

with Article 11 of the Covenant.

2. If it has violated provisional measures enjoined by the Council for

the period while the proceedings are in progress as contemplated by

Article 7 of the present Protocol.

Apart from the cases dealt with in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the present

Article, if the Council does not at once succeed in determining the