International Court. The League of Nations and its role in the development of international relations, an essay on international relations, essays from international relations Principles for resolving controversial issues of the League of Nations

The League of Nations and its role in the development of international relations.

The idea of creating the League of Nations came from Great Britain. At the end of 1915, Foreign Secretary Gray proposed the creation of an international organization to fight for peace. The issue of the League was one of the main ones on the agenda for at least two main reasons. First, as an international body, the League could indeed make a practical contribution to regulating international relations and reducing the danger of war. Secondly, the League and its Charter were intended to give legal and moral sanction to the policies of the great powers, to legalize it in the eyes of public opinion, which by the 20s of the twentieth century was already becoming an important political factor - primarily in democratic and liberal countries.

A commission was created to prepare the League's charter, headed by Wilson. A struggle began between England, France and the United States regarding the draft charter. Later England and the USA united.

The creation of the League caused serious disputes between the main participants of the conference. At one of the first meetings, it became clear that the plans for its creation, coming from different delegations, differ in the extent of their scope and the degree of elaboration of details. The French plan, in particular, was much more detailed than the British one. Paris irreconcilably demanded the inclusion in the Charter of a clause on the creation of international armed forces capable of maintaining security in Europe. France hoped to use its superiority in ground forces and make them the basis of a future international army, which, if necessary, could be sent against Germany. At the same time, the French delegation believed that it was first necessary to prepare and sign an agreement with Germany, and then create international organization.

In this, Clemenceau met very serious resistance from Wilson, who believed that the creation of a world order should begin precisely with the construction of the League. According to the United States, the League, as the main international organization for the creation new system collective security it was even possible to delegate the right to develop a peace treaty with Germany altogether. Wilson insisted on preparing a draft for the creation of the League by a special commission. As part of the conference, a committee was formed (January 25, 1919) to prepare a draft League of Nations. The resolution establishing it, proposed by the British delegation, provided that the League:

will be created to resolve all issues related to the establishment of peace and promote international cooperation, implementation of guarantees for the fulfillment of accepted international obligations;

will become an integral part of the general treaty of peace, and remain open to the accession of every civilized nation that will accept and support its purposes;

will ensure periodic meetings of its members at international conferences (sessions), for which a permanent organization and secretariat will be created to ensure the work of the League in the breaks between conferences (sessions).

The adoption of the resolution was an undoubted success for Wilson, but it did not guarantee the preparation of the organization's Charter before the completion of the treaty with Germany. Wilson's opponents did not hide their hopes that the work of the commission under his chairmanship would fail. But the American delegation showed persistence. The US President himself, with the help of a member of the American delegation, D.H. Miller, twice revised his original draft of the League. The last one was already finished February 2, 1919 G. February 14, 1919 The charter of the League (an Anglo-American project) was published.

Members of the League of Nations.

Of the 65 large states that existed on the planet in 1920, all, with the exception of the United States and Saudi Arabia(formed in 1932), at one time or another were members of the League.

The main objectives of the League of Nations

building peace through cooperation;

guarantee of peace through collective security;

This was the first time in history that an international organization was to become the guarantor of international custom.

The main point of the LN Charter. was:

providing guarantees to member countries:

collective action in case of violation of the charter and war

maintaining the independence and territorial integrity of powers

If the conflict cannot be resolved independently, its participants can turn to arbitration or the LN Council.

the parties must not resort to military action for 3 months after convening a conference on the conflict (that is, the war is resolved!)

Measures against violations:

violations of the peace are considered as war against all members of the League

Maintaining complete economic and political isolation

Formation of troops from national contingents in order to enforce peace

These sanctions were used in 1935 against Italy during the aggression in Ethiopia, but ineffectively.

Disadvantages of the LN Charter and disadvantages in general

sanctions were not comprehensive

decisions in the Assembly were made on the principle of unanimity, and any member of the LN could veto and paralyze the activities of the LN

LN did not become influential due to the absence of the USA and the USSR

The number of committees was not limited - there were a huge number of them. There is a missing coordination body and only in recent years 2 Coordination Committees have been created.

Structure.

The League of Nations included the member states of the League, the Assembly, the Council, the Secretariat, various technical commissions and auxiliary services. The structure, functions and powers of the League were defined in the Charter. The League's annual budget was about $6 million. The seat of the main bodies of the League was Geneva (Switzerland).

The Assembly included representatives of all states that were members of the League of Nations. Sessions of the Assembly were held annually in September, in addition, special sessions were convened from time to time. Each member of the Assembly had one vote. The Assembly had broad powers that covered the entire sphere of activity of the League. Paragraph 3 of the Charter stated that the Assembly had the right to consider “any question within the sphere of authority of the League or affecting questions of world peace.” The internal structure of the Assembly corresponded to the principles of constructing a legislative body; it included 7 standing commissions, which usually operated in parallel with the technical services of the League.

The Council was originally intended for representatives of 9 states. The non-participation of the United States reduced the number of Council members to 8. Over the next 20 years, this figure fluctuated, and on January 1, 1940, the number of Council members reached 14. Membership in the Council could be permanent, non-permanent or temporary. The purpose of this division was to provide permanent membership of the Council; Representation of small powers was carried out on the basis of the principle of rotation. In accordance with the Charter, Council sessions were held 4 times a year, not counting special sessions. The functions of the Council, as defined by the Charter, were as broad as those of the Assembly, but the Council had exclusive rights in resolving the problems of minorities, issues related to the system of mandates, the problem of Danzig (Gdansk), the Saarland, in resolving conflicts and applying the articles of the Charter devoted to issues of collective security.

The Secretariat was the administrative body of the League. The Secretariat operated on a permanent basis and had a strong influence on the policies of the League. The Secretariat was headed by the Secretary General, the administrative head of the League. In 1940, the Secretariat staff included employees from 50 countries.

Functions.

The main goals of the League were to maintain peace and improve conditions human life. The measures taken to maintain peace included the reduction and limitation of armaments; the obligations of the member states of the League to oppose any aggression; mutual agreements for arbitration, legal settlement or special investigations of the Board; agreements between League members on mutual actions in the application of economic and military sanctions. In addition to these basic conditions, a number of different provisions were adopted, for example on the registration of contracts and the protection of minorities.

Reasons for the collapse of the League of Nations. An objective, unbiased approach to assessment peacekeeping activities The League of Nations and a balanced analysis of the results of its activities indicate that this international organization had both negative and positive features. And although it was unable to prevent the Second World War, through its activities at the first stage (the 20s), the League contributed to the peaceful resolution of dozens of conflicts. For the first time, liability for collective action against the offender international law translated into concrete decisions. A new phenomenon was that the League of Nations had a global character and bore global responsibility for preventing war through the concerted actions of its members. The charter provided guarantees for members of the organization to maintain their political independence and territorial integrity against external aggression. The organization was created with the aim of ensuring peaceful resolution of conflicts and preventing war. The Charter provided for collective action by all members of the League of Nations in the event of a violation of the Charter by the aggressor and the outbreak of war. A certain procedure for resolving conflicts was established. If the conflicting parties were unable to resolve the dispute through negotiations, they had to turn to arbitration, the Permanent Court of International Justice or the Council of the League. The conflicting parties were not to resort to war for at least three months after the decision was made by the body that considered the conflict. But after this period, the hands of the conflicting parties were virtually untied. An important drawback of the League Charter was that war as a method of resolving controversial issues was not prohibited. Measures against peace violators were regulated by the Charter. Breaking the peace was considered an act of war against all members of the League. Immediate total economic and political isolation of the violator was assumed. The Council also had the right to recommend military sanctions, including the creation of united armed forces from contingents of League members.

Bad influence The effectiveness of the League's activities was affected by the absence of a number of large states among its members. The United States, which was among the initiators of the creation of the League of Nations, did not become a member. The growing influence of isolationists, who demanded that the United States not be drawn into European affairs and not tie its hands with the obligations of the League Charter, was the reason that the Treaty of Versailles, part of which included provisions for the creation of the League of Nations, was not ratified by the American Congress. The participation of the USSR in the work of the League turned out to be short-lived. It was adopted in 1934 and deleted in 1939 due to the Soviet-Finnish war. Germany joined the League in 1926 and left it in 1935, submitting a corresponding application in 1933. So, the League of Nations is not a permanent, indeed a universal organization. In 1932, it had 60 members. For various reasons, 16 powers abandoned it. Main role England and France played a role in the leadership of the League of Nations. All this narrowed the possibilities for making informed decisions, taking into account the national interests of all states and the interests of common security. The League of Nations was designed to maintain the status quo that was created as a result of the First World War. But the Versailles Peace was built on great disagreements, injustices associated with the predatory division of territories and the violent solution of other fundamentally important issues. The League proved unable to quell the first dangerous fires of war allowed by the fascist states. The Second World War finally buried the League of Nations, although formally it existed until July 31, 1946. The collapse of the League of Nations seriously undermined the idea of collective security. There are quite enough prerequisites for negative assessments of this international organization.

There were achievements in her work. The League played a positive role in solving post-war problems in a number of cases. Thus, during the first 10 years of its existence (1919-1929), the League of Nations considered 30 international conflicts, and most of them were resolved. League failures to resolve political problems often overshadow her achievements in the social and humanitarian field, downplay the importance of her activities in the field of international economic policy and financial regulation, international communications and transit systems, in improving the health care system in many countries of the world, scientific cooperation, codification of international law, preparation of conferences on disarmament and other social and humanitarian fields. Successes include establishing control over the spread of opium and the slave trade (mainly in women). In addition, significant progress has been made in protecting the rights and interests of young people. The League was closely connected with its legal body, the Permanent Court of International Justice, which had its own structure and made independent decisions. In addition, the League worked closely with many international organizations that had no official or historical ties with it.

It should be noted that the first attempt at official codification was made within the framework of the League of Nations. In 1924, the League Council formed a committee of experts of 16 lawyers, which was supposed to deal with issues of codification of international law, including the law of treaties. A report was prepared on this area of law, which was never discussed. The first international legal act that codified the most established norms of the law of treaties was the Inter-American Convention on International Treaties of 1928, which consisted of only 21 articles.

THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, the first world organization whose goals included the preservation of peace and development international cooperation. It was formally founded on January 10, 1920 and ceased to exist on April 18, 1946 with the formation of the UN. The ideas and projects proposed since the 17th century found their practical expression in the League of Nations. until the First World War. Of the 65 large states that existed on the planet in 1920, all except the United States and Saudi Arabia (formed in 1932), at one time or another were members of the League.Structure. The League of Nations included member states of the League, the Assembly, the Council, the Secretariat, various technical commissions and auxiliary services. The structure, functions and powers of the League were defined in the Charter. The annual budget of the League was approx. 6 million dollars. The seat of the main bodies of the League was Geneva (Switzerland).

The Assembly included representatives of all states that were members of the League of Nations. Sessions of the Assembly were held annually in September, in addition, special sessions were convened from time to time. Each member of the Assembly had one vote. The Assembly had broad powers that covered the entire sphere of activity of the League. Paragraph 3 of the Charter stated that the Assembly had the right to consider “any question within the sphere of authority of the League or affecting questions of world peace.” Internal structure The Assembly met the principles of constructing a legislative body; it included 7 standing commissions, which usually operated in parallel with the technical services of the League.

Members of the League of Nations. Founding countries are marked with an asterisk (*). Year of adoption and/ or the year of the declaration of withdrawal (effective after two years) are indicated in brackets.
Australia*
Austria (adopted 1920, annexed by Germany 1938)
Albania (adopted 1920, annexed by Italy 1939)
Argentina*
Afghanistan (adopted 1934)
Belgium*
Bulgaria (adopted 1920)
Bolivia*
Brazil (published in 1926)
Hungary (admitted 1922, withdrew 1939)
Venezuela* (published in 1938)
Haiti* (published in 1942)
Guatemala* (published in 1936)
Germany (admitted 1926, withdrew 1933)
Honduras* (published in 1936)
Greece*
Denmark*
Dominican Republic (adopted 1924)
Egypt (adopted 1937)
India*
Iraq (adopted 1932)
Ireland (adopted 1923)
Spain* (published in 1939)
Italy* (published in 1937)
Canada*
China*
Colombia*
Costa Rica (adopted 1920, withdrew 1925)
Cuba*
Latvia (adopted 1921)
Liberia*
Lithuania (adopted 1921)
Luxembourg (adopted 1920)
Mexico (adopted 1931)
Netherlands*
Nicaragua* (published in 1936)
New Zealand*
Norway*
Panama*
Paraguay* (published in 1935)
Persia (Iran)*
Peru* (published in 1939)
Poland*
Portugal*
Romania* (published in 1940)
Salvador* (published in 1937)
Siam (Thailand)*
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland*
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (adopted in 1934, expelled in 1939)
Türkiye (adopted 1932)
Uruguay*
Finland (adopted 1920)
France*
Czechoslovakia*
Chile* (published in 1938)
Switzerland*
Sweden*
Ecuador (adopted 1934)
Estonia (adopted 1921)
Ethiopia (adopted 1923)
Yugoslavia*
Union of South Africa*
Japan* (published in 1933)Functions. The League's main goals were to preserve peace and improve the human condition. The measures taken to maintain peace included the reduction and limitation of armaments; obligations of member states of the League to oppose any aggression; mutual agreements for arbitration, legal settlement or special investigations of the Council; agreements between League members on mutual actions in the application of economic and military sanctions. In addition to these basic conditions, a number of different provisions were adopted, for example on the registration of contracts and the protection of minorities.

Although the League managed to resolve, to varying degrees successfully, more than forty political conflicts, its efforts to resolve the main contradictions through the use of paragraph 16 of the League Charter on collective security led to its weakening and cessation of activity. The League's unsuccessful attempt in 1931 to apply effective sanctions against Japan, which attacked Manchuria, and the even more serious inability to influence events during the Italian aggression against Ethiopia clearly demonstrated to potential aggressors the weakness of the enforcement mechanism power solutions in a peaceful settlement.

The League's failures in solving political problems often obscure its achievements in the social and humanitarian field, downplaying the importance of its activities in the field of international economic policy and financial regulation, international communications and transit systems, in improving the health care system in many countries of the world, scientific cooperation, and the codification of international law , preparation of conferences on disarmament and other social and humanitarian fields. Successes include establishing control over the spread of opium and the slave trade (mainly in women). In addition, significant progress has been made in protecting the rights and interests of young people. The League was closely linked to its legal body, the Permanent Court of International Justice, which had its own structure and made independent decisions. In addition, the League worked closely with many international organizations that had no official or historical ties with it.

The exclusion of the USSR from members of the League in 1939 led to the fact that only one great power remained in its composition: Great Britain. In the critical days preceding September 1939, none of the countries resorted to the help of the League; by January 1940 the League ceased its settlement activities political issues. At the last session of the Assembly on April 18, 1946, a decision was made on the transfer of property and material assets League of the United Nations, and its social and economic functions were combined with the activities of the Economic and Social Council.

APPLICATION CHARTER OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

High Contracting Parties,

Whereas, in order to develop cooperation between peoples and to guarantee their peace and security, it is important

make some commitments not to resort to war,

keep in full publicity international relationships based on justice and honor,

strictly observe the requirements of international law, which are now recognized as a valid rule of conduct for governments,

to establish the rule of justice and to faithfully observe all obligations imposed by treaties in the mutual relations of organized peoples accepting this Charter, which establishes the League of Nations.

1. The original Members of the League of Nations shall be those of the signatories whose names appear in the Annex to this Charter, and the States likewise named in the Annex, which shall enter into this Charter without any reservation, by means of a declaration lodged with the Secretariat within two months before the entry into force of the Charter, about which notification will be made to other Members of the League.

2. All states, dominions or colonies which are freely governed and which are not specified in the Annex may become Members of the League if two-thirds of the Assembly (Assembly) vote in favor of their admission, since they have given valid guarantees of their sincere intention to comply with international obligations and because they will accept the provisions established by the League regarding their military, naval and air forces and armaments.

3. Any Member of the League may, after a preliminary warning of two years, withdraw from the League, provided that by that time it has fulfilled all its international obligations, including obligations under this Charter.

The activities of the League, as defined in this Charter, are carried out by the Assembly and the Council, under which there is a permanent Secretariat.

1. The Assembly consists of representatives of the Members of the League.

2. It meets at the appointed time and at any other time, if circumstances so require, at the seat of the League or at such other place as may be appointed.

3. The Assembly is responsible for all matters that fall within the scope of the League and that affect world peace.

4. Each Member of the League may have no more than three representatives in the Assembly and has only one vote.

1. The Council shall consist of representatives of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers (Note: USA, British Empire, France, Italy and Japan), and representatives of the four other Members of the League. These four Members of the League shall be appointed at the discretion of the Assembly and for such periods as it may wish to choose. Until first appointment by the Assembly, representatives of Belgium, Brazil, Spain and Greece are members of the Council.

2. With the approval of a majority of the Assembly, the Council may appoint other Members of the League, whose representation in the Council will henceforth be permanent (Note: By virtue of this paragraph of the Charter, Germany was elected as a permanent member of the Council on September 8, 1926). He may, with the same approval, increase the number of Members of the League who shall be elected by the Assembly to be represented in the Council (Note: On September 25, 1922, the number of Council members elected by the Assembly was increased to six, and on September 8, 1926, to nine ).

2-a. The Assembly will establish, by a two-thirds majority vote, the procedure for electing temporary members of the Council, in particular, determining the period of their participation in it and the conditions for a new election. (This amendment took effect July 29, 1926)

3. The Council shall meet when circumstances so require, and at least once a year, at the seat of the League or at such other place as may be designated.

4. The Council is in charge of all matters within the scope of the League and affecting world peace.

5. Every Member of the League not represented in the Council is invited to send a representative to attend it when a matter particularly affecting its interests is brought before the Council.

6. Each Member of the League represented in the Council has only one vote and has only one representative.

1. Since there are no specifically contrary provisions of this Charter or provisions of this Treaty, decisions of the Assembly or Council shall be adopted unanimously by the Members of the League represented in the assembly.

2. Any questions of procedure arising at meetings of the Assembly or Council, including the appointment of commissions charged with investigation special occasions, are resolved by the Assembly or Council, and the decision is made by a majority of the Members of the League represented at the meeting. [...]

1. A permanent Secretariat is established at the seat of the League. It includes the Secretary General as well as the necessary secretaries and necessary staff. [...]

1. The seat of the League shall be Geneva.

1. The members of the League recognize that the preservation of peace requires the limitation of national armaments to a minimum consistent with national security and with the fulfillment of the international obligations imposed by common action.

2. The Council, taking into account the geographical position and special conditions of each State, shall prepare plans for this limitation for the purpose of consideration and decision by the various Governments.

3. These plans must be subject to new consideration, and, if necessary, revision at least every ten years.

4. Once adopted by the various governments, the limit of armaments so fixed shall not be exceeded without the consent of the Council.

5. Considering that the private production of munitions and war materials is subject to serious objections, the Members of the League entrust the Council to give an opinion on measures capable of eliminating its harmful consequences, taking into account the needs of those Members of the League who are unable to manufacture the equipment and war materials necessary for their security.

6. The members of the League undertake to exchange in the most frank and complete manner all information relating to the extent of their armaments, to their military, naval and air programs and to the state of those branches of their industries that can be used for war.

A standing commission will be formed to present to the Council its opinions on the implementation of the provisions of Articles 1 and 8 and likewise on general military, naval and air matters.

Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve against any external attack the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In the event of an attack, threat or danger of attack, the Council shall indicate measures to ensure the fulfillment of this obligation.

1. Declares expressly that every war or threat of war, whether directly affecting or not affecting any of the Members of the League, is of interest to the League as a whole and that the latter must take measures capable of effectively protecting the peace of nations. In such a case, the Secretary General shall immediately convene a Council at the request of any Member of the League.

2. It is further declared that every Member of the League has the right, in a friendly manner, to bring to the attention of the Assembly or Council any circumstance likely to affect international relations and therefore threatening to disturb the peace or good concord between nations on which peace depends.

1. Members of the League agree that if a dispute arises between them that could lead to a break, they will subject it either to arbitration, judicial resolution, or consideration by the Council. They further agree that they must in no case resort to war before the expiration of a period of three months after the decision of the arbitrators or the court order or the report of the Council.

2. In all cases provided for in this article, the decision of the arbitrators or the court order must be rendered within a reasonable time, and the report of the Council must be drawn up within six months, counting from the day the dispute was submitted to it for consideration.

1. Members of the League agree that if a dispute arises between them that, in their opinion, can be resolved by arbitration or by court order, and if the dispute cannot be settled satisfactorily by diplomatic means, the matter will be entirely subject to arbitration or judicial determination.

2. Disputes which relate to the interpretation of any treaty, to any question of international law, to the existence of any fact which, if established, would constitute a violation of an international obligation, or to the extent and manner of redress available for such violation.

3. The tribunal to which all disputes of this kind shall be referred shall be the Permanent Court of International Court of Justice established in accordance with Article 14, or any other tribunal which the parties to the dispute agree upon or which is established by any convention existing between them.

4. Members of the League undertake to conscientiously implement the decisions or resolutions made and not resort to war against a Member of the League who will comply with them. In case of non-compliance with a decision or resolution, the Council proposes measures that should ensure their implementation.

The Council is charged with preparing a draft of the Permanent Court of the International Court of Justice and submitting it to the Members of the League.

This Chamber will be in charge of all disputes of an international nature that the parties submit to it. It will also give advisory opinions on all disputes and on all questions submitted to it by the Council or the Assembly.

1. If a dispute arises between the Members of the League that may lead to a rupture, and if this dispute is not subject to arbitration or judicial proceedings provided for in article 13, then the Members of the League agree to submit it to the Council. For this purpose, it is sufficient that one of them points out this dispute to the Secretary General, who takes all measures for a full investigation and consideration.

2. B the shortest possible time The parties must provide him with a statement of their case with all relevant facts and supporting documents. The Council may order their immediate publication.

3. The Council shall endeavor to bring about a settlement of the dispute. If he succeeds, he will publish, to the extent he deems necessary, a statement conveying the facts, the relevant explanations and the terms of this settlement.

4. If the dispute could not be settled, the Council shall draw up and publish a report, adopted either unanimously or by majority vote, to inform of the circumstances of the dispute, as well as the solutions proposed by it as being the fairest and most appropriate to the case.

5. Any Member of the League represented on the Council may equally publish a statement of the facts relating to the dispute and its own conclusions.

6. If the report of the Council is adopted unanimously, and the votes of the representatives of the parties are not taken into account in establishing this unanimity, then the Members of the League undertake not to resort to war against any party that is consistent with the conclusions of the report.

7. In the event that the Council fails to achieve the acceptance of its report by all its members except the Representatives of the Parties to the dispute, the Members of the League reserve the right to act as they consider appropriate for the preservation of law and justice.

8. If one of the Parties asserts, and if the Council recognizes, that the dispute concerns a matter which is subject to the exclusive domestic jurisdiction of that Party under international law, the Council shall state this in a report without proposing any solution to the matter.

9. The Council may, in all cases provided for in this article, submit a dispute to the Assembly. The Assembly will also have to consider the dispute at the request of one of the Parties; this petition must be submitted within fourteen days from the moment the dispute is brought before the Council.

10. In any matter referred to the Assembly, the provisions of this article and article 12 relating to the actions and powers of the Council shall apply equally to the actions and powers of the Assembly. It is agreed that a report drawn up by the Assembly with the approval of the representatives of the Members of the League represented in the Council and of a majority of the other Members of the League, excluding in each case the Representatives of the Parties to the dispute, shall have the same force as a report of the Council unanimously adopted by its Members, except Representatives of the Parties involved in the dispute.

1. If a Member of the League resorts to war contrary to the obligations assumed in Articles 12, 13 or 15, he

ipso facto regarded as having committed an act of war against all other Members of the League. The latter undertake to immediately sever all commercial or financial relations with him, to prohibit all communications between their citizens and the citizens of the state that has violated the Charter, and to suppress financial, commercial or personal relations between the citizens of that state and the citizens of any other state, whether it is a Member of the League or not. .

2. In such case, the Council shall propose to the various Governments concerned that numerical composition military, naval or air force, whereby the Members of the League will, by affiliation, participate in the armed forces intended to maintain respect for the obligations of the League.

3. The members of the League agree, furthermore, to provide each other with mutual assistance in the application of the financial and economic measures to be taken under this Article in order to reduce to a minimum the losses and inconveniences that may result from them. They also provide mutual support to counteract any special measure, directed against one of them by a state that violated the Charter. They adopt the necessary regulations to facilitate passage through

their territory of the forces of every Member of the League participating in the general action, to maintain respect for the obligations of the League.

4. Any Member found guilty of violating one of the obligations arising from the Charter may be expelled from the League. Expulsion is decided by the votes of all other League members represented on the Council.

1. In the event of a dispute between two States, of which only one is a Member of the League, or of which neither is a Member, a State or States extraneous to the League are invited to submit to the obligations of its Members for the purpose of settling the dispute on terms recognized by the Council as fair.

If this invitation is accepted, the provisions of Articles 1216 shall apply, subject to modifications deemed necessary by the Council.

2. After sending this invitation, the Council opens an investigation into the circumstances of the dispute and proposes such a measure as seems to it the best and most valid in the given case.

3. If the invited state, refusing to assume the duties of a Member of the League in order to settle the dispute, resorts to war against a Member of the League, then the provisions of Article

16. 4. If both invited parties refuse to accept the duties of a Member of the League in order to resolve the dispute, then the Council may take all measures and make all proposals capable of preventing hostile actions and leading to a resolution of the conflict.

Any international treaties or international obligations entered into by a Member of the League in the future shall be immediately registered by the Secretariat and published as soon as possible. None of these international treaties or agreements will become binding until they are registered.

The Assembly may from time to time invite the Members of the League to begin a new examination of treaties which have become inapplicable, as well as of international provisions the continuance of which might endanger world peace.

1. The Members of the League acknowledge, each so far as it concerns him, that this Charter supersedes all obligations or agreements

inter se , incompatible with its terms, and solemnly undertake not to enter into similar agreements in the future.

2. If, prior to his entry into the League, a Member has undertaken obligations that are incompatible with the terms of the Charter, he must take immediate measures to free himself from these obligations.

International obligations, such as treaties of arbitration, and agreements limited to certain areas, such as the Monroe Doctrine, which provide for the preservation of peace, shall not be considered inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Charter.

1. The following principles apply to colonies and territories which, as a result of war, have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the states that previously governed them, and which are inhabited by peoples who are not yet capable of independently governing themselves in the especially difficult conditions of the modern world. The welfare and development of these peoples constitutes the sacred mission of civilization and it is appropriate to include guarantees for the implementation of this mission in this Charter.

2. Best method to practically carry out this principle is to entrust the guardianship of these peoples to the advanced nations [...] who are willing to accept it: they would exercise this guardianship as Mandatory and in the name of the League.

3. The nature of the mandate must vary according to the degree of development of the people, the geographical location of the territory, its economic conditions and any other similar circumstances. [...]

7. In all cases, the Mandatory shall send to the Council an annual report concerning the territories entrusted to him. [...]

In compliance with regulations international agreements which currently exist or will be concluded hereafter, and in agreement therewith the Members of the League:

(a) shall endeavor to secure and maintain just and humane conditions of labor for men, women and children in their own territories and in all countries with which their commercial and industrial relations extend. [...]

1. All international bureaus previously established by collective agreements will, subject to the consent of the Parties, be placed under the leadership of the League. All sorts of other international bureaus and all sorts of commissions for settling cases international importance, which will be created subsequently, will be placed under the leadership of the League. [...]

Reprinted by: Satou E. Guide to Diplomatic Practice. M., Gospolitizdat, 1947.

“... a panel of independent judges, elected, regardless of their citizenship, from among persons of high moral character...”

Statute of the International Court of Justice, 1945

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the main judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established, signed on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco, to achieve one of the main purposes of the UN: “to carry out by peaceful means, in accordance with the principles of justice and international law, the settlement or settlement of international disputes or situations which may lead to a breach of the peace "

The court operates in accordance with, which is part of the Charter, and its Rules of Procedure. It began operating in 1946, replacing the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was established in 1920 under the auspices of the League of Nations.

The seat of the Court is the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six main organs of the United Nations, the Court is the only organ located outside New York. The other five main organs of the United Nations are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat.

The Court has a dual function: deciding, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States, and issuing advisory opinions on legal questions duly requested by authorized bodies and specialized agencies of the United Nations.

The court consists of 15 judges and is served by the Registry, its administrative body. His official languages are English and French.

When was the idea of resolving international disputes based on law born?

The establishment of the International Court of Justice was the culmination of a long process during which methods for the peaceful settlement of international disputes were gradually developed.

In addition to negotiation, mediation and conciliation, the idea of turning to an impartial body to resolve a dispute on the basis of law goes back to ancient times. It is known as arbitration.

Arbitration was known in ancient India and Greece, early Islamic civilization and medieval Europe.

Admittedly, modern history arbitration dates back to the Jay Treaty, concluded by the United States of America and Great Britain in 1794. This Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation provided for the creation of mixed commissions consisting of an equal number of American citizens and British subjects to settle several outstanding issues. Thanks to the work of these mixed commissions, the institution of arbitration developed in the nineteenth century.

The arbitration of the Alabama case in 1872 marks another decisive stage. The United States and the United Kingdom submitted to arbitration United States claims related to Britain's alleged violations of neutrality during the civil war in America. The arbitration tribunal, made up of members appointed by the parties and three other countries, ruled that the UK must pay compensation. The UK's exemplary implementation of an arbitration award demonstrated the effectiveness of arbitration in resolving a major dispute.

Has the success of arbitration stimulated the creation of new institutions?

Yes. This success led states to consider a permanent international court responsible for the peaceful resolution of disputes, in order to eliminate the need to create special judicial bodies to decide each individual dispute that could be resolved through arbitration.

This proposal began to take real shape at the Hague Peace Conferences, convened in 1899 and 1907 on the initiative of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The 26 states represented at the first conference signed the Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes and the establishment of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PPCA), the first multilateral institution of its kind.

The PCA, which began operating in 1902, is still in existence. It is independent from all other international organizations, and as of 2000, 89 states are parties to the Convention. Although it has an International Bureau located in The Hague and performing functions similar to those of a registry office, it is not actually a permanent court or arbitral body. The Bureau maintains a list of lawyers (up to four per participating State, who together constitute that State's so-called "national team") from which the relevant parties to the dispute can select members of the arbitral tribunal.

How has the work of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCCA) developed?

The Permanent Court of Arbitration, adjacent to the Court at the Peace Palace in The Hague, no longer deals exclusively with disputes between states. Over the years, the volume of services it provides has increased significantly.

It currently offers a wide range of dispute resolution procedures (fact-finding, conciliation and various types of arbitration) to states and non-state parties (for example, international organizations, private legal entities or individuals). As a result, it is increasingly involved in the resolution of commercial and financial disputes. The International Bureau of the PCA also serves as secretariat during various arbitrations (for example, the arbitration of the dispute between Eritrea and Yemen over the Red Sea Islands, which was completed in 1999) and provides technical or administrative assistance to arbitral tribunals established outside the PCA (e.g., the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, established by the two countries to address claims of American citizens against Iran and Iranian citizens against the United States following the crisis that arose from the hostage-taking of 52 American citizens at the United States Embassy in Tehran in 1979).

Over the hundred-year period of its existence, the PCA has considered about 30 cases.

PCA procedures are based solely on the consent of the parties, who reach agreement on various practical points and procedures (for example, the formulation of the issues to be submitted to arbitration and the appointment of arbitrators) before the commencement of arbitration.

This - main reason, according to which, as early as the Second Hague Peace Conference in 1907, several states called for the establishment of a permanent international tribunal that would resolve disputes using judicial procedures characterized more by an element of coercion than arbitration.

However, differences of opinion regarding the procedure for selecting judges forced delegations to the 1907 Conference to limit themselves to amending the 1899 Convention and improving the rules governing arbitration proceedings.

Is the ICJ the first international judicial body to use judicial methods for resolving disputes?

No. The first international judicial body in the history of the peaceful resolution of disputes was the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), established in 1920 under the auspices of the League of Nations, which was succeeded by the ICJ in 1945.

With the establishment of the League of Nations after the First World War, an acceptable functional mechanism for the election of judges of the Court emerged, which until then had presented insurmountable obstacles.

What new has the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) brought to the table?

As with the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice depends on the willingness of the parties to submit disputes to it, however new feature was that a State could declare in advance that it accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Chamber in respect of any dispute that might arise in the future with another State making the same declaration. Thus, a state could apply to the Chamber unilaterally and involve another state in the proceedings without the need for prior agreement between the parties to refer the case to the Chamber.

The PPMP, established by the League of Nations, dealt with many disputes related to the First World War.

PPMP also differed in other ways. It consisted of permanent judges who represented the main legal systems of the world and were elected by the Council and Assembly of the League. Its activities were governed by its Statute and Rules of Procedure, which were already in force and binding on the parties applying to it; it had the power to give advisory opinions on any legal matter referred to it by the Council or the Assembly of the League of Nations, and, finally, its meetings were largely public.

Although the Chamber, located in the Peace Palace, was created and financed by the League of Nations, it was nevertheless not part of the League and its Statute was not part of the Statute of the League. A member state of the League of Nations was not automatically a party to the PCIP Statute. At the same time, many states have recognized the compulsory jurisdiction of the Chamber. Several hundred treaties have been signed providing for the jurisdiction of the PCMP over disputes arising from these treaties.

The activities of the PPMP have been extremely successful. Between 1922 and 1940, it gave decisions on 29 disputes between states and 27 advisory opinions, almost all of which were implemented. The Chamber also made important contributions to the development of international law.

The activities of the Chamber were interrupted by the Second World War, and in 1946 it was dissolved along with the League of Nations.

Why was a new court (ICJ) created within the United Nations?

The ICJ should also be distinguished from the European Court of Justice (located in Luxembourg), which deals exclusively with cases related to European Union, as well as from the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg, France) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (San José, Costa Rica), which examine allegations of violations of the human rights conventions under which they were established. These three courts can hear cases brought before them by private individuals (against states and other defendants) that the International Court of Justice cannot hear.

The International Court of Justice also differs from specialized international tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal maritime law(MTMP).

MC is also not supreme court, in which decisions of national courts can be appealed; it is not the highest court for individuals and is not an appellate court reviewing the decision of any international tribunal. However, it has the power to rule on the legality of arbitral awards in cases over which it has jurisdiction.

What is the relationship between the Court and other organs of the United Nations whose functions include maintaining peace?

The Charter of the United Nations assigns primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security on . The Security Council can investigate any dispute and recommend measures for its settlement, taking into account that legal disputes should, as a rule, be referred by the parties to the International Court of Justice.

For its part, it can discuss issues related to the maintenance of international peace and security and make recommendations.

In the exercise of their functions, both the Security Council and the General Assembly may request the Court to issue an advisory opinion on any legal matter.

In addition, the Court may rule on disputes relating to the maintenance of international peace and security brought before it, even if such disputes are also being considered by the Security Council or General Assembly. The court is limited to the legal aspects of these disputes. In this way, it makes a special contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security.

Peace Palace - seat of the MC

Built from 1907 to 1913 for the Permanent Court of Arbitration with funds donated by American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the Peace Palace is located in a 7-hectare park in the center of The Hague.

Constructed of granite, sandstone and red brick, the building, designed by French architect Louis Cordonnier, combines Romanesque and Byzantine styles with a sloping roof of grayish tiles. On the facade, in front of which there are lawns, there are several sculptures that indicate the purpose of the Palace. On the left there is a clock tower with chimes 80 meters high. Inside, the wooden sculptures, stained glass windows, mosaics, tapestries and art donated by nations that participated in the two Hague Peace Conferences reflect the diversity of the world's cultures.

Since 1946, the Court, like the PCMP (its predecessor), has occupied premises allocated to it by the Carnegie Foundation of the Netherlands, which owns and manages the Palace. The new wing, built in 1978 behind the palace, houses the judges' offices and the Court's deliberation room. It was expanded in 1997, in particular to accommodate an increased number of ad hoc judges. In the same year, the attic of the palace was converted into new offices for officials of the Registry of the Court.

The palace, which also houses one of the world's largest libraries on public international law (the Peace Palace Library, which is public unlike the Court's library) and hosts summer courses for the Hague Academy of International Law, can be visited on weekdays. Information is available from the Carnegie Endowment
(tel.: + 31 70 302 4137).

A museum of the history and activities of the Court, as well as other organizations operating at the Peace Palace, was opened in May 1999 by Mr. and Judge Steven M. Schwebel, respectively, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the Court at the time. It is located in the south wing of the building.

League of Nations and its historical role.

The purpose of the creation of the League of Nations, its tasks and role in the new post-war system international relations, disagreements between the Entente powers regarding its Charter.
The idea of creating the League of Nations came from Great Britain. At the end of 1915, Foreign Secretary Gray proposed the creation of an international organization to fight for peace.

The issue of the League was one of the main ones on the agenda for at least two main reasons. First, as an international body, the League could indeed make a practical contribution to regulating international relations and reducing the danger of war. Secondly, the League and its Charter were intended to give legal and moral sanction to the policies of the great powers, to legalize it in the eyes of public opinion, which by the 20s of the twentieth century was already becoming an important political factor - primarily in democratic and liberal countries.

The creation of the League caused serious disputes between the main participants of the conference. At one of the first meetings, it became clear that the plans for its creation, coming from different delegations, differ in the extent of their scope and the degree of elaboration of details. The French plan, in particular, was much more detailed than the British one. Paris irreconcilably demanded the inclusion in the Charter of a clause on the creation of international armed forces capable of maintaining security in Europe. France hoped to use its superiority in ground forces and make them the basis of a future international army that could be sent against Germany if necessary. At the same time, the French delegation believed that it was first necessary to prepare and sign an agreement with Germany, and then create an international organization.

In this, Clemenceau met very serious resistance from Wilson, who believed that the creation of a world order should begin precisely with the construction of the League. According to the United States, the League, as the main international organization for creating a new system of collective security, could even be delegated the right to develop a peace treaty with Germany. Wilson insisted on preparing a draft for the creation of the League by a special commission. As part of the conference, a committee was formed (January 25, 1919) to prepare a draft League of Nations. The resolution establishing it, proposed by the British delegation, provided that the League:

·  will be created to resolve all issues related to the establishment of peace and promote international cooperation, implementation of guarantees for the fulfillment of accepted international obligations;

·  will become an integral part of the general treaty of peace and will remain open to the accession of every civilized nation that will accept and support its purposes;

·  will ensure periodic meetings of its members at international conferences (sessions), for the sake of which a permanent organization and secretariat will be created to ensure the work of the League in between conferences (sessions).

Members of the League of Nations.

Of the 65 large states that existed on the planet in 1920, all, with the exception of the United States and Saudi Arabia (formed in 1932), were members of the League at one time or another.

Founding countries are marked with an asterisk (*). The year of acceptance and/or the year of the declaration of withdrawal (effective after two years) is indicated in parentheses.

The main objectives of the League of Nations

Building peace through cooperation;

Guaranteeing peace through collective security;

This was the first time in history that an international organization was to become the guarantor of international custom.

The main point of the LN Charter. was:

providing guarantees to member countries:

Collective action in case of violation of the charter and war

Preservation of the independence and territorial integrity of powers

If the conflict cannot be resolved independently, its participants can turn to arbitration or the LN Council.

The parties must not resort to military action for 3 months after convening a conference on the conflict (that is, the war is resolved!)

Measures against violations:

violations of the peace are considered as war against all members of the League

Maintaining complete economic and political isolation

Formation of troops from national contingents in order to enforce peace

These sanctions were applied in 1935 against Italy during the aggression against Ethiopia. Ineffective.

Disadvantages of the LN Charter and disadvantages in general

sanctions were not comprehensive

Decisions in the Assembly were made on the principle of unanimity, and any member of the LN could veto and paralyze the activities of the LN

LN did not become influential due to the absence of the USA and the USSR

The number of committees was not limited - there were great amount. There is a missing coordination body and only in recent years 2 Coordination Committees have been created.

Structure.

The League of Nations included the member states of the League, the Assembly, the Council, the Secretariat, various technical commissions and auxiliary services. The structure, functions and powers of the League were defined in the Charter. The annual budget of the League was approx. 6 million dollars. The seat of the main bodies of the League was Geneva (Switzerland).

Functions.

The League's main goals were to preserve peace and improve the human condition. The measures taken to maintain peace included the reduction and limitation of armaments; the obligations of the member states of the League to oppose any aggression; mutual agreements for arbitration, legal settlement or special investigations of the Council; agreements between League members on mutual actions in the application of economic and military sanctions. In addition to these basic conditions, a number of different provisions were adopted, for example on the registration of contracts and the protection of minorities.

Reasons for the collapse of the League of Nations.

An objective, unbiased approach to assessing the peacekeeping activities of the League of Nations, a balanced analysis of the results of its activities indicate that this international organization had both negative and positive features. And although it was unable to prevent the Second World War, through its activities at the first stage (the 20s), the League contributed to the peaceful resolution of dozens of conflicts. For the first time, responsibility for collective action against violators of international law was translated into concrete decisions. A new phenomenon was that the League of Nations had a global character and bore global responsibility for preventing war through the concerted actions of its members. The charter provided guarantees for members of the organization to maintain their political independence and territorial integrity against external aggression. The organization was created with the aim of ensuring peaceful resolution of conflicts and preventing war. The Charter provided for collective action by all members of the League of Nations in the event of a violation of the Charter by the aggressor and the outbreak of war. A certain procedure for resolving conflicts was established. If the conflicting parties were unable to resolve the dispute through negotiations, they had to turn to arbitration, the Permanent Court international justice or the League Council. The conflicting parties were not to resort to war for at least three months after the decision was made by the body that considered the conflict. But after this period, the hands of the conflicting parties were virtually untied. An important drawback of the League Charter was that war as a method of resolving controversial issues was not prohibited. Measures against peace violators were regulated by the Charter. Breaking the peace was considered an act of war against all members of the League. Immediate total economic and political isolation of the violator was assumed. The Council also had the right to recommend military sanctions, including the creation of united armed forces from contingents of League members.

The hardships of the First World War strengthened politicians and the public of Western countries in their desire to give international relations a strong legal character. Already during the war years, an active discussion began on projects of the League of Nations - an interstate organization capable of ensuring universal peace and security. On the eve of the Paris Conference, US President William Wilson took the initiative in this matter. A deeply religious man, known for his messianic sentiments and passionate commitment to the ideals of the “new freedom” (in the spirit of social liberalism), Wilson sought to bring world politics the spirit of constructive cooperation, humanism and democracy. But his idealism was dissonant with the pragmatic strategy of not only English and French, but also most American politicians. The discussion of the charter of organizational principles of the League of Nations at the Paris Conference took place in a fierce struggle, where each delegation tried to achieve an advantage for its own country.

The final concept of the League of Nations reflected the complete predominance of the interests of the European powers.

In many ways, the concept of the League of Nations became a reflection of what was popular at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. ideas about the “civilizing mission” white man" It is characteristic that the Japanese delegation’s proposal to include an article on racial equality in the organization’s charter was rejected. However, the creation of the League of Nations was a real breakthrough in understanding the world as a unified political and legal system, where the subjectivity of an individual state, nation or people is inextricably linked with general principles and norms of relationships.

It was envisaged that the League would be created to resolve all issues related to the establishment of peace and promote international cooperation, the implementation of guarantees for the fulfillment of accepted international obligations; will become an integral part of the general treaty of peace, and remain open to the accession of every civilized nation that will accept and support its purposes; will ensure periodic meetings of its members at international conferences (sessions), for which a permanent organization and secretariat will be created to ensure the work of the League in the breaks between conferences (sessions).

On February 14, 1919, the charter of the League (Anglo-American project) was published. Of the 65 large states that existed on the planet in 1920, all, with the exception of the United States and Saudi Arabia (formed in 1932), were members of the League at one time or another.

This was the first time in history that an international organization was to become the guarantor of international custom.

The main point of the Charter of the League of Nations was the following: collective action in case of violation of the charter and war; maintaining the independence and territorial integrity of the powers; if the conflict cannot be resolved independently, its participants can apply to arbitration or the Council of the League of Nations; the parties must not resort to military action for 3 months after convening a conference on the conflict.

Decisions in the Assembly were made on the principle of unanimity, and any member of the League of Nations could veto and paralyze the activities of the League of Nations.

The Charter of the League of Nations, developed at the Paris Conference, exhaustively characterized the ideological and legal basis new organization. The preamble proclaimed the principles of international cooperation: opposition to war; development of open, fair relations between countries based on the establishment and recognition of the principles of international law, strict respect and fulfillment of all obligations arising from international treaties. The Charter established three types of state-legal status of League members. The first group consisted of the founding states, which signed the charter as part of peace treaties(these were allied and affiliated powers). The second category consisted of countries that did not participate in the world war and the signing of peace treaties - six European, six Latin American countries and Iran. All of them were invited to join the League's charter. The third group included all other states. To join the League, it was necessary to carry out a special voting procedure and obtain the consent of at least two-thirds of the states represented at the Assembly.

In accordance with the charter, any state, dominion or “self-governing” colony could join the League. A procedure for leaving the League was also provided. A state seeking to leave the organization had to announce its decision two years in advance, during which it was obliged to fulfill all the requirements of the charter and other obligations to international community. Expulsion from the League of Nations was considered as a possible punishment for violating its charter.

The main bodies of the League were the Assembly, the Council and the permanent Secretariat. The Assembly was a meeting consisting of representatives of all members of the League, and was convened, as a rule, once a year or when politically necessary. The Assembly could consider any issues related to “world peace.” At meetings of the Assembly, country delegations were required to have no more than three representatives, and each country had one vote. The League Council initially consisted of five permanent representatives (Great Britain, Italy, USA, France, Japan) and four temporary ones, elected from the League members at the Assembly. The Council was to meet at least once a year and consider the entire range of issues within the competence of the League. Each member of the Assembly had one vote. Any member state of the League could participate in meetings of the Council if an issue affecting its interests was discussed. With the exception of specially stated cases, all decisions taken at the Assembly and Council required consensus, i.e. unanimous vote. Decisions on questions of procedure, as well as elections to various committees, were made by majority vote. The International Secretariat was created to provide organizational support for the organization's activities. Geneva was chosen as its location. First general secretary English diplomat E. Drummond became the League of Nations.

The Charter of the League of Nations also established the most important areas of its activities. The practice of mandatory registration of all international treaties in the Secretariat of the League with their subsequent publication was introduced. Under the auspices of the League of Nations, a system of international trusteeship of former German colonies and Arab provinces was created Ottoman Empire(mandatory system). Members of the League of Nations were encouraged to actively cooperate with existing international organizations, including the Red Cross and the General Postal Union. The League of Nations should also have sought freedom trade routes and fair treatment of trade by all members of the organization. It received the right to exercise control over the trade in opium and other dangerous drugs, as well as the arms trade in countries where “such control is necessary in the general interest.” The Council of the League of Nations was to develop “arms reduction” plans every five years and propose them to governments for consideration. Member states of the League pledged to exchange “full and honest” information about the level of national weapons, military programs, and military production.

The member states of the League assumed obligations to “counter aggression, respect the territorial integrity and existing political independence of the members of the League.” In each specific case, the Council had to determine the degree of threat of aggression and the measures necessary to prevent it. Aggression against any member state of the League was to be considered an act of war against all members of the League. In this case, in addition to the sanctions proposed by the Council, all states were required to cease all relations with the aggressor. The sanctions themselves could only be of a diplomatic or economic nature, since the League of Nations did not have its own armed forces.

Consideration of cases of violation of the norms of international relations and military danger should have taken place at the Council or Assembly on the initiative of one of the member states of the League. A rule was established according to which any conflicts between member states of the League that threatened military conflict were initially to be considered in the Council of the League or through international arbitration. For arbitration consideration of interstate disputes in the League of Nations system, the international Court. Its Permanent Court, consisting of 9 judges representing different countries, located in The Hague.

The Charter of the League of Nations called for the development of fair and humane working conditions. In order to expand the scope of this activity, an autonomous International Labor Organization (ILO) was created, to which all countries were invited to join, regardless of their membership in the League. Under the auspices of the ILO, tripartite consultations took place with the participation of government bodies, entrepreneurs and trade unions. ILO conferences were organized at least once a year. The decisions of this organization were, naturally, advisory in nature, but played an important role in forming the foundations of modern labor legislation.

No less significant was the activity of the International Health Organization (IHO), also formed under the auspices of the League of Nations, but having an autonomous status. Conferences of the Ministry of Health were devoted mainly to sanitary problems, issues of advanced training of medical workers, and control over the use of dangerous medications.

In 1922, the Committee for Intellectual Cooperation was formed under the Council of the League of Nations, which was subsequently transformed into the International Organization for Intellectual Cooperation (the prototype of the future UNESCO). His activities were purely humanitarian in nature, but greatly contributed to the popularization of the League of Nations and the ideological justification of its activities. It is curious that, on the initiative of the Committee for Intellectual Cooperation, the concept of changing history textbooks in European countries was first developed, designed to cultivate a spirit of cooperation and peacefulness in the younger generation.

The strategic direction of the League of Nations remained the struggle for disarmament and the establishment of the principles of pacifism in world politics. First post-war years League of Nations arbitration played an important role in resolving several regional conflicts in Europe, including between Poland and Lithuania (over the city of Vilna), Finland and Sweden (over Åland Islands), Greece and Italy (due to the island of Corfu). But attempts to influence the development of events in Transcaucasia, as well as to intervene in the Soviet-Polish conflict, were suppressed by Soviet Russia.

As the political situation in Europe stabilized, the League of Nations moved on to attempts to create a stable system of international security. In September 1922, the Assembly of the League of Nations adopted a resolution that provided for the need to conclude a collective security treaty between member countries. In development of this idea, a draft “Mutual Assistance Treaty” was prepared, which provided for the condemnation of any offensive war, established the obligation of phased disarmament, asserted the right to create regional guarantee pacts. In 1923, the draft was sent to governments, including countries that were not members of the League of Nations. Great Britain, Scandinavian countries, Italy, Germany, USSR and USA according to for various reasons rejected him. The greatest disagreement was caused by the clarification of possible forms of mutual assistance and counteraction to aggression, as well as the legal definition of aggression itself. The British government harshly criticized the idea of regional guarantee pacts, seeing it as an attempt by France to revive the strategy of bloc diplomacy.

Due to the confrontation of Great Britain, it was not possible to ratify the Geneva Protocol on the Arbitration Settlement of International Disputes, approved in 1924 at the Fifth Session of the Assembly of the League of Nations. A year later, at a conference in Locarno, French diplomacy, with the support of activists of the pan-European process from various countries, managed to achieve the creation of the first regional guarantee system. But later discussions about ways to ensure international security flared up with renewed vigor.

Unable to overcome differences in the Council of the League of Nations, French diplomacy tried to transfer the discussion of the security problem to the level of direct interstate relations. In 1928, on the initiative of France and the United States, a pact was signed on the renunciation of war as a means of politics and the recognition of international arbitration as a mandatory method of resolving interstate conflicts (“Briand-Kellogg Pact”). Subsequently, another 48 states joined the pact.

Developing this success, Aristide Briand addressed the Tenth Session of the Assembly of the League of Nations in September 1929 with a “Memorandum on the basic principles of the pan-European process.” Briand stated that the creation of a pan-European system is the most effective way to “establish peace and eliminate that anarchic state of interstate relations in Europe, in which the very possibility of conflicts remains.” In May 1930, the French government sent out to all European states, including the USSR, the “Memorandum on the organization of the regime of the Federal European Union.”

Thus, French diplomacy for the first time linked the solution to the problem of international security with the creation of a supranational system of political, economic and humanitarian cooperation. This approach was approved by Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Greece. The pan-European project was opposed by Great Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium, who feared the loss of a “special relationship” with their colonies. German diplomacy generally supported the pan-European idea, but initially sought the complete abolition of the unfair articles of the Treaty of Versailles. Fascist Italy generally called for an alliance of “young nations” against “old Europe.” The situation has reached a dead end again.

The call of the 1932 Geneva Conference for the creation of an “organization of peace” in Europe, including the unification of European countries by pacts of non-aggression and mutual assistance in case of attack, as well as the provision of equal military-legal status to all participants in this system, had no effect. Europe and the whole world were already on the threshold of a new round of the arms race. Appearance on international arena Nazism predetermined the final collapse of the League of Nations. In the 1930s it became hostage to the policy of appeasement pursued by leading Western countries.

On September 15, 1934, thirty delegates of the League of Nations addressed the Soviet government with a telegram inviting the USSR to join the League and “bring its valuable cooperation.” Delegates from four more countries communicated their decision to vote for the admission of the Soviet Union through the usual diplomatic channels. On the same day Soviet government responded with a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Assembly about accepting the proposal of international cooperation in the interests of peace and about its readiness to become a member of the League.
On September 18, the issue of the USSR joining the League of Nations was considered at a meeting of the Assembly. 39 members of the League voted for the admission of the USSR to the League of Nations, 3 voted against (Holland, Portugal and Switzerland), 7 abstained from voting. Not a single vote was cast against the inclusion of the USSR in the Council of the League, but representatives of ten countries abstained. Thus, the USSR was admitted to the League of Nations and became a permanent member of the Council.

Accepting the proposal to join the League of Nations, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR M. M. Litvinov noted that the USSR could not agree with all decisions of the League of Nations and considered its charter far from perfect. In particular, the 12th and 15th articles in some cases legalize war, and the 23rd does not provide for racial equality of all peoples. He said that Soviet Union The idea of uniting nations is quite understandable, since the USSR itself is a League of Nations, with 185 nationalities living in it.

In December 1939, after the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940, the League Council expelled the USSR from the League of Nations.

Germany joined the League of Nations in order to gain equal rights with other powers. She hoped to achieve in the League the abolition of the military articles of the Versailles Peace Treaty and the legalization of her weapons. The question of Soviet-German relations became a subject of bargaining between Germany and the Western powers. The German government hoped to achieve this way favorable conditions admission of Germany into the League of Nations and the implementation of its solicitations for the revision of treaties.

First of all, Germany demanded that it be given a permanent seat on the Council along with England, France, Japan, and Italy. This was promised to her. However, he remained open question, whether at the same time as Germany any other powers will receive permanent seats on the Council of the League.

It turned out that, along with Germany, Poland, Spain, and Brazil were vying for a seat on the League Council. This immediately complicated the issue. First of all, Germany came out very strongly against granting a seat in the Council to Poland. German diplomacy argued that providing Germany permanent place in the Council should not at all be accompanied by a general reorganization of the Council. France supported Poland. The Swedish delegation was generally against increasing seats on the League Council. The British delegation sought the admission of Germany to the League Council without further changes in its composition. It was necessary to convene not only a special session of the Council of the League of Nations, but also separate meetings of the powers that signed the Locarno Pact. Diplomatic negotiations began.

Lord d'Abernon tried to convince Stresemann to make concessions, but met stubborn resistance on his part. On February 22, 1926, the English ambassador wrote in his diary: “The British Foreign Office believes that the Germans are acting very stupidly, acting as opponents of Poland at that time.” time when, even without them, it would have met with adequate resistance. But in the absence of such energetic protest on the part of Germany against the enlargement of the Council, this proposal would have met with effective opposition."

Stresemann stated decisively to the English ambassador that until Germany is secured a permanent seat in the Council of the League of Nations, the German delegation will not go to Geneva.

Moreover, the Germans resorted to their usual blackmail. As d'Abernon reports, German diplomacy (after an unsuccessful attempt in March to obtain a permanent seat on the League Council) threatened not only with the removal of the question of Germany's entry into the League of Nations, but also with further rapprochement with Russia. “It was, perhaps, inevitable,” - d'Abernon notes in his diary dated April 5, 1926, - that serious failure, experienced by Germany on the threshold of the League, forced the German public opinion and the leaders of the German people to turn their gaze again to the East and return to the traditional policy of reinsurance."

Stresemann even assured that it was the protracted discussion on the question of Germany’s entry into the League of Nations that contributed to the speedy conclusion of the Soviet-German treaty in the spring of 1926.

In the face of such a decisive onslaught by the Germans, who used their relations with the USSR to put pressure on the position of the victorious states, British diplomacy made concessions. She spoke out in favor of giving Germany a permanent seat on the Council and creating another non-permanent seat in it, which should be given to other members of the League at the discretion of the Council. The question of removing military control from Germany was also a foregone conclusion.

Thus, Germany entered the League of Nations on an equal basis with the great powers. On September 10, 1926, the appearance of the German delegation in the meeting hall of the League of Nations was greeted with ovation. In his book “France - Germany in 1918 - 1934.” Germany's admirer and servant Fernand de Brinon, who later became Hitler's direct agent, enthusiastically praises Stresemann's mastery of diplomatic disguise. “With amazing skill,” he writes, “Stresemann took advantage of a moment in his welcoming speech to extol the League of Nations and its services to the consolidation of peace. He spoke of Germany's sincere desire to cooperate peacefully with all peoples. “Germany,” Stresemann declared, “is ready from now on to help the League of Nations to implement everything that is most noble in its program.”

Meanwhile, Germany's behavior became more and more defiant. On September 15, 1933, Baron von Neurath strongly demanded that the Disarmament Conference recognize Germany's equal rights. Otherwise, “the failure of the idea of disarmament with all the tragic consequences is inevitable.” However, France - during the three-month break of the conference - came to the conclusion that, given the rapid armament of Germany, there was no point in considering disarmament measures at all. The French delegation proposed to maintain armaments at the achieved level and abandon both disarmament and rearmament within four to five years. At the same time, the French insisted on adopting a system of sanctions against violators of the proposed resolution.

England and Italy refused to support the French proposal. But American representative Norman Davis vigorously defended him. An agreement was finally reached. On September 24, 1933, at a meeting of the League of Nations, a draft of a new treaty was proposed to Baron von Neurath on behalf of the four powers - England, France, Italy and the USA. It established two stages of disarmament: first, a stabilization period of three to four years, during which Germany was to replace its long-term service system with a short-term one; the second stage is also from three to four years, during which actual disarmament must be carried out.

Germany refused to accept this project. The German Minister of the Interior, Frick, declared in Berlin that Germany no longer wished to play the role of a pariah; if she is denied equal rights, she will no longer participate in international conferences. The fascist press intensified the campaign for the immediate annulment of the Treaty of Versailles.

On October 6, 1933, the German government addressed the British and Italian governments with a note in which it stated that the adoption four proposals powers would mean discrimination, which Germany cannot agree to: “Germany wants either complete freedom or to be subjected to the same qualitative restrictions as other countries.” New negotiations began. During three days From October 9 to October 11, representatives of the Five Powers in Geneva tried in vain to soften the German position expressed in the note of October 6.

The chairman of the German delegation at the conference, Nadolny, continued to persist. On October 13, Hitler assembled a cabinet, summoned President Hindenburg to Berlin from his Neidek residence and raised the question of Germany's withdrawal from the League of Nations.

On October 14, 1933, John Simon made a new proposal in Geneva - to extend the disarmament period to eight years; During this period, a program would be implemented to ensure disarmament, security and equality of all powers.

Immediately after the meeting, the chairman of the conference received a telegram from the German Foreign Minister with the following content: “In the light of the direction that the discussion of disarmament by the powers has recently taken, it is clear that the disarmament conference will not fulfill its only task - general disarmament... The German government is therefore forced to leave the disarmament conference."

At the same time, the German government announced Germany's withdrawal from the League of Nations. In this regard, Hitler dissolved the Reichstag by presidential decree and addressed the German people with an appeal in which he hypocritically tried to justify this step of the German government with “peacefulness and a sense of honor.” He stated that “the German government saw (in the decisions of the conference) unfair and humiliating discrimination against the German people. Therefore, it no longer considered it possible to participate in the work of the conference, where the German nation was treated as powerless and second-rate.” The election of a new Reichstag will bring this issue to the attention of the German people, who must make their final judgment.

The American ambassador in Berlin, Dodd, in his diary notes the impression made by this speech by Hitler, delivered on the radio on the evening of October 14: “We listened to Hitler’s speech on the radio, addressed to Germany, to the rest of the peoples of Europe and the United States,” writes the ambassador. - Hitler announced Germany's withdrawal from the League of Nations, its withdrawal from the Disarmament Conference and the appointment of general elections for November 14. His speech was relatively moderate. He demanded equal arms rights with other countries, emphasized that his “revolution” was directed exclusively against communism, and assured the whole world of his peace-loving intentions.”

A few days later, on October 19, 1933, the German Foreign Minister sent a short telegram to the Secretary General of the League of Nations: “On behalf of the German Government, I have the honor to hereby inform you that Germany declares its withdrawal from the League of Nations, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 1 of the Charter.” .

Germany's departure from the Disarmament Conference and its announcement of withdrawal from the League of Nations meant a new stage not only in German politics, but also in the further development of international relations. The period of pacifist conferences, negotiations and agreements is over. Fascist Germany created a hotbed of war in the very center of Europe.

For the first time, responsibility for collective action against violators of international law was translated into concrete decisions. A new phenomenon was that the League of Nations had a global character and bore global responsibility for preventing war through the concerted actions of its members. The charter provided guarantees for members of the organization to maintain their political independence and territorial integrity against external aggression. The organization was created with the aim of ensuring peaceful resolution of conflicts and preventing war. The Charter provided for collective action by all members of the League of Nations in the event of a violation of the Charter by the aggressor and the outbreak of war. A certain procedure for resolving conflicts was established. If the conflicting parties were unable to resolve the dispute through negotiations, they had to turn to arbitration, the Permanent Court of International Justice or the Council of the League.

The conflicting parties were not to resort to war for at least three months after the decision was made by the body that considered the conflict. But after this period, the hands of the conflicting parties were virtually untied. An important drawback of the League Charter was that war as a method of resolving controversial issues was not prohibited. Measures against peace violators were regulated by the Charter. Breaking the peace was considered an act of war against all members of the League. Immediate total economic and political isolation of the violator was assumed. The Council also had the right to recommend military sanctions, including the creation of united armed forces from contingents of League members.

The League of Nations played a positive role in solving post-war problems in a number of cases. Thus, during the first 10 years of its existence (1919-1929), the League of Nations considered 30 international conflicts, and most of them were resolved. The League's failures in solving political problems often obscure its achievements in the social and humanitarian field, downplaying the importance of its activities in the field of international economic policy and financial regulation, international communications and transit systems, in improving the health care system in many countries of the world, scientific cooperation, and the codification of international law , preparation of conferences on disarmament and other social and humanitarian fields.

Successes include establishing control over the spread of opium and the slave trade (mainly in women). In addition, significant progress has been made in protecting the rights and interests of young people. The League was closely connected with its legal body - the Permanent Court of International Justice, which had its own structure and made independent decisions. In addition, the League worked closely with many international organizations that had no official or historical ties with it.

The lessons and experiences of the League of Nations were used to create the United Nations. The very fact of the creation of a permanent international organization of a general political nature with a permanent apparatus was an event of important historical significance. The League of Nations was built as a body for collective peacekeeping, which meant a step towards the internationalization of responsibility for maintaining peace. When studying the experience of the League of Nations, one should take into account the discrepancy in assessments of its activities given by different authors at different historical stages. Summarizing existing concepts, it is not difficult to see, first of all, two trends: the desire of some to portray the actions of the League in a rosy light and the opposite effort of others - to paint the entire history of this international organization with the same black paint, concentrating attention only on its shortcomings and mistakes. Latest trend can be clearly seen in the publications of Soviet authors, who analyzed the actions of the League of Nations mainly from the point of view of the extent to which they contradicted or met the interests of the Soviet state. The helplessness of the League of Nations in the context of the outbreak of the Second World War undermined the confidence of the world community in this international organization as an instrument of peace and common security.

By January 1940, the League ceased its activities in resolving political issues. At the last session of the Assembly on April 18, 1946, a decision was made to transfer the property and material assets of the League to the United Nations, and its social and economic functions were combined with the activities of the Economic and Social Council.

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