Documents on the Development and Codification of International Law
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United Nations Documents on the Development and Codification of International Law Supplement to American Journal of International Law, Volume 41, No. 4, October, 1947 Reproduced with permission from © The American Society of International Law Downloaded from the web site of the International Law Commission (http://www.un.org/law/ilc/) UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS concerning DEVELOPMENT AND CODIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Supplement to AMEEICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, Volume 41, No. 4, October, 1947 OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS CONTENTS PAGE UNITED NATIONS: Documents on the Development and Codification of International Law: Historical Survey of Development of International Law and its Codification by International Conferences. April 29, 1947 29 Methods for Encouraging the Progressive Development of International Law and its Eventual Codification. May 6, 1947 Ill Outline of the Codification of International Law in the Inter-American System with Special Eeference to the Methods of Codification. May 6, 1947 116 Note on the Private Codification of Public International Law. May 16, 1947 138 UNITED NATIONS DOCUMENTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND CODIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW* 1. HISTORICAL SURVEY OF DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ITS CODIFICATION BY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ** April 29, 1947 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I PAGE THE PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 32 A. General 32 B. Preparation of Conferences and Conventions 35 The Hague Peace Conferences 36 Postal Conferences 36 Conferences for the Unification of Private International Law 38 Conferences on Sea Transport 39 International Telecommunications Conferences 41 Air Transport Conferences 41 Public Air Law 41 Private Air Law 42 C. The International Naval Conference 43 * Documents and following note provided by Dr. Yuen-Li Liang of Division of Devel- opment and Codification of International Law of United Nations Secretariat.—M. E. By Resolution 94 (1), adopted on 11 December 1946, the General Assembly of the United Nations, acting in pursuance of Article 13 of the Charter of that organization, established a Committee on the Progressive Development of International Law and its Codification, to consist of seventeen members and assigned to study the methods by which the General Assembly should encourage that development and codification, meth- ods suitable for securing the cooperation of the several organs of the United Nations and for enlisting the assistance of other national or international bodies in that task. In the Resolution of the General Assembly the Seeretary-General of the United Na- tions was requested to provide such assistance as the Committee might require for its work. The memoranda on the development and codification of international law which follow were accordingly prepared by the Division of the Development and Codifi- cation of International Law of the Secretariat of the United Nations for the use of the Committee. These memoranda embodied (1) a historical survey of the develop- ment of international law and its codification by international conferences (A/AC.10/5), (2) a history of the codification of international law in the Inter-American system (A/AC.10/8), (3) a note on the private codification of public international law (A/AC.10/25), (4) a memorandum on the methods for enlisting the cooperation of other bodies, national and international, concerned with international law (A/AC. 10/22), (5) a working bibliography on the codification of international law (A/AC. 10/6), and (6) a memorandum on the methods for encouraging the progressive develop- 29 30 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW PAET II THE PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW BY THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 49 A. General Survey of the Legislative Activities of the League of Nations 49 Preparation of General Conventions to be Negotiated under the Auspices of the League of Nations 49 The Committee of Experts 49 Eesolution of the Assembly of 3 October 1930 51 Special Preparatory Procedures 51 Standard Preparatory Procedure 51 The Subject Matter of General Conventions Concluded under the Auspices of the League of Nations 53 Method of Adopting Conventions 59 Ratifications 59 Participation of Non-Members States 59 Conference on the Treatment of Foreigners 60 B. The International Labour Conference 61 Preparatory Procedure 61 Preparatory Conference 62 Double-discussion Procedure 62 Single-discussion Procedure 63 Voting 64 Eatifieation 64 Follow-up Procedure 65 Eevision of Conventions 65 Subject Matter of Conventions 65 PAET III THE FIRST CONFERENCE FOR THE CODIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 66 A. Origins 66 The Advisory Committee of Jurists 66 Action by the League 66 Committee of Experts 67 Task of Committee of Experts 67 First Meeting of the Committee of Experts 68 Second Meeting of the Committee of Experts 68 Third Meeting of the Committee of Experts 70 ment of international law and its eventual codification (A/AC.10/7); of these items (4) and (5) are omitted here. "While most of the memoranda were intended for the purposes of reference, the Memorandum on the Methods for Encouraging the Development of International Law and its Codification (A/AC.10/7), containing observations which the Secretariat pre- sented to the Committee, was specially designed to facilitate the discussion of the problems involved. This memorandum, as proposed in a memorandum of the Eap- porteur of 16 May 1947 (A/AC.10/26), was taken by a decision of the Committee at its seventh meeting on 21 May as a general basis for discussion. A Eeport was adopted by the Committee to be considered by the General Assembly during its Second Session in September, 1947; this document was reproduced in this Supplement at page 18, above. The value of the memoranda to the Committee, and the work of the Secretariat in their preparation, was suitably acknowledged both by individual members of the Committee and by the Eapporteur on the conclusion of his task. ** Memorandum prepared by the Secretariat; doc. A/AC.10/5, 29 April 1947. OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS 31 Some Comments Made by Governments 71 Question of Procedure 73 The Eeport of the Council of the League of Nations, 13 June 1927 74 The Resolution of the Assembly of the League of Nations, 27 September 1927 75 Comparison Between the Eeport of the Council and the Eesolution of the Assembly 77 The Preparatory Committee 78 The Calling of the Conference 80 E. The Conference for the Codification of International Law 80 Questions of Procedure 80 C. Eesults of the Conference 82 The Recommendations of the Hague Conference with Regard to Preparatory Work for Future Codifications Conferences 83 Eeasons for Failure of the Conference 84 Basis of Discussion 84 Scope of the Conference 84 Time at the Disposal of the Conference 84 Voting 84 Selection of Subjects 85 Codification v. Legislation 85 Diplomatic Preparation 85 D. Action of the League of Nations Subsequent to the Hague Codification Conference 86 The Eesolution of the Council of the League of Nations, 15 May .1930 .... 86 Eesolution of the Assembly of the League of Nations, 8 October 1930 .... 86 Various Draft Eesolutions 87 Council's Request for Comments on the Hague Conference 87 Replies of Governments 87 Procedure for Future Codification Conferences Adopted by Assembly, 25 September 1931 91 Conclusions 92 Appendix 1. Resolution Adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations, 3 October 1930 93 Appendix 2. Resolution Adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations, 25 September 1931 97 Appendix 3. Standing Orders of the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization 99 Appendix 4. Standing Orders of the International Labor Conference as Adopted at the Twenty-seventh Session on 22 October 1945 100 Appendix 5. Resolution of the Advisory Committee of Jurists, 24 July 1920 102 Appendix 6. Resolution Adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations, 22 September 1924 103 Appendix 7. Resolution Adopted by the Council of the League of Nations, 12 De- cember 1924 104 Appendix 8. Resolution Adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations, 27 September 1927 105 Appendix 9. Extracts from the Rules of Procedure of the Conference for the Codification of the International Law 107 Appendix 10. General Recommendations with a View to the Progressive Codification of International Law Adopted at the Conference for the Codification of International Law 108 Appendix 11. Resolution Adopted by the Assembly of the League of Nations, 25 September 1931 110 32 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW PART I THE PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW A. GENERAL The development of the Law of Nations by means of conscious efforts of Governments may be said to have originated at the Conference of Vienna, 1814/1815. The Powers signatories of the Treaty of Paris of 1814 adopted, on 19 March 1815, Regulations regarding the rank of diplomatic agents Declaration concerning the abolition of the slave trade on 8 February 1815, and Regulation regarding free navigation on rivers on 29 March 1815 (Martens, Nouveau Beceuil, V. II, 1818, pp. 432, 434, 449). The work begun in Vienna was continued at Aix-la-Chapelle, where a new class of diplomatic agents was added to the Vienna Rules and where the Great Powers, on 15 November 1818, solemnly declared "leur invaria- ble resolution de ne jamais s'ecarter, ni entre eux ni dans leurs relations avec d'autres etats, de l'observation la plus stricte des principes du droit des gens, prineipes qui dans leur application a un etat de paix permanent, peuvent seuls garantir efficaeement l'independence de chaque gouverne- ment et la stabilite de I'association generale" (Martens, N. R., IV, page 560). One of the most remarkable events in the early stages of the process of formulating rules of international law at international conferences was the Declaration of Paris of 16 April 1856. Signed by seven Powers as- sembled at the Congress of Paris and enunciating four rules of maritime law, "the Declaration of Paris was the first and remains the most im- portant international instrument regulating the rights of belligerents and neutrals at sea which received something like universal acceptance" (cf.