A Brief History of Humanity: From Ancient Times to the 21st Century

Chapter 45 The League of Nations and the International Court of Justice

[-]. Various programs of the alliance
In 1919, the Allies resolved to establish a world organization.They realized that the success of this world war was due to cooperation.They also realized that protecting the fruits of victory and securing the Paris Peace Treaty depended on continued cooperation.Plus, they've told their citizens that the latest conflict is a "war to end wars."

Projects There have been various projects concerning alliances for the maintenance of world peace and the advancement of world welfare.In Britain, the government once appointed a committee to draw up plans for a coalition.During the war, France and some countries have proposed some plans.The Covenant created by the League of Nations combines the features and proposals of many programs.However, President Wilson of the United States was the best and most persistent supporter of the alliance.

President Wilson's StatementWoodrow Wilson, accepting his re-nomination for President of the United States in 1916, declared: "The nations of the world must unite to see together that every act which destroys the life of the whole world must be done before it is attempted. To be tested in the court of public opinion all over the world." In 1917, recommending that the United States join the war against Germany, he declared: "We will fight for what we have always loved most—for democracy . . . for the rights and liberties of small nations , fighting for the truth above all else, we will work together with the free peoples of the nations to achieve the peace and security of all nations."

In a speech to Congress in 1918, he put forward one of the famous "Fourteen Principles": "All countries must follow the designated covenant to establish a general international association, the purpose is to provide mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity for large and small countries. .”

Wilson in Europe In order to establish such a "General Union of Internationals", President Wilson went to Europe in 1919 and actively participated in the Paris Peace Conference.A League of Nations was created, which was contained in five peace treaties signed between 1919 and 1920.

[-]. The Covenant of the League of Nations

The Covenant of the League of Nations states that its purpose is to promote cooperation among all nations and to achieve peace and security.This goal will be achieved through agreements against war, encouragement of equal cooperation among nations, universalization of international law and faithful observance of all treaties.

The executive organ of the League of Nations includes: (1) the General Assembly; (2) the Council; (3) the Permanent Secretariat.

The General Assembly is composed of representatives of all the member states of the League of Nations.Each country can have up to 3 representatives in the General Assembly, but can only cast one vote.

The Council is a small group consisting of representatives of 5 large countries and 9 (initially only 4) small countries.

The secretariat has a secretary general and several assistants.Practice has proved that this is a very important institution, and the secretariat has grown rapidly, and soon there are 51 people from 700 countries.

Address and Personnel The prescribed address of the League of Nations is Geneva, Switzerland, although the meeting place of the Council may be held elsewhere.All positions below or related to the League of Nations are open to both men and women.

The Covenant of the League of Nations, which maintains peace, states (Article 3) that it respects and protects the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all members of the League of Nations to resist foreign invasion.The member states promise to submit their disputes to arbitration or investigation, and they are not allowed to initiate war with each other within [-] months after the judgment.

If a member of the League breaks its promise to go to war, it immediately loses its place in the League; trade relations are severed; and the Council recommends that the League take some action against him.Should a non-League member start or threaten war, the Council would likewise advise the League to take action against it.

The Covenant of the League of Nations and the League of Treaty States annulled all treaties between member states that did not conform to its terms, but explicitly recognized other treaties, such as arbitration treaties.Regional understandings such as the Monroe Doctrine are also recognized.It also stipulates that all treaties between member states should be filed with the Secretariat of the League of Nations and made public for public knowledge.

The League of Nations and the Mandates The League of Nations is responsible for the guardianship of the colonies and territories that are under the guardianship of the mandates. The countries that are entrusted to directly exercise governance, that is, the mandated countries, must submit a report to the Council every year .Some international condominium areas, such as the Danzig Freeport, the Dardanelles and the Saar River Basin, are also regulated by the League of Nations.

The League of Health and Labor also fights disease, advocates hygiene, bans dangerous drugs like opium, fights evil, promotes ease of commerce and transportation, and improves the lives of workers everywhere.In order to achieve these goals, the League of Nations contributed to help the Red Cross take various measures to promote international cooperation.The Covenant of the League of Nations specifically states that member countries will endeavor to obtain and maintain humane and peaceful labor conditions for men, women and children, both within their own countries and in all countries covered by trade relations.

The League of Nations was originally drafted by the members of the League of Nations circa as part of the Peace of Paris in 1919.Furthermore, the Treaty of the League of Nations was accepted and ratified by representatives of 32 member states, including the United States.

国联于1920年1月10日正式开始运作时，共有24个成员国。到了1920年11月第一次大会举行时，已发展到42个成员国，在这次会议上又有6个成员国加入。

The growth of the League of Nations Until 1924, the importance attached to the League of Nations had increased significantly.The League of Nations performed its duties with greater confidence.For example, when Greece began to attack Bulgaria in 1925, claiming that Bulgarian border sentries had shot at Greek sentries, the Council of the League of Nations immediately and firmly ordered both sides to withdraw their respective troops to the border.Afterwards a fair investigation begins.Greece admitted its mistake and paid Bulgaria $21 as compensation for the damage it caused when it attacked. In 1931, the conflict between Japan and China was even more difficult to manage.Despite League of Nations efforts to prevent war, Japan still gained Manchuria. In 1933, the League of Nations condemned Japan's actions and refused to recognize the new Japanese government in "Manchuria". In 1935, the League of Nations not only condemned Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, but also imposed sanctions on Italy.

At the same time, the membership of the League of Nations gradually increased to 60.Even Soviet Russian leaders, who had previously mocked the League of Nations, joined in 1934.However, Japan and Germany withdrew from the League of Nations in 1935.By 1936, there were still 58 member states.

The League of Nations, though lacking effective instruments to enforce its resolutions, made useful contributions in solving financial problems, controlling the spread of disease, promoting science, and suppressing the opium traffic.

The U.S. Senate has its own reasons for refusing to ratify peace treaties, including the Treaty of the League of Nations.Some people feel that joining the League of Nations will endanger the national sovereignty of the United States and the power of Congress.Some worry that this will further involve the United States in foreign affairs.Others expressed dismay at the Paris Peace Treaty, especially at the concessions made between Japan and Britain.Some (perhaps many) objected on personal or political grounds.Judging from the votes in the Senate, only a few senators opposed the League of Nations; most agreed to join, but believed that certain conditions of the United States should be met; a small number advocated joining without reservation.Those who agreed to join but argued for reservations were again divided about what should be reserved.In the final vote, it was vetoed because the difference of several votes did not reach two-thirds.

Separate treaties After President Wilson's resignation, the new Republican government signed peace treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary in March 1921, but the United States remained indifferent to the League of Nations.However, the United States has always played an important role in many important initiatives for world peace, generally with the same goals as the League of Nations.The United States also participated in many of the conferences and committees created by the League of Nations.

[-]. International Court of Justice

In 1920, the League of Nations intended to establish a tribunal to adjudicate all disputes that the nations might submit to settlement.Often referred to as the International Court of Justice, this tribunal, formally known as the Permanent Court of International Justice, was established in The Hague in 1922.The Tribunal has 11 judges (increased to 1930 in 15), elected by the League of Nations Conference and Council.The effects of the International Tribunal have exceeded expectations.In addition to the 10 cases adjudicated in the first 16 years, 22 cases were referred to the League of Nations.For the first 10 years, 45 countries joined.A majority of countries are in favor of accepting the judgment of the International Court of Justice in all respects to legal disputes.By the 10th anniversary of its establishment, 55 countries had signed the court's draft peace treaty (an informal draft agreement), but 10 of them had not been ratified. In 1929, preparations were made for the accession of the United States, only waiting for the approval of the U.S. Senate, but the Senate did not approve it.

[-]. Disputes and compensation
Border conflicts The obvious aftermath of wars are border disputes.Poland clashed with Russia in 1919-1920 to expand its eastern frontier.Poland and Germany came close to fighting over the rich mining regions of Upper Silesia, but the League of Nations dissuaded them in 1921 and began partitioning after a referendum.The harbor of Fiume also sparked disputes between Italy and Yugoslavia until it was annexed by Mussolini in 1924.To prevent Hungary from recovering its lost provinces, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Romania combined into an alliance known as the Little Entente.There are also some similar examples.

Border disputes are not limited to Europe.In South America, Peru had disputes with the Arica region and Chile over Tacna until Chile returned Tacna to Peru in 1928.Bolivia and Paraguay are at war over ownership of the Gran Chaco region.The same is true in Asia, such as "Manchuria", where the ambitions of China, Japan and Russia collide. Hostilities again broke out in "Manchuria" in 1931.In Asia Minor, a war between Greece and Turkey in 1922 nearly involved Britain. In 1925, Turkey's attempt to occupy the Mosul oil region narrowly escaped war when the League of Nations awarded Mosul to Britain.

Reparations Another source of conflict is the handling of reparations.After a bitter debate, the Allies reduced Germany's reparation payment to $1921 billion in 320.France and Belgium seized the German coal mines in the Ruhr area in 1923.This left Germany bankrupt, while France and Belgium gained very little net benefit from it.

The following year, people figured out a good way to collect reparations from Germany.A committee chaired by Charles G. Dawes drew up a plan for the amount Germany should pay each year.Germany agreed to the plan.So the army withdrew from the Ruhr.Over the next five years, Germany paid $5 billion in compensation.

But the Dawes Plan did not specify how many years the reparations would continue to be repaid, and Germany complained that their burden was too heavy.A committee chaired by Irving D. Younger came up with another plan, according to which Germany should pay $90 billion in reparations, plus interest, over 59 years (ending in 1988). In 1930, shortly after the adoption of the Younger Plan, France withdrew its troops from the Rhine region of Germany, thus alleviating Germany's main grievances.

The Allies planned to use two-thirds of the reparations received from Germany to repay the debt owed to the United States, but in 1931, due to the economic downturn, all payments due to Germany and the Allies had to be suspended.

The Entente and Germany signed an agreement in Lausanne in 1932 that ended the Younger Plan and reduced Germany's reparation debt to an even smaller amount - $7.15 million.But this agreement was never implemented.Germany was unwilling to pay any more reparations.

[-]. The time of wishing
The decade from 1922 to 1932 was in many ways a time of wishing.The various programs and conventions to maintain peace, promote trade, and limit armaments are all clear efforts towards international cooperation.

Washington Arms Conference At the Washington Arms Conference (1921-1922), an agreement was reached on a general reduction of the Navy.That means billions of dollars saved, less naval arms race, and therefore less danger of war.At the same time, Japan promised to return Jiaozhou Bay and sold the Jiaozhou-Jinan Railway to China. Nine powerful countries, Britain, the United States, Japan, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and China, once again approved the "open door" policy in China.In the "Four Powers Treaty", the United States, Britain, France, and Japan mutually promised to respect the land occupied by each country in the Pacific Ocean, and also agreed to conduct peaceful negotiations if serious disputes occurred in the Pacific Ocean or the Far East.

The Locarno Treaty and Other Negotiations Representatives of Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom pledged in Locarno, Switzerland in 1925 to strictly abide by the terms of the Treaty of Paris regarding Germany's western borders and the demilitarized zone along the Rhine.Germany, France, and Belgium pledged that they "under no circumstances shall attack or invade each other, or wage war against each other."

Germany also has arbitration treaties with France, Belgium, Poland and Czechoslovakia.Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926.In the same year, Germany, France and the steel industries of several neighboring countries established a "steel cartel" alliance to promote economic cooperation.

In 1927, the World Economic Conference was held in Geneva, advocating the reduction of tariffs to promote world trade, but the second conference held in London in 1933 ended due to differences of opinion.French Prime Minister Briand advocated the establishment of a European federation in Geneva in 1929, mainly to promote economic cooperation.

The Paris Convention, a treaty in principle signed in Paris in 1928 to abolish war, had been ratified by 1932 countries by 60.Argentina and Brazil watched on until 1933 before committing to sign.

London Naval Conference In 1930, in London, the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Japan signed a new treaty to adjust and limit the navy.US President Hoover and British Prime Minister MacDonald played an active role in the promotion of the "Five Powers Treaty".

World Conference In 1932 At the invitation of the League of Nations, almost all nations gathered in Geneva to work together to make peace more secure by reducing armaments.Germany insisted on equal rights to armaments with other great powers.After months of discussions, Germany withdrew its own representatives.Yet in almost desperate circumstances, the meeting went ahead.

This conference, like all other conferences and treaties, was in harmony with the aims and endeavors of the League of Nations.

(End of this chapter)