New Britain herald., 1916-01-24
DECLARATION 0F THE
 RIGHTS OF NATIONS
Pan-AmeriCan Document Made
 Public By American Institute

Washington, Jan. 24.-A Pan-Am- erlcan Declaration of the Nights of Natlons,' prepared by Secretary Lans-
 ing, Elihu Root and pr. James Brown
 Scott and adopted in executive session
 by the American Institute of Interna- tonal law at it's recent convention held here under the auspices of the Pan American Scientific congress, was made public yesterday by Dr. Scott, president of the institute.
 Although the declaration lacks the formal ratification of the twenty one American republics and therefore is not an official document it's framers believe that it correctly sets forth the
 official views of all the American com
 monwealths. Before the institute
 was called upon to consider it, the dec
 laration was submitted to and ap-
 proved by the chief authorities on in ternational law in the South Ameri-
 can republics, including Ambassador
 Suarez and pr. Alejandro Alvarez of
 Chile. It was unanimously adopted
 January by the institute, whose
 membership of 1O5 is made up of five
 experts on international law from
 each of the twenty-one American re- publcs.
 Element National Rights.
 The declaration, it is said, embodies the institutes conception of only ele- mental national rights and will be further considered at the next meet ing of the institute in Havana next year. It contains five primary sec tions which were fashiored with the United States Declaration of Inde- pendence in mind as model and which read as follows:
 'I. Every nation has the right to exist. to protect and to conserve it's existence; but this right neither im- plies the right nor justifies the act of the state to protect itself or to con- serve it's existence by the commission of unla wful acts against innocent and unoffending states.
 "II. Every nation has the right to independence in the sense that it has a right to the pursuit of happiness and is free to develop itself without in- reference or control from other states provided that in so doing it does not interfere With or violate the just rights of other states
 I'll Every nation is in law and be- fore law the equal of every other state composing the society of nations, and all states have the right to claim and according to the Declaration of Inde- 1 pendence of the United States, to as sume, among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of na- -ure's God entitle them.
 nv. Every nation has the right to | territory within defined boundaries md to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over this territory, and all persons | whether native Or foreign found there |
 w. Every nation entitled to a | right by the law of nations is entitled | to have that right respected and pro- | tected by all other nations for right l and duty are cOrrelativc, and the right 1 of one is the duty of all to Observe.'
 The preamble to the resolution em- | bodying the declaration reads as fol- l lows:
 Other Rights Added.
 "WHEREAS the municipal law of 1 civilized nations recognizes and pro- tects the right to life, the right to lib- | arty, to which the Declaration of h. , dependence of the United States adds | the right to the pursuit of happiness, the right to legal equality, the right to property, and the right to the en- joyment of the aforesaid rights ere ating duty on the part of the citizens or subjects of each nation to observe tn hem: and
 "WHEREAS these fundamental rights, thus universally recognized are familiar to the peoples of all civilized and
 "WHEREAS these fundamental rights, can be stated in terms of in law and can be applied to | the relations of the members Of the 1 society of nations, one with another, just as they have been applied in the relations of the citizens or subjects of the states forming the Society of and
 WHEREAS these fundamental rights of national jurisprudence name y, the right to life, the> right to liberty the right to the pursuit of happiness, the right to equality before the law, the right of the nation to exist ana to protect and to conserve it's existence; | the right of independence and the freedom 70 develop itself without in reference or control from other na- tions, the right of equality in law and before law: the right to territory With