Evening star., 1924-12-09
WORLD LAW COOLING
WILL GET i. S. AID
Administration Has Voiced
Approval of Move Now
Started by League.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

ID La " hENSE-
Decision by the council of the
League of Nations at Rome to sum-
mon fifteen jurists of world wide
fame to draft a code of international
law will receive the cooperation of
America
For many years the United States
Government has been anxious to see
a start made toward the real codifica-
tion- of international law. Elihu Root
succeeded in including a clause to
that effect in the Republican national
platform of 1920. Mr.. Harding was in
sympathy with the project and both
President Coolidge and Secretary
Hughes have since emphasized its i'm
portance. Indeed, In the last mes
sage to Congress Mr.. Coolidge made
a special paragraph on the subject,
which now has been taken seriously
by the League of Nations, whose ini-
tiative in calling the conference is
the first practical step since 1909. 1t
is pertinent in view of the action by
the League of Nations Council to
quote Mr.. Coolidge's exact words:
Coolidge Favors Idea.
Our country should also support ef-
forts which are being made toward the
codification of international law We
can look more hopefully, in the first in
stancefi for research and studies that
are likely to be productive of results. to
a cooperation OF representatives of the
bar and members of international law
institutes and societies, than to a con-
ference of those who are technically
representative of their respective gov
xxyIA
been developed they must go to the gov
ernments for their approval. These ex-
pert professional studies are going on
in certain quarters, and should have our
constant encouragement and approval -
The League Council realized the
truth of Mr.. Coolidge's. words about
technical representatives of govern
ments, so, in line with his idea, the
jurists who will be asked to draft the
new code will not be representative
of governments, but a committee of
specialists. This is exactly the way
the constitution of the Internationa]
Court OF Justice was framed when
Elihu Root was invited as jurist
and not as a representative of the
American Government to sit with
Jurists from other countries.
Powers to Decide.
w hen, however, the committee con-
cluded its Investigations and recon-
mended definite protocol, the latter
was submitted to the governments of
the world for approval So also NAV
the recommendations of the interna-
tional lawyers be submitted to the
different governments for ratification.
The fact that the League of Nations
took the initiative in summoninK the
conference complicates the problem
no more than the action that has been
taken by the league in summoning an
international opium conference or
other humanitarian activities in which
the United States has participated
Step Toward Peace.
The making of new code of in
ternational law is in itself one of the
most vital steps toward preserving
peace that has been needed since the
last European war. On all sides there
has been agreement to that effect,
but the process has Jagged. The first
and second Hague conferences. were
designed to codify the rules of war
which constitute the bulk of interna-
tionaI law and the conference which
resulted in what Is known as the
Declaration of London, in 1909, was
the last document on international
law to come from a large gathering
of important powers. The declara-
tion was not ratified generally. and
those nations which did ratify it
made important reservations, so that
when the war of 1914 broke out the
belligerents were disposed at first to
adhere, but later disregarded some of
the most important provisions in the
CODE,
Need Wartime Rules.
No code seemingly has been drawn
which has been considered binding in
time of war. and the jurists will have
as their major problem the making
Of such. rules as can be obeyed in
wartime. The jurists wiz have no
diflculty, but the experts in the
armies and navies of the countries
concerned usually bring pressure to
bear to prevent ratification of any
thing which inhibits their effective
ness during war, for, while it is true
that all nations are bound by the
Same rules, they sometimes operate
to diminish the power Of a maritime
nation with q large navy more than
they do other nations.
Copyright. 1ec4.j