Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-11

an Inter.American Juridca} Nature, that
there lie any possibilities for what might be
called heated discussion. This topic concerns
the consideration of results OF the Commission
of Jurists which assembled in Rio de Janeiro
and from April IS to May 20 of this year
perused many and weighty subjects. The Ju'
rists were intrusted with number of things.
They were charged, for instance, with the codi'
fcation of private international law and public
international law or rather with reconstitu-
ton of such laws by submitting to rigorous
scrutiny the bases and rules OF the laws IN
order to bring them into harmony with the
new conditions of life in the Americas and
adapt them to the interests, necessities, senti-
ments and aspirations of the American CONT
nent In their study Of questions Of public
international law the jurists were requested
to give preferential attention to methods for
the pacific settlement OF international dis
putes," with the understanding that if the
commission did not have time to dispatch this
part of it's work the topic would be considered
included in the program and submitted to the
Havana conference.
In Rio de Janero the commission, in add.
ton to its work on private international law,
elaborated twelve projects of public interna-
tional law, dealing with the following subjects:
The fundamental bases of international law;
states, their existence. equality and recogni-
ton: status of aliens trea ties; exchange of pub
lications; interchange of professors and stu
dents: diplomatic agents; consuls; maritime
neutrality; asylum; duties of states in civil
war and the pacific settlement of international
conflicts. In other words. it drew up what
might be regarded as a platform, or state
ment OF policy, upon all these subjects and
then passed them on to the conference which
meets in Havana next month.
The jurists Celebrations on the Majority Of
subjects are based on recognized and accepted
tenets of international law. Other Celebrations.
however, show some tendency to wander into
new fields.
In the statement of principles regarding the
existence equality and recognition Of states,
for instance, it is declared irrevocably and with
out further ampfcaton under Article that
mo state may intervene in the internal affairs
of another" This one article out of nine
others relating to states, might prove debat-
able. Intervention by the United States in
the internal affairs of certain states has be-
come rather we'll established as a policy when
the internal affairs of such states threaten
American interests. This subject of interven.
ton, by the way, will creep into discussions at
the conference unless some heroic measures
are adopted to keep it outside. In addition to
specific questions which the International Com.
mission of Jurists agreed to lay before the
Havana meeting, several subjects were sug.
gested to the commission. but not acted upon,
the commission understanding that "some of
them did not have that degree of maturity
and others, being drafted in the terms in which
they were, might be considered manifesto
tions of a means Of obtaining the commissions
views regarding pending American political
questions. For this reason the commission de.
cided to transmit and to submit some Of them
for the consideration of the Havana confer
ence.
X X X X
Among these proposals which the Interna.
tional Commission of Jurists neatly and dex
terously side-stepped in order to allow them to
come before the Havana conference were the
following:
From Haiti-"Any action carried out by
state, whether by means of diplomatic pres.
sure or by armed force, in order to force its
will upon that of the other state, constitutes
intervention"
From Argentina-"A state may not inter.
vene in the internal affairs nor in the external
affairs of another state
From the Dominican Republic and from Mex
ico-"No state may in the future directly or
indirectly, nor by reason of any motive, occupy