Evening star., 1936-07-26
T,vO South american Nations
Settle Ro,p by Arbitration
Submission of Boundary Controversy of
Ecuador and Peru to Roosevelt Marks
Another Step to AuOid Var.

parties, Dut IL SpeClIlCduy pIOVlocu
that neither independence nor ma
tional honor would be considered to
be involved in differences over
boundaries, diplomatic privileges,
rights Of navigation or interpreta-
ton of treaties.
The Rio de Janeiro conference IN
1906 ratified adhesion to arbitral pro-
cedure and recommended world con-
vention to that effect be prepared by
the World Peace Conference, which
was to meet the following year at The
Hague. The Buenos Aires conference
in 1910 formally extended the princi-
pie of arbitration to the settlement
of all pecuniary claims in accordance
with the famous Calvo and Drago
doctrines.
The World War interrupted the
series of Pan-American conferences
and 1t was not until 1928 that the next
took place at Santiago. But, in the
meantime, many of the Latin Ameri-
can republics and the United States
had concluded bilateral treaties Of
arbitration, and thus the Santiago
conference, in a special resolution, ac-
knowledged the progress which the
principle had made in recent years
and recommended the study of the
subject to a technical congress Of
jurists at Rio de Janeiro.
The Havana conference in 1928 dis
cussed the report of the Rio de Janeiro
jurists and passed unanimously res
olution in which, after condemning
war as an instrument of national pol
icy several months before the signing
of the Kellogg BRAND pact, the Amer
ican republics pronounced themselves
for obligatory arbitration and agreed
to meet again, in a special conference.
within one year to give conventional
form to this principle. with the mini
mum exceptions"
Convention on Cancellation.
Such a conference was held in
Washington in December, 1928, and
its fruits were an Inter- American Con-
vention on Cancellation and a general
inter-American treaty of arbitration.
Although in the latter reservations as
to quetsions of domestic jurisdiction,
disputes affecting constitutional pro-
visions, conflicts antedating the sigma
lures of the treaty and matters con-
trolled by international agreements
then in force were inserted by some
of the parties, protocol of "progres-
sive arbitration" was concluded at the
same time, by means of which such
parties could withdraw at any time
their reservations by an appropriate
instrument This flexible provision
rendered it possible to broaden the
scope of obligatory arbitration without
the need Of new treaty.
AS the experience of these success
i've steps and of the numerous BIZ
| lateral arbitration pacts between
| American countries shows, the remain
ing problem is to eliminate, as soon
and as completely as possible, these
minimum exceptions and reservations
The ultimate goal should be the un-
qualified adoption of obligatory arbi-
tration, and this trend can be easily
recognized in several of the sugges-
tions advanced by the Latin American
governments for the forthcoming
Peace Conference at Buenos Aires.
The arbitral accord just reached by
Ecuador and Peru comes at a mos
propitious moment, and should give
) encouragement to all who believe ir
the proposition that independence ano
national honor are not involved in
boundary disputes.
Copyright. 1850