Note 188 — Chapter II · POSITION OF THE STATES WITHIN THE FAMILY OF NATIONS

In contradistinction to the generally recognised political hegemony of the Great Powers, Lawrence (§§ 113 and 114) and Taylor (§ 69) maintain that the position of the Great Powers is legally superior to that of the smaller States, being a "Primacy" or "Overlordship." This doctrine, which professedly seeks to abolish the universally recognised rule of the equality of States, has no sound basis, and confounds political with legal inequality. I cannot agree with Lawrence when he says (§ 114, p. 276):—"... in a system of rules depending, like International Law, for their validity on general consent, what is political is legal also, if it is generally accepted and acted on." The Great Powers are de facto, by the smaller States, recognised as political leaders, but this recognition does not involve recognition of legal superiority.