Chapter IV
Reading edition
CONVENTIONS AND LEGISLATION
Not a few International Conventions necessitate, before they can be ratified, in order that their provisions may be carried into effect, a certain amount of municipal legislation.
The letters which follow are concerned with some measures introduced into the British Parliament for this purpose, relating respectively to Naval Prize, to the Geneva Convention of 1906, and to Conventions signed at The Hague Peace Conference of 1907. It is with criticisms of Bills dealing with the last-mentioned topic that this chapter is mainly occupied.
GOVERNMENT BILLS AND INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
Two other Bills have now been presented to the House of Commons in such a shape as to raise a doubt whether the wish of the Government, or of the draftsman, has been that the topics to which they relate shall be discussed en pleine connaissance de cause.
On the drafting of the "Second Peace Conference Conventions Bill," I will only remark that neither in the preamble nor elsewhere is any information vouchsafed as to the[038] Conventions, out of thirteen drafted at The Hague, which are within the purview of the Bill. The reader is left to puzzle out for himself, supposing him to have the necessary materials at hand, that certain clauses of the Bill relate respectively to certain articles which must be looked for in the Conventions numbered I., V., X., XII., and XIII.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
T. E. HOLLAND
The Athenæum, July 7 (1911).
Questions were put and objections raised, in the sense of my criticisms upon the drafting of the "Second Peace Conference (Conventions) Bill" of 1911, upon several occasions in the House of Commons, especially in August of that year, and on December 16 the Bill was finally withdrawn. On the re-introduction of the Bill in 1914, see the following letter.
THE PRESENT BILL IN PARLIAMENT
Sir,—In reintroducing their Bill "to make such amendments in the law as are necessary in order to enable certain conventions to be carried into effect," the Government has justified the criticisms which I addressed to you upon the way in which this measure was first presented to Parliament.
I pointed out that neither in the preamble nor elsewhere was any information vouchsafed as to which of "the various conventions drawn up at the second Peace Conference" were within the purview of the Bill. Still less was any clue given to those articles, out of nearly 400 contained in the 13 conventions in question, which are relevant to the proposed legislation. Members of Parliament sufficiently inquisitive not to be inclined to take the measure on trust, were left to puzzle out all this for themselves, but proved so restive under the treatment that the Bill, which was introduced in June, 1911, had to be withdrawn in the following December.
As now resuscitated, the Bill is accompanied by a memorandum containing information which will enable [039]the reader, even though no specialist, supposing him to have the necessary documents at hand, though probably only after several hours of labour, to ascertain what would be the result of passing it. Is it too much to hope that similar aids to the understanding of complicated legislative proposals will be systematically provided in the future?
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
T. E. HOLLAND
Oxford, April 13, 1914.
This Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on April 8, 1914, with a memorandum proposed in compliance with the criticisms, which had led to the withdrawal of its predecessor of 1911. Cf. supra, p. 37. It also was withdrawn, after sustaining much renewed criticism, on July 17, 1914.
THE FOREIGN ENLISTMENT BILL
Sir,—It is doubtless the case, as stated in your leading article of to-day, that the Foreign Enlistment Bill has not received the attention which it deserves. It may perhaps be worth while to mention, as affording some explanation of this neglect, the fact that the memorandum prefixed to the Bill vaguely describes its main object as being to bring our law into conformity with "The Hague Conventions" at large. An ordinary member of Parliament would surely be grateful to be referred specifically to Convention No. xiii., Arts. 8, 17, and 25. He might well shrink from the labour of exploring the hundreds of articles contained in "The Hague Conventions" in order to ascertain which of the articles suggest some modification of the English statute.
I would also venture to suggest that, in Article 1 (1) (b) of the Bill the words "or allows to depart," carried over from the old Act, should be omitted, as of doubtful interpretation. Would it not also be desirable to take this opportunity of severing the enlistment articles of the overgrown principal Act from those forbidding the despatch of [040]ships fitted for hostilities and restricting the hospitality which may be extended to belligerent war ships?
Upon quite a different subject, I should like to answer the question propounded in your article, as to the weight now to be given to the Declaration of London, by saying that no weight should be given to it, except as between Powers who may have ratified it or may have agreed to be temporarily bound by its provisions. One has of late been surprised to read of vessels carrying contraband being allowed to continue their voyage after surrendering the contraband goods, in accordance with a new rule suggested by the Declaration, whereas, under still existing international law, the duty of a captor is to bring in the vessel together with her cargo, in order that the rightfulness of the seizure may be investigated by a Prize Court.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
T. E. HOLLAND
Oxford, November 23 (1912).
The Bill of 1912 "to amend the Foreign Enlistment Act, 1870," passed the House of Lords with little comment, but was withdrawn, after much adverse criticism, in the House of Commons on February 12, 1913.[041]