A treaty is an agreement, generally in writing, and always in conformity with law, between two or more states. A treaty may establish, modify, or terminate obligations. These obligations must be such as are legally within the capacity of the states concerned to negotiate. A treaty runs between states only. As distinguished from other forms of international agreement, a treaty is usually concerned with matters of high state importance, with a considerable number of questions, or with matters involving several states.
Separate articles are clauses attached to a treaty after ratification, and to be interpreted with reference to the whole.
Besides the treaty, which is the most formal international agreement, there may be various other methods of expressing the terms of international agreements. The importance of the matter contained in the various documents is not necessarily in proportion to their formality.
The terms "convention" and "treaty" are very generally used interchangeably, though strictly the scope of a convention is less broad, and usually applies to some specific subject, as to the regulation of commerce, navigation, consular service, postal service, naturalization, extradition, boundaries, etc. The terms below are often used loosely in practice.
(a) A protocol, or procès verbal, is usually in the form of official minutes, giving the conclusions of an international conference and signed at the end of each session by the negotiators. This does not require ratification by the sovereign as in the case of treaties and conventions, though it is equally binding upon the good faith of the states concerned. Ordinarily the persons signing the protocol have been duly authorized by their respective states in advance. The term "protocol" is sometimes applied to the preliminary draft of an agreement between two or more states as to the agreements entered into by negotiators in preparation of a more formal document, such as a treaty or convention.[270]
(b) Declarations are usually documents containing reciprocal agreements of states, as in granting equal privileges in matters of trade-marks, copyrights, etc., to the citizens of each state. The term is used for the documents, (1) which outline the policy or course of conduct which one or more states propose to pursue under certain circumstances, (2) which enunciate the principles adopted, or (3) which set forth the reasons justifying a given act.
(c) The terms "memoranda" and "memoires" are used to indicate the documents in which the principles entering an international discussion are set forth, together with the probable conclusions. These documents may be considered by the proper authorities, e.g. may be sent to the foreign secretaries of the states concerned, and contre-memoires may be submitted. These documents are generally unsigned.
(d) Besides the above, there may be in diplomatic negotiations letters between the agents, in which the use of the first or second person is common, and notes, which are more formal and usually in the third person. These letters, if made public, may have much force, as in the case of the collective note of the powers commonly called the "Andrassy note," by which the Powers of Europe in 1875 held that in Turkey "reform must be adopted to put a stop to a disastrous and bloody contest."
(e) When representatives of states not properly commissioned for the purpose, or exceeding the limits of their authority, enter into agreements, their acts are called treaties sub spe rati or sponsions. Such agreements require ratification by the state. This ratification may be explicit in the usual form, or tacit, when the state governs its action by the agreements.
(f) Of the nature of treaties are cartels, which are agreements made between belligerents, usually mutual, regulating intercourse during war. These may apply to exchange of prisoners, postal and telegraphic communications, customs, and similar subjects. These documents are less formal than conventions, usually negotiated by agents specially authorized, and do not require ratification, though fully obligatory upon the states parties to the agreement.[271] Here also may be named the suspension of arms, which the chief of an army or navy may enter into as an agreement for the regulation or cessation of hostilities within a limited area for a short time and for military ends. When such agreements are for the cessation of hostilities in general, or for a considerable time, they receive the name of armistices or truces. These are sometimes called conventions with the enemy. These last do not imply international negotiation.
Note. Agreements concluded between states and private individuals or corporations have not an international character, and do not come within the domain of international law. Such agreements may include:—
1. Contracts with individuals or corporations for a loan, colonization, developing a country, etc.
2. Agreements between princes in regard to succession, etc.
3. Concordats signed by the Pope as such and not as a secular prince.
The negotiation of treaties includes, (a) the international agreement upon the terms, (b) the drafting of the terms, (c) the signing, and (d) the ratification.
(a) The first step preparatory to the agreement is the submission of proof that the parties entering into the negotiations are duly qualified and authorized. As the sovereigns themselves do not now in person negotiate treaties,[272] it is customary for those who are to conduct such negotiations to be authorized by a commission generally known as full power. The negotiators first present and exchange their full powers. They may be somewhat limited in their action by instructions.[273] Often it is the diplomatic representatives who negotiate with the proper authorities of the state to which they are accredited. The negotiations are sometimes written, sometimes verbal, and are preserved in the procès verbaux. In case the negotiations are for any reason discontinued before the drafting of the terms of the agreement, it is customary to state the circumstances leading to this act in a protocol signed by all the negotiators. Sometimes this takes the name of a manifest or of a declaration.
(b) The draft of the treaty is usually, though not necessarily, of a uniform style. Many early treaties opened with an invocation to Deity. This is not the custom followed by the United States, however. The general form is to specify the sovereigns of the contracting states, the purpose of the agreement, and the names of the negotiators, with their powers. This constitutes the preamble. Then follow in separate articles the agreements entered into forming the body of the treaty, the conditions of ratification, the number of copies, the place of the negotiation, the signatures and seals of the negotiators. Sometimes other articles or declarations[274] are annexed or added, with a view to defining, explaining, or limiting words or clauses used in the body of the treaty. Ordinarily the same formula is followed as in the portion of the main treaty subsequent to the body in setting forth conditions of ratification, etc.
The order of the states parties to the treaty, and of the agents negotiating it, varies in the different copies. The copy transmitted to a given state party to the treaty contains the name of that state and of its agents in the first place, so far as possible. Each negotiator signs in the first place the copy of the treaty to be transmitted to his own state, and if the agents of more than one other state sign the treaty, they sign in alphabetical order of their states, in the original language of the convention. This is known as the principle of the alternat.
The following is the beginning and end of the Treaty of Washington relative to the Alabama Claims, etc., including the President's proclamation thereof:—[275]
"BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
"A Proclamation
"Whereas a treaty, between the United States of America and her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, concerning the settlement of all causes of difference between the two countries, was concluded and signed at Washington by the high commissioners and plenipotentiaries of the respective governments on the eighth day of May last; which treaty is word for word, as follows:—
"'The United States of America and her Britannic Majesty, being desirous to provide for an amicable settlement of all causes of difference between the two countries, have for that purpose appointed their respective plenipotentiaries, that is to say: The President of the United States has appointed, on the part of the United States, as Commissioners in a Joint High Commission and Plenipotentiaries [here follow the names]; and her Britannic Majesty, on her part, has appointed as her High Commissioners and Plenipotentiaries [here follow the names].
"'And the said plenipotentiaries, after having exchanged their full powers, which were found to be in due and proper form, have agreed to and concluded the following articles:—
[Here follow 42 articles.]
"'Article XLIII
"'The present treaty shall be duly ratified by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by her Britannic Majesty; and the ratifications shall be exchanged either at Washington or at London within six months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible.
"'In faith whereof, we, the respective plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty and have hereunto affixed our seals.
"'Done in duplicate at Washington the eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.'
[Here follow the seals and signatures.]
"And whereas the said treaty has been duly ratified on both parts, and the respective ratifications of the same were exchanged in the city of London, on the seventeenth day of June, 1871, by Robert C. Schenck, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, and Earl Granville, her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on the part of their respective governments:
"Now, therefore, be it known that I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, have caused the said treaty to be made public, to the end that the same, and every clause and article thereof, may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States and the citizens thereof.
"In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
"Done at the City of Washington this fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-sixth.
"U. S. Grant.
"By the President:
"Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State."
There is no diplomatic language, though various languages have from time to time been more commonly used. In early treaties and diplomatic works Latin was very common, and it was used so late as the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Spanish prevailed for some years toward the end of the fifteenth century. From the days of Louis XIV., when the French particularly became the court language, it has been widely used in congresses and treaties. Frequently, when used, there have been inserted in the treaties provisions that the use of French should not be taken as a precedent. The French language is, however, commonly employed in congresses in which a considerable number of different languages are represented, and the original forms of the treaties are drawn in French. During the nineteenth century this has been very common, as in the acts of the Congress of Vienna, 1815; Aix-la-Chapelle, 1818; Paris, 1856; Berlin, 1878 and 1885; Brussels, 1890. Even other states of Europe, in making treaties with Asiatic and African states, have agreed upon French as the authoritative text for both states. In some of the treaties of the United States and the Ottoman Porte, the French language is used.
It is customary, when the treaty is between states having different official languages, to arrange for versions in both languages in parallel columns, placing at the left the version in the language of the state to which the treaty is to be transmitted.
(c) In signing the treaty each representative signs and seals in the first place the copy to be sent to his own state. The order of the other signatures may be by lot or in the alphabetical order of the states represented. The signing of the treaty indicates the completion of the agreement between those commissioned in behalf of the states concerned. This does not irrevocably bind the states which the signers represent, though the fact that its representative has signed a treaty is a reason for ratification which cannot be set aside except for most weighty cause.
(d) Ratification is the acceptance by the state of the terms of the treaty which has been agreed upon by its legally qualified agent. The exchange of ratifications is usually provided for in a special clause, e.g. "The present treaty shall be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged at ... as speedily as possible." By this clause the state reserves to itself the right to examine the conditions before entering into the agreement. At the present time it is held that even when not expressed, the "reserve clause" is understood.
The ratification conforms to the domestic laws of each state. Ordinarily it is in the form of an act duly signed and sealed by the head of the state. In the act of ratification the text of the treaty may be reproduced entire, or merely the title, preamble, the first and last articles of the body of the treaty, the concluding clauses following the last article, the date, and the names of the plenipotentiaries.
In many states prior approval of the treaty by some legislative body is necessary. In the United States the Constitution provides that the President "shall have power by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur."[276] In the United States it has frequently happened that the Senate has not approved of treaties, and they have therefore failed of ratification. This was the fate of the Fishery Treaty with Great Britain in 1888.
The ratification may be refused for sufficient reason. Each state must decide for itself what is sufficient reason. The following have been offered at various times as valid reasons for refusal of ratification: (1) error in points essential to the agreement, (2) the introduction of matters of which the instructions of the plenipotentiaries do not give them power to treat, (3) clauses contrary to the public law of either of the states, (4) a change in the circumstances making the fulfillment of the stipulations unreasonable, (5) the introduction of conditions impossible of fulfillment, (6) the failure to meet the approval of the political authority whose approval is necessary to give the treaty effect, (7) the lack of proper credentials on the part of the negotiators or the lack of freedom in negotiating.
The exchange of ratifications is usually a solemn, i.e. highly formal, ceremony by which parties to the treaty or convention guarantee to each other the execution of its terms. As many copies of the act of ratification are prepared by each state as there are state parties to the treaty. When the representatives of the states assemble for the exchange of ratifications, they submit them to each other. These are carefully compared, and if found in correct form, they make the exchange and draw up a procès verbal of the fact, making as many copies of the procès verbal as there are parties to the treaty. At this time also a date for putting into operation the provisions of the treaty may be fixed. Sometimes clauses explanatory of words, phrases, etc., in the body of the treaty are agreed upon. Such action usually takes the form of a special procès verbal or protocol.
Unless there is a stipulation as to the time when a treaty becomes effective, it is binding upon the signatory states from the date of signing, provided it is subsequently ratified.
A state may assume a more or less close relation to the agreements contained in treaties made by other states, by measures less formal than ratification. These measures are commonly classed as acts of, (1) approbation, by which a state without becoming in any way a party to the treaty assumes a favorable attitude toward its provisions, (2) adhesion, by which a state announces its intention to abide by the principles of a given treaty without becoming party to it, and (3) accession, by which a state becomes a party to a treaty which has already been agreed upon by other states.
Note. After the completion of the negotiation it is customary to promulgate and publish the treaty or convention. Both these acts are matters of local rather than international law. The promulgation is the announcement by the chief of the state that the treaty or convention has been made, and the publication is the official announcement of the contents of the treaty or convention. See p. 204.
Four conditions are very generally recognized as essential to the validity of a treaty.
(a) The parties to the treaty must have the international capacity to contract, i.e. ordinarily they must be independent states.
(b) The agents acting for the state must be duly authorized, i.e. the plenipotentiaries must act within their powers.
(c) There must be freedom of consent in the agreements between the states. This does not imply that force, as by war, reprisals, or otherwise, may not be used in bringing about a condition of affairs which may lead a state, without parting with its independence, to make such sacrifices as may be necessary to put an end thereto. No constraint can be put upon the negotiators of the treaty by threats of personal violence, or in any way to prohibit their free action, without invalidating their acts. There is no freedom of consent when the agreement is reached through fraud of either party, and treaties so obtained are not valid.
(d) The treaties must be in conformity to law, as embodied in the generally recognized principles of international law and the established usage of states. States could not by treaty appropriate the open sea, protect the slave trade, partition other states unless as a measure of self-protection, deprive subjects of essential rights of humanity, or enter into other agreements that could not be internationally obligatory.
Treaties have been variously classified, but the classifications serve no great purpose. The most common classification is clearly set forth by Calvo. As regards form, treaties may be, (1) transitory, or (2) permanent or perpetual; as regards nature, (1) personal, relating to the sovereign, or (2) real, relating to things and not dependent on the sovereign person; as regards effects, (1) equal or (2) unequal, or according to other effects, simple or conditional, definitive or preliminary, principal or accessory, etc.; as regards objects, (1) general or (2) special.[277] In a narrower sense treaties may be divided into many classes, as political, economic, guarantee, surety, neutrality, alliance, friendship, boundary, cession, exchange, jurisdiction, extradition, commerce, navigation, peace, etc., and conventions relating to property of various kinds, including literary and artistic, to post and telegraph, etc. Most of these classes are sufficiently described by their titles. The nature of some of the classes is not fully indicated in the title.
A treaty of guarantee is an engagement by which a state agrees to secure another in the possession of certain specified rights, as in the exercise of a certain form of government, in the free exercise of authority within its dominions, in freedom from attack, in the free navigation of specified rivers, in the exercise of neutrality, etc. In 1831 and 1839, by the Treaties of London, the independence and neutrality of Belgium were guaranteed, and in the Treaty of 1832 the affairs in Greece were adjusted under guarantee. The Treaty of Paris, 1856, guarantees "the independence and the integrity of the Ottoman Empire." When the guaranteeing state is not only bound to use its best efforts to secure the fulfillment of the treaty stipulations, but to make good the conditions agreed upon in the treaty provided one of the principals fails to meet its obligations, the treaty is not merely one of guarantee, but also a treaty of surety. This happens in case of loans more particularly.
Agreements of states to act together for specific or general objects constitute treaties of alliance. The nature of these treaties of alliance varies with the terms. They may be defensive, offensive, equal, unequal, general, special, permanent, temporary, etc., or may combine several of these characteristics.
Sometimes clauses interpreting treaties are discussed and adopted by the states signing a treaty. These acts may take the form of notes, protocols, declarations, etc. The dispatch of the French ambassador at London, Aug. 9, 1870, to the foreign secretary interprets certain clauses of the treaty guaranteeing the neutrality of Belgium. In cases where no preliminary agreement in regard to interpretation is made, there are certain general principles of interpretation which are ordinarily accepted. Many treatises follow closely the chapters of Grotius and Vattel upon this subject.[278]
The rules usually accepted are: (1) Words of the treaty are to be taken in the ordinary and reasonable sense as when elsewhere used under similar conditions. (2) If the words have different meanings in the different states, the treaty should so far as possible be construed so as to accord with the meaning of the words in the states which accepted the conditions. (3) In default of a plain meaning, the spirit of the treaty or a reasonable meaning should prevail. (4) Unless the fundamental rights of states are expressly the subject of the agreement, these rights are not involved. (5) That which is clearly granted by the treaty carries with it what is necessary for its realization.
In the cases of conflicting clauses in a single treaty or conflicting treaties, the general rules are: (1) Special clauses prevail against general clauses; prohibitory against permissive, unless the prohibitory is general and the permissive special; of two prohibitory clauses, the one more distinctly mandatory prevails; of two similar obligatory clauses the state in whose favor the obligation runs may choose which shall be observed. (2) In case of conflict in treaties between the same states the later prevails; in case a later treaty with a third state conflicts with an earlier treaty with other states, the earlier treaty prevails.[279]
"The most favored nation" clause is now common in treaties of commercial nature. This clause ordinarily binds the state to grant to its co-signer all the privileges similarly granted to all other states, and such as shall be granted under subsequent treaties. When privileges are granted by one state in exchange for privileges granted by another, as in a reciprocal reduction in tariff duties, a third state can lay claim to like reduction only upon fulfillment of like conditions. Under "the most favored nation" clause, Art. VIII., of the Treaty of 1803, between France and the United States, France claimed that its ships were entitled to all the privileges granted to any other nation whether so granted in return for special concessions or not. This position the United States refused to accept, and by Article VII. of the Treaty of 1831 France renounced the claims.[280]
Treaties in general come to an end under the following conditions:—
(a) The complete fulfillment of all the treaty stipulations terminates a treaty.
(b) The expiration of the limit of time for which the treaty agreement was made puts an end to the treaty.
(c) A treaty may be terminated by express agreement of the parties to it.
(d) When a treaty depends upon the execution of conditions contrary to the principles of international law or morality or impossible of performance, it is not effective.
(e) A state may renounce the advantages and rights secured under a treaty, e.g. England renounced the protectorate of the Ionian Islands in 1864, which she had held since 1815.
(f) A declaration of war may put an end to those treaties which have regard only to conditions of peaceful relations, as treaties of alliance, commerce, navigation, etc., and may suspend treaties which have regard to permanent conditions, as treaties of cession, boundaries, etc. The treaty of peace between China and Japan, May 8, 1895, Article 6, asserts that, "All treaties between Japan and China having come to an end in consequence of the war, China engages, immediately upon the exchange of ratifications of this act, to appoint plenipotentiaries to conclude, with the Japanese plenipotentiaries, a treaty of commerce and navigation, and a convention to regulate frontier intercourse and trade." In the war between the United States and Spain the royal decree issued by Spain, April 23, 1898, Article I., asserts that "The state of war existing between Spain and the United States terminates the treaty of peace and friendship of the 27th October, 1795, the protocol of the 12th January, 1877, and all other agreements, compacts, and conventions that have been in force up to the present between the two countries." The declaration of war also gives special effect to certain treaties and conventions, as to those in regard to care of wounded, neutral commerce, etc.
(g) A treaty is voidable when, (1) it is concluded in excess of powers of contracting parties, (2) when it is concluded because of stress of force upon negotiators or because of fraud, (3) when the conditions threaten the self-preservation of the state or its necessary attributes. Hall gives as the test of voidability the following: "Neither party to a contract can make its binding effect dependent at his will upon conditions other than those contemplated at the moment when the contract was entered into, and on the other hand a contract ceases to be binding so soon as anything which formed an implied condition of its obligatory force at the time of its conclusion is essentially altered."[281] The condition rebus sic stantibus is always implied.
(h) A treaty may be terminated by the simple act of denunciation when this right of denunciation is specified in the treaty itself, or when the treaty is of such a nature as to be voidable by an act of one of the parties.
AMICABLE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES AND NON-HOSTILE REDRESS
It is now generally admitted that in the settlement of international disputes war should be regarded as a last resort. Other means of amicable settlement should be exhausted before any measures of force are tried. Among these amicable means the most common are diplomatic negotiations, the good offices or friendly mediation of a third state, conferences and congresses, and arbitration.[282]
(a) The settlement of disputes by diplomatic negotiation follows the ordinary course of diplomatic business, whether committed to the regular or to special agents. The larger number of disputed questions are settled by diplomatic negotiation.
(b) In the case of disputes which are not easily settled by diplomatic negotiations, a third state, friendly to the disputants, sometimes offers its good offices as mediator to bring about an agreement. The office of the mediating state is not to judge upon the merits of the disputed question, but to devise a practicable means of settlement of the question in view of the circumstances of the dispute. The tender of good offices is a measure involving the least possible interference in the dispute, and cannot be regarded as other than a friendly act. There is no obligation to accept the tender, and either disputant may decline it without offense. One of the disputants may request the tender of good offices or of mediation. The distinction between good offices and mediation is not always made in practice, though it may be said that good offices extend only to the establishing of bases of negotiations and the commencement of the negotiations. The more direct work of carrying on the negotiations is of the nature of mediation. Either party may at the beginning or at any time refuse the mediator's offices.
(c) The settlement of disputes or of questions liable to give rise to disputes by conferences and congresses is common, and implies a meeting of representatives of the interested parties for consideration of the terms of agreement upon which a question may be adjudicated. In general the conclusions of a congress are more formal and are regarded as having more binding force than those of a conference, though this distinction is not always made. States not directly interested may participate in conferences or congresses, and sometimes as mediators play a leading part.
(d) Arbitration involves an agreement between the disputants to submit their differences to some person or persons by whose decision they will abide. Arbitration has been common from early times. It is now becoming common to insert in treaties clauses providing for arbitration in cases of disagreement upon the interpretation of clauses of the treaty, and to resort more and more to this method of settling disputed international questions.
The parties submitting the question to arbitration usually provide for the naming of the arbitrator or arbitrators, and for the rules and principles in accord with which the decision shall be made.
It is generally admitted that a decision is not binding if it is not in accord with the principles to which the disputants had agreed; if it is flagrantly unjust; if it is equivocal and itself open to dispute; or if the decision is obtained by fraud or force.
Of about thirty cases of arbitration during the nineteenth century, the decision in one case was rejected by both parties to the dispute, and in one case rejected by one of the parties. In several other instances one party has refused to submit to arbitration questions readily lending themselves to such settlement, even though requested by the other party.[283]
Good offices, mediation, and arbitration can only extend to international differences of certain kinds. Such measures are not applicable to all cases of disagreement, nor are such measures always acceptable to both parties. Consequently certain other practices have arisen with the view of obtaining satisfaction by measures short of war. Formerly an individual might be commissioned by a letter of marque and reprisal to obtain satisfaction from a state for injuries which he had suffered. This practice is, however, discontinued,[284] and satisfaction must be obtained through the proper state channels. The means by which satisfaction may be claimed vary, and are usually classed as retorsions, reprisals, of which embargo is an important variety, and pacific blockades.
Retorsion is a species of retaliation in kind.[285] Retorsion may not consist in acts precisely identical with those which have given offense, though it is held that the acts should be analogous. The offense in consequence of which measures of retorsion are taken may be an act entirely legitimate and desirable from the point of view of the offending state. Another state may, however, consider the act as discourteous, injurious, discriminating, or unduly severe. In recent years commercial retorsion has become a very important means of retaliation which, bearing heavily upon modern communities, may lead to a speedy settlement of difficulties. The tariff wars of recent years show the effectiveness of commercial retorsion, e.g. the measures in consequence of the tariff disagreements between France and Switzerland in 1892. These measures of retorsion should always be within the bounds of municipal and international law.
Reprisals are acts of a state performed with a view to obtaining redress for injuries. The injuries leading to reprisals may be either to the state or to a citizen, and the acts of reprisal may fall upon the offending state or upon its citizens either in goods or person. The general range of acts of reprisal may be by (1) the seizure and confiscation of public property or private property, and (2) the restraint of intercourse, political, commercial, or general. In extreme cases, acts of violence upon persons belonging to one state, when in a foreign state, have led to similar acts upon the part of the state whose subjects are injured against the subjects of the foreign state. This practice is looked upon with disfavor, though it might be sanctioned by extremest necessity. Acts of retaliation for the sake of revenge are generally discountenanced.
Embargo consists in the detention of ships and goods which are within the ports of the state resorting to this means of reprisal. It may be (1) civil or pacific embargo, the detention of its own ships, as by the act of the United States Congress in 1807, to avoid risk on account of the Berlin Decree of Napoleon, 1806, and the British Orders in Council, 1807; or (2) hostile, the detention of the goods and ships of another state. It was formerly the custom to detain within the ports of a given state the ships of the state upon which it desired to make reprisals, and if the relations between the states led to war to confiscate such ships. Hostile embargo may now be said to be looked upon with disfavor, and a contrary policy is generally adopted, by which merchant vessels may be allowed a certain time in which to load and depart even after the outbreak of hostilities. The Naval War Code of the United States provides that "Merchant vessels of the enemy, in ports within the jurisdiction of the United States at the outbreak of war, shall be allowed thirty days after war has begun to load their cargoes and depart."[286] By the proclamation of the President of the United States declaring that war with Spain had existed since April 21, 1898, it was also declared that "Spanish merchant vessels, in any ports or places within the United States, shall be allowed till May 21, 1898, inclusive, for loading their cargoes and departing from such ports or places."[287] Spain, by the royal decree of April 23, 1898, declared "A term of five days from the date of the publication of the present royal decree in the Madrid Gazette is allowed to all United States ships anchored in Spanish ports, during which they are at liberty to depart."[288]
Pacific blockade is a form of reprisal or constraint which consists in the blockading by one or more states of certain ports of another state without declaring or making war upon that state. In the conduct of such blockades practice has varied greatly. In general, however, the vessels of states not parties to the blockade are not subject to seizure. Such vessels may be visited by a ship of the blockading squadron in order to obtain proof of identity. Whether vessels under foreign flags are liable to other inconveniences or to any penalties is not defined by practice or opinion of text writers. "The Institute of International Law," in 1887, provided that pacific blockade should be effective against the vessels of the blockaded party only. This position seemed to be one which could be generally accepted. From the nature of pacific blockade as a measure short of war, its consequences should be confined only to the parties concerned. The pacific blockade of Greece in 1886 extended only to vessels flying the Greek flag,[289] but the admirals of the Great Powers in the pacific blockade of Crete in 1897 endeavored to establish the right to control other than Greek vessels if they carried merchandise for the Greek troops or for the interior of the island. As no case arose to test the claim, this question cannot be regarded as settled.
The provisions of the pacific blockade of Crete in 1897 were as follows:—
"The blockade will be general for all ships under the Greek flag.
"Ships of the six powers or neutral may enter into the ports occupied by the powers and land their merchandise, but only if it is not for the Greek troops or the interior of the island. These ships may be visited by the ships of the international fleets.
"The limits of the blockade are comprised between 23° 24' and 26° 30' longitude east of Greenwich, and 35° 48' and 34° 45' north latitude."[290]
The Secretary of State of the United States, in acknowledging the receipt of the notification of the action of the powers, said, "I confine myself to taking note of the communication, not conceding the right to make such a blockade as that referred to in your communication, and reserving the consideration of all international rights and of any question which may in any way affect the commerce or interests of the United States."[291] The weight of authority supports the position of the United States.
The first attempt to establish a blockade without resorting to war was in 1827, when Great Britain, France, and Russia blockaded the coasts of Greece with a view to putting pressure upon the Sultan, its nominal ruler. Since that time there have been pacific blockades varying in nature: blockade of Tagus by France, 1831; New Granada by England, 1836; Mexico by France, 1838; La Plata by France, 1838 to 1840; La Plata by France and England, 1845 to 1848; Greece by England, 1850; Formosa by France, 1884; Greece by Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Russia, 1886; Zanzibar by Portugal, 1888; and Crete by Great Britain, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and Russia, 1897. From these instances it may be deduced (1) that pacific blockade is a legitimate means of constraint short of war, (2) that those states parties to the blockade are bound by its consequences, (3) that as a matter of policy it may be advisable to resort to pacific blockade in order to avoid the more serious resort to war, and (4) that states not parties to the pacific blockade are in no way bound to observe it, though their ships cannot complain because they are required to establish their identity in the ordinary manner.
WAR