the state, such for instance as the conventions signed with France, March 15, 1893, and April 12, 1905, and with the Netherlands, January 11, 1892.11 The treaty for the annexation of the Kongo, signed November 28, 1907, was approved by the law of October 18, 1908.12 The general arbitration conventions concluded with Denmark, April 26, 1905; with Spain, January 23, 1905; with Greece, May 2, 1905; with Sweden and Norway, November 30, 1904; with Russia, October 30, 1904; and with Switzerland, November 15, 1904, were all approved by the law of July 7, 1905.18 As a permanently neutralized state under Article VII of the convention concluded at London, April 19, 1839, Belgium is not at liberty to enter into treaties that may lead to hostilities, except in defense of her own frontiers, or that may otherwise compromise her neutrality. Thus in the treaty of May 11, 1867, for the neutralization of Luxemburg, to which Belgium is a signatory party, it is expressly provided that as a neutral state Belgium is excepted from the obligation assumed by the other powers of guaranteeing this neutrality.1

§138. Luxemburg.-Article XXXVII of the constitution of Luxemburg (1868) gives to the Grand Duke the right to make treaties. He is to give notice thereof to the Chamber as soon as the interest and safety of the state permit. Treaties of commerce and those that may burden the state or bind individually citizens of Luxemburg, and in general all treaties bearing upon a matter that can be regulated only by law, have effect only after having received the assent of the Chamber. No session, exchange, or acquisition of territory can take place without the sanction of a law. Secret articles cannot be in contravention of open ones, 15

§139. The Netherlands.-Article LIX of the constitution of the Netherlands, as revised in 1887, provides that the King shall make and ratify all treaties with foreign powers. He shall communicate the purport of them to the two chambers of the States

II Id., I, 174, 264; Recueil des Traités et Conventions, XX, 324. 12 Id., XX, 267.

13 Id., XX, 283. The approval of the various conventions, except the one for the limitation on the employment of force in the recovery of contract debts, signed October 18, 1907, at the Second Peace Conference, was given in a single law, dated May 25, 1910. Id., XXI, 65.

14 Busschere, I, 63.

15 Brit. and For. State Papers, LVIII, 253.

General as soon as he thinks that the interest of the state permits. Treaties that contain provisions for changes of the territory of the state, that impose on the kingdom pecuniary obligations, or that contain any other provision concerning rights established by law (legal rights) shall not be ratified by the King until after their approval by the States-General. This approval is not required if the power has been reserved to the King by law to conclude such a treaty.16

The limitation as to treaties providing for a change of the territory of the state appears to have been considered as applying to those affecting colonial possessions. This construction is in conformity with the express provision of Article LVIII of the original constitution of 1815. In the conventions concluded November 29, 1888, with France, for the submission to arbitration of the disputed boundary between Dutch and French Guiana; June 20, 1891, with Great Britain, for the determinination of boundaries in the island of Borneo; May 16, 1895, with Great Britain, for the settlement of boundaries between possessions on the island of New Guinea; and October 1, 1904, with Portugal, as to boundaries in the island of Timor, clauses were inserted by which the ratification was expressly made dependent upon the approval of the States-General.1

Under treaties imposing a pecuniary obligation, are to be classed not only those that expressly stipulate for a payment of money, but also those in which an expenditure is a necessary or implied consequence. Such, for instance, are the conventions with Bel

16 "De Koning sluit en bekrachtigt alle verdragen met vreemde Mogendheden. Hij deelt den inhoud dier verdragen mede aan de beide Kamers der Staten-Generaal, zoodra Hij oordeelt dat het belang van den Staat dit toelaat. Verdragen, die wijziging van het grondgebied van den Staat inhouden, die aan het Rijk geldelijke verpligtingen opleggen of die eenige andere bepaling, wettelijke regten betreffende, inhouden, worden door den Koning niet bekrachtigd dan na door de Staten-Generaal te zijn goedgekeurd. Deze goedkeuring wordt niet veresischt, indien de Koning zich de bevoegdheid tot het sluiten van het verdrag bij de wet heeft voorbehouden." Staatsblad (1887), No. 212. See, for French version, Brit. and For. State Papers, LXXVIII, 273; for English translation, Dodd, Modern Constitutions, II, 91.

17 Arts. III, VIII, VI, and XV, respectively. Lagemans, Recueil des Traités et Conventions conclus par le Royaume des Pays-Bas, X, 95, 356; XII, 186; XV, 345.

gium, for the improvement of international canals,18 and the convention with Great Britain of May 16, 1895, for the submission to arbitration of the question of damages for the arrest by the Dutch authorities of the master of the Costa Rica Packet.19 Under treaties that contain any other provision concerning rights established by law (wettelijke regten) there seem to be included all those that touch upon such subjects as can be regulated only by means of legislation.20 It is specifically provided in the constitution that foreigners can be naturalized only by law;21 that the admission and expulsion of foreigners, and the conditions on which conventions of extradition with foreign powers may be concluded are to be regulated by law;22 and that no impost or revenue can be established except by law.28 Conventions concluded in conformity with the general extradition law of April 6, 1875, as modified by the law of April 15, 1886,24 (and it specifically provides that no convention shall otherwise be entered into) require no action on the part of the legislature to carry them into effect and accordingly do not require submission for approval.25 The convention of March 20, 1883, for the protection of industrial property, was approved by the law of April 23, 1884.28 As illustrative of commercial treaties receiving legislative approval, note may be made of the treaty with Spain signed July 12, 1892;27 the treaty

18 Id., VIII, 204.

19 Id., XIII, 518.

20 Marquardsen, Handbuch des öffentlichen Rechts, IV, pt. I, Div. 4, p. 83.

21 Art. VI.

22 Art. IV.

23 Art. CLXXIV.

24 Moore, Extradition, I, 791; Tripels, Code Politique, 194. See, for naturalization law of December 12, 1892, Brit. and For. State Papers, LXXXIV, 663.

25 of recent extradition conventions concluded and made effective without submission to the States-General are those signed May 31, 1889, with Belgium; November 4, 1893, with Russia; October 29, 1894, with Spain; December 31, 1896, with Germony; May 28, 1897, with Italy; May 19, 1894, with Portugal; August 26, 1905, with Greece. Lagemans, Recueil des Traités, X, 113; XII, 64, 154; XIII, 230, 294; XII, 107; XIII, 512; XVI, 29.

26 Tripels, Code Politique, 238.

27 Approved by the law of July 24, 1893; and ratifications exchanged December 11, 1893.

with the Orange Free State signed April 9, 1895;28 and the treaty with Japan signed September 8, 1896.2

29

$140. Italy.-Article V of the Fundamental Statute, promulgated for Sardinia March 4, 1848, and subsequently extended to the various parts of the present kingdom of Italy, provides that to the King alone belongs the executive power; that he declares war; makes treaties of peace, alliance, commerce, and other treaties, giving notice to the chambers as soon as the interest and safety of the state will permit, with opportune explanations. Treaties that involve financial obligations, or a change of territory of the state, shall not have effect until they have received the assent of the chambers.30 Laws and government acts can take effect only after they have been signed by a responsible minister.31

28 Approved by the law of April 9, 1897; and ratifications exchanged June 26, 1897.

29 Approved by the law of May 2, 1897; and ratifications exchanged August 20, 1897. Lagemans, Recueil des Traités, XII, 346; XIII, 214, 517. 30 "Al Re solo appartiene il potere esecutivo. Egli è il Capo Supremo dello Stato: comanda tutte le forze di terra e di mare: dichiara la guerra: fa i trattati di pace, d'alleanza, di commercio ed altri, dandone notizia alle Camere tosto che l'interesse e la sicurezza dello Stato il permettano, ed unendovi le comunicazioni opportune. I trattati che importassero un onere alle finanze, o variazione di territorio dello Stato, non avranno effetto se non dopo ottenuto l'assenso delle Camere." Raccolta di Constituzioni Italiane (Torino 1852), I, 42. For English translation, see Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, V, sup. 27; Dodd, Modern Constitutions, II, 5. See also for Italian text, Lowell, Governments and Parties in Continental Europe, II, 347.

31 Article LXVII. "There exists in the Italian Parliament no committee of foreign affairs and, in general, the Government may be said to enjoy a wide independence in dealing with international questions. The general rule is such that the Government is empowered to negotiate and ratify without the cognizance of Parliament such treaties as impose no direct financial burden on the country and do not affect its credit; but if any clause necessitates a vote of supplies, the entire treaty must be submitted to the approval of Parliament. This interpretation was insisted upon in respect of the treaty of peace with Austria in 1849, when the Government endeavored to establish the doctrine that only the financial articles required the approval of Parliament; whereupon the Chamber passed an order of the day to the effect that the vote of the required funds did not validate the treaty which required the approval of Parliament before it could have force of law. Apart from this control the Chamber exercises a general supervision over the foreign policy of the Government by means of questions, interpellations, and requests for papers, and the right of unlimited discussion on the Foreign Office vote in much the same way as the British

According to a strict construction of this article, the two specified classes of treaties alone would seem to require the assent of the chambers to make them effective. Treaties of commerce, since they are specified among those within the competency of the King to make, and are omitted in the clause which closely follows specifying those for which the assent of the chambers is necessary, would logically be excluded from this category unless considered to involve the finances of the state. In practice, however, treaties of commerce, as well as all treaties touching upon matters, the regulation of which belongs to Parliament, are, it appears, regularly submitted to that body prior to their ratification.32 The legislative approval is given in the form of a law authorizing that the treaty be carried into effect, and is frequently sanctioned by the King on even date with the exchange of ratifications of the treaty. Such was the case with the treaties of commerce concluded March 22, 1883, with Switzerland; May 4, 1883, with Germany; June 15, 1883, with Great Britain; December 6, 1891, with Austria-Hungary; December 6, 1891, with Germany; April 19, 1892, with Switzerland, and December 1, 1894, with Japan.33 A provisional agreement with Spain, reached by exchange of notes, Parliament. As regards interpellations, the responsible Minister may, with the consent of the House, defer his reply, or even refuse to reply at all; in the latter case, however, the interpellator has the right, before the House takes its decision, to state the reasons for his interpellation, and the Minister must then show his grounds for refusing to reply. After the Minister has replied to an interpellation it is open to the interpellator if he is dissatisfied to move an order of the day hostile to the Government, whereupon the Chamber decides when it shall be discussed. Questions are usually submitted in writing and, as in the case of interpellations, the Minister may, with the consent of the House, refuse to reply; on the other hand, the custom of the Italian Parliament appears to allow members considerable latitude with regard to supplementary questions. As regards the publication of papers dealing with international questions, the Italian Parliament appears always to have recognized that the Minister for Foreign Affairs must be the sole judge as to the opportuneness of publishing correspondence dealing with current questions." Enclosure in despatch from Sir R. Rodd to Sir Edward Grey, December 31, 1911. Parl. Pap. Cd. 6102, p. 13. 32 Marquardsen, Handbuch des öffentlichen Rechts, IV, pt. I, Div. 7, p. 490. On the question whether the courts should enforce a treaty promulgated by a decree and not by a law, and in conflict with a law, see Rivista di diritto internazionale (1909), IV, 452.

33 Trattati e Convenzioni fra il Regno d'Italia e gli altri Stati, IX, 200, 231, 273. Raccolta Ufficiale delle Leggi e dei Decreti del Regno d'Italia, 1892, pp. 46, 1639; 1895, p. 3030.