A treaty whose conditions have not been fulfilled may be dissolved by mutual agreement, may be superseded by a new agreement upon the same subject, or an obligation under a treaty may terminate by the voluntary release of the debtor state from the obligation by the state in whose favor the obligation runs.

A treaty which has not come to an end in accord with its own provisions and has not been dissolved may be void, if it depends upon a condition which has ceased to exist, by the complete destruction of the thing which forms the object of the treaty, when its execution becomes impossible, or by declaration of war, which either suspends or entirely destroys its effect. Such conditions arise most often when a state which has been a party to a treaty ceases to exist, as when a state disappears through absorption in another state, through partition, or otherwise.

Of voidability of treaties Hall says: "The principle which has been mentioned as being a sufficient test of the existence of obligatory force or of the voidability of a treaty at a given moment may be stated as follows: 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. If this be true, and it will scarcely be contradicted, it is only necessary to determine under what implied conditions an international agreement is made. When these are found, the reasons for which a treaty may be de

at the end of two years from the signing of the preliminary or other articles of peace, which shall terminate the present war in which His Majesty is engaged, it is agreed that proper measures shall by concert be taken for bringing the subject of that article into amicable treaty and discussion, so early before the expiration of the said term as that new arrangements on that head may by that time be perfected and ready to take place. But if it should unfortunately happen that His Majesty and the United States should not be able to agree on such new arrangements, in that case all the articles of this treaty, except the first ten, shall then cease and expire together." Treaty between United States and Great Britain, Nov. 19, 1794.

nounced or disregarded will also be found." 30 A treaty is also naturally voidable, though not necessarily void, if concluded in excess of powers of the negotiators, sub spe rati; if concluded because of danger of personal violence to the negotiators, or through fraud; if its terms are inconsistent with the general principles of international law; if the performance of the provisions of the treaty would destroy the state itself, or deprive it of its essential attributes; or if the conditions under which the treaty is made become absolutely altered. The principle of rebus sic stautibus is held to be implied in all treaties, though in recent times it is clear that a change in conditions which would render a treaty voidable must be such as to be vital.

A treaty may be annulled, or may come to an end, when violated by a party to it, or when formally abrogated by one of the parties. The abrogation of a treaty by one party may not be acceptable to the other party and may be made the basis of claims. Treaties of commerce, alliance, navigation, etc., which relate exclusively to relations of peace, may be extinguished by the outbreak of war. Treaties which are of a permanent nature, such as treaties of boundary, etc., are considered as suspended during hostilities. In general, treaties made in contemplation of war may become operative upon the outbreak of hostilities, and can be annulled only by the method prescribed in the treaties themselves, or by a new treaty. The Spanish decree of April 23, 1898, declared 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 United States declined to consider treaty provisions made with reference to the existence of war "as abrogated by war." 32 The claim of the United States that all treaty stipulations were not abrogated

30 Hall, Int. Law (5th Ed.) p. 351.

31 "It has been adjudged that Congress by legislation, and so far as the people and authorities of the United States are concerned, could abrogate a treaty made between this country and another country." La Abra Silver Mining Co. v. United States, 175 U. S. 423, 20 Sup. Ct. 168, 44 L. Ed. 223.

82 Foreign Relations U. S., 1898, p. 972.

seems to be sustained in article XXIX of the Treaty of Friendship and General Relations of July 3, 1902, which state that: "All treaties, agreements, conventions and contracts between . the United States and Spain prior to the Treaty of Paris shall be expressly abrogated and annulled, with the exception of the treaty signed the seventeenth of February, 1834, between the two countries, for the settlement of claims between the United States of America and the government of His Catholic Majesty, which is continued in force by the present convention."

Among writers upon international law there is much difference of opinion in regard to the effect of war upon treaties between the belligerents. As certain relations between the belligerents are suspended, the treaty stipulations in accord with which such relations were maintained must necessarily cease to be operative. Better opinion now seems to hold that treaty stipulations which do not relate in any way to the war are merely suspended during war, and again become operative at its close, or so soon thereafter as is practicable. The copyright convention between the United States and Spain of July 10, 1895, was regarded as suspended during the war of 1898, and as revived by the ratification of peace, April 11, 1899.

CONTINUATION OF TREATIES.

80. Treaties may be continued in effect by renewal, by reconfirmation, or otherwise, when there is ample evidence that the parties intend that the treaty shall remain operative.

Certain treaties and conventions are continued in accord with their own stipulations, unless denounced; others terminate at a specified time, unless renewed. Treaties of the first class may thus be renewed without action, while treaties of the second class require action for renewal. Treaties and conventions of this second class frequently relate to matters of temporary nature, as the adjustment of claims, boundaries, disputes, etc., or the establishment of modi vivendi. Treaties terminated or suspended by war are usually renewed in a formal manner. Treaties are sometimes regarded as tacitly

renewed, when the parties continue to observe their provisions, even after the time of expiration.

Sometimes the provisions of a previous treaty are reconfirmed, as in the treaty between France and Spain, October 1, 1800, relating to the recession of Louisiana: "The obligations contained in the present treaty in nothing annul those which are expressed in the treaty of alliance signed at St. Ildefonso, on the 2d Fructidor, year 4 (18th of August, 1796); on the contrary, they unite with new ties the interests of the two powers, and confirm the stipulations of the treaty of alliance in all the cases to which they can be applied."

Treaties and conventions may be tacitly considered as binding, though they may have expired by limitation. The Hague Declaration as to the Launching of Projectiles and Explosives from Balloons expired July 29, 1904, during the Russo-Japanese war. Both Russia and Japan continued to observe the treaty throughout the war.