His Excellency Mr. Martens, as President of the Fourth Commission, opens the meeting, recalling that a committee composed of Mr. KRIEGE (Germany), Rear Admiral SPERRY (United States of America), his Excellency Mr. Ruy BARBOSA (Brazil), his Excellency Mr. AUGUSTO MATTE (Chile), Mr. Louis RENAULT (France), his Excellency Lord REAY (Great Britain), Captain BEHR (Russia), and Mr. FROMAGEOT (Secretary of the Commission) has been charged by the Fourth Commission with the study of the question of contraband of war. He proposes that the Bureau of the committee be constituted and that his Excellency Lord REAY be elected President. (Loud applause.) His Excellency Lord Reay accepts the presidency and proposes that Mr. FROMAGEOT be appointed reporter of the committee. (Assent.) 1 The President remarks that the proposal of the British delegation 2 to abandon the principle of contraband of war not having been accepted unanimously, the committee of examination must seek in the other proposals submitted to the Commission elements of a general agreement on this question. Mr. Kriege thinks that it would be more practical, before proceeding to the discussions, to formulate certain questions relating to the matters submitted to the committee's consideration. It seems to him ill-advised to base the discussion on a single one of the projects presented to the Commission, as this might give the delegation responsible for it an advantage. Mr. Louis Renault concurs in this view and proposes that the committee pass successively upon the main points of the various proposals. Since it is admitted that the notion of contraband of war is to continue, it is necessary first of all to know what article will constitute so-called absolute contraband. [1106] Rear Admiral Sperry desires to lay down the general theory on which the proposal of the delegation of the United States of America 3 is based. It is very difficult to make up a list of articles constituting contraband which will have an absolute force. Under present conditions, articles intended for military purposes change so rapidly that a list of such articles, even though it were perfect, would remain satisactory only a few years. It would therefore be desirable to establish a general formula within the limits of which the belligerents themselves could determine the articles constituting contraband. In case of disputes, the prize courts would have to decide whether such or such an article on the list was really contraband of war. The international convention to be concluded should formulate in the first place the definition of articles of absolute contraband, that is to say, articles that are always used for military purposes, and then limit Report on contraband of war; see report to the Conference, vol. i, p. 250 [256]. Annex 27. • Annex 31. 1 conditional contraband by means of strict provisions concerning its quality and quantity. Mr. Louis Renault finds that the system advocated by Rear Admiral SPERRY has serious drawbacks, since it would result in differences of interpretation. It is to the interest of commerce that the list of contraband articles shall be as clear and exact as possible. He is far from denying that under present conditions such a list could have only a relative value, and he thinks that the suggestion of an English writer that this list be revised every five years is not without foundation. But from the standpoint of shippers, as well as from that of cruisers, a list of specified articles of contraband seems to be preferable to an absolute formula. Mr. Kriege observes that Mr. LOUIS RENAULT'S objections relate to the proposal of the delegation of the United States of America, as well as that of the German delegation.1 He shares entirely the opinion of Rear Admiral SPERRY as to the impossibility of determining in advance all articles of contraband. That is why he would have preferred a general clause, defining contraband, which would permit Governments to add new articles to those which were formerly considered as constituting contraband. But at the same time he agrees that it is of the utmost importance to commerce to know what articles are prohibited. Mr. Louis Renault thinks that Mr. KRIEGE's idea is to be found in part in the French proposal.2 By its terms articles of absolute contraband are prohibited by their very character; on the other hand the belligerent will have the right to determine by special notification articles of relative contraband. Commerce would be sufficiently informed by the belligerent's declaration on this subject, and at the same time the right to take into account the necessity of supplementing the list of articles of absolute contraband would be reserved. Abuses will be prevented by the possibility of having recourse to diplomatic representations or to the International Prize Court. Captain Behr concurs in Mr. LoUIS RENAULT's opinion, reserving the question of the International Prize Court. Mr. Kriege states that his point of view is entirely in accord with that of Mr. LOUIS RENAULT, if there is a general clause permitting belligerents to supplement, if necessary, the list of articles of absolute contraband. Rear Admiral Sperry makes a similar declaration. He thinks that the general formula admitted by the French proposal must not involve the pos[1107] sibility of belligerents' placing restrictions on freedom of commerce, which would be justified only by their own national interests; but that a general agreement should fix the limits of conditional contraband. His Excellency Mr. Ruy Barbosa thinks that it would be desirable not to permit belligerents to abuse their right to determine articles of contraband at the beginning of a war, and that to this end it would be necessary to reach an international agreement concerning the definition of prohibited articles. Before closing the meeting, the President proposes that the committee proceed at its next meeting to examine the lists of articles of absolute contraband contained in the French 2 and the Brazilian projects. The right of every member of the committee to make amendments to this list is reserved. Captain Behr announces his intention of filing at the next meeting an amendment concerning the list of articles of absolute contraband. 1 Annex 28. * Annex 29. • Annex 30. SECOND MEETING AUGUST 15, 1907 His Excellency Lord Reay presiding. The minutes of the first meeting of the committee are adopted. The President proposes that the committee discuss the list of articles of absolute contraband as compiled by the French delegation.1 The PRESIDENT reads item No. 1 of the list: Arms of all kinds and their distinctive component parts. Mr. Kriege desires to insert the words, "including arms for sporting purposes," as such arms can be used for military purposes. This proposal is adopted, and the first item of the list is worded as follows: 1. Arms of all kinds, including arms for sporting purposes, and their distinctive component parts. The President reads item No. 2 of the list, phrased as follows: Projectiles, charges, and cartridges of all kinds and their distinctive component parts. This text is adopted unanimously. The PRESIDENT asks whether any member has any comments to make on item No. 3, whose text reads: Powders and explosives of all kinds. Rear Admiral Sperry remarks that the term "explosives of all kinds" appears to him too general. There are explosives that are used in the mining industry and in other peaceful industries. Mr. de Beaufort concurs in this observation. Major General Amourel thinks that it would be difficult to draw a distinction between explosives intended for peaceful use and those that are designed for military purposes. In the discussion on this subject, in which Mr. Fromageot (reporter), Rear Admiral Sperry, Major General Amourel, Mr. de Beaufort, Mr. Kriege, [1109] Captain Behr, Mr. Louis Renault, and Captain Ottley take part, it is brought out that explosives used for military purposes differ in general from explosives intended for peaceful industries (such, for example, as compressed powders of large diameter) and are generally very expensive. Again, nothing would prevent the use of explosives intended for military purposes in this or that peaceful industry. To remove the objections raised to the wording of item No. 3, Major General Amourel proposes that it be modified to read as follows: 3. Powder and explosives specially prepared for use in war. This text is adopted unanimously. 1 1 Annex 29. |