first administration shall be granted for a period of three years, subject to renewal if necessary for successive periods of not more than ten years.

Such territories or possessions which are the subject of dispute between European powers and one or more of the American republics are excepted from the provisions of the convention. The convention shall enter into force when two thirds of the American republics shall have deposited their respective instruments of ratification at the Pan American Union.

(2) Act of Habana

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs also adopted the Act of Habana (XX: app. 26), which is designed to give immediate effect to the main provisions of the convention regarding the setting up of a collective trusteeship over any of the possessions now under the jurisdiction of a non-American government if an attempt shall be made to transfer control or sovereignty thereof to another non-American government before the convention has been ratified by the required two thirds of the American republics. The Act of Habana puts into immediate effect the principle of solidarity with regard to European colonies and possessions in the Western Hemisphere as an emergency measure.

The Act of Habana consists of a declaration and a resolution. The declaration states that when islands or regions now in the possession of non-American nations are in danger of becoming the subject of barter of territory or change of sovereignty, the American nations, taking into account the imperative need of continental security and the desires of the inhabitants of the islands or possessions, may set up a regime of provisional administration under the conditions (a) that as soon as the reasons requiring this measure shall cease to exist, and in the event that it would not be prejudicial to the safety of the American republics, such territories shall be organized as autonomous states if it shall appear that they are able to constitute and maintain themselves or be restored to their previous status, whichever of these alternatives shall appear the more practicable and just, and (b) that the regions shall be placed temporarily under the provisional administration of the American republics, which shall have a twofold purpose of contributing to the security and defense of the continent, and to the economic, political, and social progress of such regions. These provisions are both general and permanent in character.

The resolution provides for the establishment of an emergency committee composed of a representative of each of the American republics and will be constituted as soon as two thirds of the American

republics shall have appointed their members. The committee shall assume the administration of any region in the Western Hemisphere now controlled by a European power whenever it becomes necessary as an imperative emergency measure to apply the provisions of the convention in order to safeguard the peace of the continent. The emergency committee is to function only until the convention on the provisional administration of European colonies and possessions in the Americas shall come into effect, at which time it will be superseded by the Inter-American Commission for Territorial Administration. The resolution also contains the important provision that, should the need for emergency action be so urgent that action by the committee cannot be awaited, any of the American republics may, individually or jointly with others, act in the manner which its own defense or that of the continent requires. The American republic or republics taking action under these circumstances must place the matter before the emergency committee immediately in order that it may adopt appropriate measures.

The general provisions of the declaration and resolution are permanent in character. They authorize action by the American states, individually or collectively, at any time, whether before or after the convention comes into operation. The fundamental principles of the Monroe Doctrine are recognized by all the American republics as an essential means of protecting individual states as well as the continent. The provisions constitute a recognition of our right and the right of any other American government to enforce such principles by giving complete expression to the principle of solidarity in both the convention and the Act of Habana.

The Argentine Delegate made a reservation to the Act of Habana to the effect that it does not refer to nor include the Malvinas Islands because they do not constitute a colony or possession of any European nation. The Argentine Delegate also signed with the statement that "signing of this Act and Resolution does not affect and leaves intact his Government's powers established in the constitutional norms which obtain in Argentina, with respect to the procedure applicable in order that this Act and Resolution may acquire validity, force and effectiveness". The Uruguayan Delegate signed under a somewhat similar reservation respecting the attitude of his Government in case it should deem necessary, prior to the application of the act, to examine the question of whether, under the Uruguayan constitutional regime, prior legislative ratification is required. The Colombian Delegate signed subject to the approval of his Government and to the constitutional norms. The Venezuelan Delegate signed with the understanding that the Act

of Habana is subject to ratification by the public power of the nation in accordance with its constitutional provisions; while the Chilean Delegate signed reserving the rights of Chile in Antarctica.

(3) Procedure on Consultation

One of the items on the agenda for the meeting was:

(3) The examination of the machinery of inter-American consultation created by the Buenos Aires and Lima Conferences, with a view to determining the steps which may be taken to increase its effectiveness.

The system of consultation was established by the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace at Buenos Aires in 1936 and the Eighth International Conference of American States at Lima in 1938 for the purpose of providing an effective and expeditious manner of handling emergency problems of the 21 American republics. No definite procedure had been established by either the Buenos Aires or Lima Conferences for convoking the Meeting. Arrangements for the First and Second Meetings had not been made in accordance with any regular or formal procedure, although the Governing Board of the Pan American Union had been utilized to a certain degree in both instances. In view of the fact that these meetings for consultation are convoked under pressure of events and under emergency conditions, it was deemed advisable to establish some systematic procedure to follow in calling future meetings and in determining the time and place at which they shall be held.

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs, therefore, adopted a resolution (XVII: app. 23) providing that the government which desires to initiate consultation in any of the cases contemplated in the conventions, declarations, or resolutions of the inter-American conferences and to propose a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs or their representatives, shall address the Governing Board of the Pan American Union indicating the questions with which it desires the consultation to deal as well as the appropriate date on which the meeting should be held. The Governing Board shall immediately transmit the request, together with the suggested agenda, to the other governments members of the Union, and invite their suggestions and observations. The Governing Board is then entrusted with the duty of determining, on the basis of the answers received, the date and place of meeting, the drafting of the regulations, the preparation of the agenda, and the adoption of other necessary measures. The resolution provided that the Third Meeting shall be held in Rio de Janeiro but that thereafter the designation of the country where each meeting shall be held is to be determined by the Governing Board of the Pan American Union.

(4) Maintenance of Peace

One of the resolutions adopted by the Meeting relating to the general question of the maintenance of peace was a resolution on the peaceful solution of conflicts (XIV: app. 20), recommending that the Governing Board of the Pan American Union organize, in the American capital deemed most suitable for the purpose, a committee composed of representatives of five countries, which shall have the duty of keeping constant vigilance to insure that states between which any dispute exists or may arise, of any nature whatsoever, may solve it as quickly as possible, and of suggesting, without detriment to methods already adopted or to procedures which they may agree upon, the steps and measures which may be conducive to a settlement. Such committee shall submit a report to each meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs and to each international conference of American states. A resolution on the promotion of continental solidarity (XII: app. 18) recommended that the American governments give consideration to the revision of any internal legislation or contractual acts which might constitute a hindrance to the fullest cooperation which a state should lend to the principle of continental solidarity.

A declaration on reciprocal assistance and cooperation for the defense of the nations of America (XV: app. 21) stated that any attempt on the part of a non-American state against the integrity or the inviolability of the territory, the sovereignty or the political independence of an American state shall be considered as an act of aggression against the American republics. In case such an act of aggression shall be committed or there should be reason to believe that such an act is being prepared by a non-American nation, the American republics shall consult in order to agree upon the necessary measures to be taken under the circumstances. It was also urged that two or more of the nations, according to circumstances, shall negotiate complementary agreements so as to organize cooperation for defense and the assistance that they shall lend each other in the event of aggression.

The Meeting also adopted a declaration on the maintenance of peace and union among the American republics (XVI: app. 22) stating that the American republics are determined to maintain and strengthen their union, that they will therefore omit no effort to prevent any controversy which might impair their solidarity, and that they will make every attempt to settle in a friendly manner and as soon as possible the differences which exist between them. They reaffirmed their desire to avoid the use of force as a means of solving differences and that they will also make every effort to the

end that settlement by juridical and peaceful methods may be used in the relations between the nations of America and those of other continents. With regard to the European conflict, they went on record in favor of a peace established on a basis which will be lasting and inspired by the common welfare of all people.

A declaration (XVIII: app. 24) concerned the relations between the Governments of Chile and Spain. This declaration stated that the American republics had followed with concern the complication which had arisen between Chile and Spain and expressed their lively sympathy and fraternal solidarity with the attitude assumed by the Government of Chile in defense of principles fundamental for the free peoples of America. It also expressed the hope that the relations between Chile and Spain would be reestablished as soon as possible. The Meeting also adopted a resolution (XIX: app. 25) expressing the keen desire and wishes of the American countries in favor of a just, peaceful, and prompt solution of the differences between Guatemala and Great Britain regarding Belize.

(5) Codification of International Law

The Meeting adopted a resolution (XI: app. 17) recommending that the governments of the American republics adopt the necessary measures to carry out the resolution approved by the Lima Conference for the improvement and coordination of inter-American peace instruments. It urged the various organizations in charge of the study of these problems to submit as soon as possible their recommendations and observations to the Governing Board of the Pan American Union in order that the International Conference of American Jurists might be held within the next two years.

(6) Other Matters

The Meeting adopted a resolution (IX: app. 15) which referred to the Pan American Union three projects concerning refugees and assistance to minors proceeding from evacuated areas, projects which had been submitted to the Meeting by Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico.

A resolution (X: app. 16) recommended the advisability of proceeding as soon as possible with the construction of the interoceanic railway between Arica, Chile, and Santos, Brazil, by way of Bolivia.

A further resolution (XXI: app. 27) expressed the satisfaction of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs for the efficient results obtained in the improvement of sanitary, social, and economic conditions and recommended continued cooperation with relation to sanitary activities.

A resolution (XXII: app. 28) referred to the Pan American Union the project which had been presented regarding cooperation