![League of Nations Organization](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/League_of_Nations_Organization.png)
The
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...
was established with three main constitutional organs: the Assembly; the
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
; the
Permanent Secretariat. The two essential wings of the League were the
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...
and the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
.
The relations between the Assembly and the Council were not explicitly defined, and their competencies -- with a few exceptions -- were much the same. Each organ would deal with any matter within the sphere of competence of the League or affecting the peace in the world. Particular questions or tasks might be referred either to the Council or the Assembly. Reference might be passed on from one body to another.
Constitutional organs
The League of Nations had three primary institutions: The secretariat, the assembly, and the council.
Permanent Secretariat
The Permanent Secretariat -- established at the seat of the League at Geneva -- comprised a body of experts in various spheres under the direction of the
General Secretary
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
. According to historian
Susan Pedersen, the League secretariat was something "entirely new: a truly international bureaucracy, structured by function and not by nationality, loyal to an international chatter, and capable of efficiently managing a complex programme."
The principal Sections of the Secretariat were: Political; Financial and Economics; Communications and Transit; Minorities and Administration (Saar and Danzig); Mandates; Disarmament; Health; Social (Opium and Traffic in Women and Children); Intellectual Cooperation and International Bureaux; Legal; and Information. Each Section was responsible for all official secretarial work related to its particular subject and prepared and organized all meetings and conferences held in that connection.
The staff of the League's secretariat was responsible for preparing the agenda for the Council and Assembly and publishing reports of the meetings and other routine matters, effectively acting as the
civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
for the League.
The secretariat was often considered to be too small to handle all of the League's administrative affairs. For example, the total number of officials classed as members of the Secretariat was 75 in September 1924. The total staff, including all the clerical services, comprised about 400 persons in 1925.
In general, the League documents may be classified into the following categories: document on public sale, documents not on public sale, and classified, e.g., confidential and secret. The specific feature of the documents emanating from the League of Nations was their classification according to the persons they were addressed to and not according to their subjects.
Assembly
The Assembly consisted of representatives of all Members of the League. Each state was allowed up to three representatives and one vote.
The Assembly had its sessions at Geneva and met on yearly basis on the first Monday of September according to the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, adopted at Its Eleventh Meeting, 30 November 1920.
A special session of the Assembly might be summoned at the request of a Member, provided a majority of the Members concurred.
The Assembly had three forms of power:
# Electoral college: the Assembly admits new members to the League, elects non-permanent members to the Council, and elects judges of the Permanent Court
# Constituent power: the Assembly discusses and proposes amendments to the Covenant.
# Deliberative power: the Assembly can discuss any issue pertaining to the Covenant or to international peace more generally.
The special functions of the Assembly included the admission of new Members, the periodical election on non-permanent Members of the Council, the election with the Council of the judges of the Permanent Court, and the control of the budget. In practice the Assembly had become the general directing force of League activities.
The Plenary Meetings of the First Assembly were held from 15 November to 18 December in Geneva, Switzerland.
At the opening session, there were 41 states (out of 42 Member states). Six states were admitted during the meetings and consequently were represented during the session (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Finland and Luxembourg). In total, thirty one plenary meetings were held. The principal questions during the first session were: organization of the Secretariat, establishment of a new Organization to deal with Health question, new organism to deal with Communication and transit, and a new Economic and Financial Organization, admission of new Member states, relations between the Council and the Assembly, nomination of the non-permanent Members of the Council, establishment of the Permanent Court of International Justice, the first and second budgets of the League, conflict between Poland and Soviet Russia, and repatriation of prisoners of war.
President
The President of the Assembly was
Paul Hymans
Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans (23 March 1865 – 8 March 1941), was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the second president of the League of Nations and served again as its president in 1932–1933.
Life
Hymans was ...
of Belgium and the honorary president was
Giuseppe Motta
Giuseppe Motta (29 December 1871 – 23 January 1940) was a Swiss politician. He was a member of the Swiss Federal Council (1911–1940) and President of the League of Nations (1924–1925). He was a Catholic-conservative foreign minister and a ...
of Switzerland. The Assembly at its Fifth Plenary Meeting elected the six Vice-Presidents.
Thirty nine states have taken part in the ballot, so the required majority was 20 votes.
The sixth Vice-President was elected at a second ballot with 22 votes. The Vice-Presidents ''ex officio'' as Chairmen of the Committees were
Arthur Balfour
Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...
, British Empire;
Tommaso Tittoni
Tommaso Tittoni (16 November 1855 – 7 February 1931) was an Italian diplomat, politician and Knight of the Annunziata. He was Italy's foreign minister from 1903 until 1909, except for a five-month period. He also was interim prime minister for ...
, Italy;
Léon Bourgeois
Léon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (; 21 May 185129 September 1925) was a French statesman. His ideas influenced the Radical Party regarding a wide range of issues. He promoted progressive taxation such as progressive income taxes and social insu ...
, France; Jose Maria Quiñones de León, Spain; Antonio Huneeus Gana, Chile; and
Hjalmar Branting
Karl Hjalmar Branting (; 23 November 1860 – 24 February 1925) was a Swedish politician who was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) from 1907 until his death in 1925, and three times Prime Minister of Sweden. When Branting cam ...
, Sweden.
The Secretary-General of the League
The Covenant named the secretary general as Sir
Eric Drummond
James Eric Drummond, 7th Earl of Perth, (17 August 1876 – 15 December 1951), was a British politician and diplomat who was the first Secretary-General of the League of Nations (1920–1933).
Quiet and unassuming, he succeeded in building an e ...
.
The Covenant did not specify the length of the secretary general's term.
Committees
The General Committee of the Assembly was constituted of the President and the 12 Vice-Presidents with Sir Eric Drummond, the Secretary-General.
There were six committees: (1) Constitutional questions, with chairman Arthur Balfour (British Empire), (2) Technical Organisations, with chairman M Tittoni (Italy), (3) Permanent Court of International Justice with Chairman Léon Bourgeois (France), (4) Organisation of the Secretariat and Finances of the League with chairman Quinones de Léon (Spain), (5) Admission of New Members into the League with chairman Huneeus Gana (Chile), and (6) Mandates Questions, Armaments, and the Economic Weapon with chairman Hjalmar Branting (Sweden).
Council
The League Council acted as a type of
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive di ...
body directing the Assembly's business, although the Covenant does not detail the precise relationship between the Council and Assembly.
The Council began with four permanent members (
The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
) and four non-permanent members which were elected by the Assembly for a three-year period. The first four non-permanent members were
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
. The United States was meant to be the fifth permanent member, but the
US Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
voted on 19 March 1920 against the
ratification
Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...
of the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...
, thus preventing American participation in the League.
The Assembly frequently recommends that the Council take a certain act, which the Council subsequently usually does.
Due to its smaller membership, the Council met more regularly.
List of Council Sessions, 1920
The first session of the Council was held in Paris at the Ministry of foreign Affairs (Salle de l’Horloge) on 16 January 1920. The following members of the League were represented: Belgium, Brazil, The British empire, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, and Spain.
The French representative, Mr Léon Bourgeois, was elected as the first Chairman of the Council.
The second session of the Council was held in London at St. James's Palace on 11 Feb 1920. The following members of the League were represented: Belgium, Brazil, The British Empire, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, and Spain. The British Empire was represented by the right Honourable A.J. Balfour, who was elected as President. The Secretary General of the League, Sir Eric Drummond, was also present, and assisted in the preparation of the agenda and relevant documents.
The third session of the Council was held at the Quai d’Osrsay in Paris on 13 Mar 1920. The following members of the League were represented: Belgium, Brazil, The British Empire, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, and Spain. In accordance with Art. VI of the Covenant, M. Zamoisky, ambassador of Poland in Paris, sat as a member during the discussion concerning Poland, namely the typhus in Poland.
The fourth session of the Council was held at the
Palais du Petit-Luxembourg in Paris on 9–11 April 1920. The following members of the League were represented: Belgium, Brazil, The British Empire, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, and Spain. The main issues discussed were: the status of Armenia, the protection of minorities in Turkey, the repatriation of prisoners of war in Siberia, and the question of Danzig.
The fifth session of the Council was held at the Palaso Chigi in Rome on 15 May 1920. The President of the session was the Italian representative, Mr Tittoni. The main issues discussed were: the Traffic in Women and Children, the question of Eupen and Malmedy, prevention of disease in Central Europe, the International Committee of Jurists, and the Prisoners in Siberia. The second public meeting was held at the Capitol on 19 May 1920.
Permanent Members of the Council
Non-permanent Members of the Council
The number of nonpermanent members of the Council was set at four by Art. 4, Para I of the Covenant. They were to be selected by the Assembly from time to time at its discretion.
The number of nonpermanent members of the Council was increased from four to six by Assembly resolution of 25 Sep 1922.
In 1926 the membership was further increased to nine. In 1933 the number of nonpermanent seats on the Council was provisionally increased from nine to ten. A further increase to eleven was approved by the assembly in 1936.
List of Non-permanent Members of the Council
Unanimity rule
Unanimity was required for the decisions of both the
Assembly and the
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
, except in matters of procedure and some other specific cases, such as the admission of new Members. This general regulation concerning unanimity was the recognition of national sovereignty.
The League sought solution by consent and not by dictation.
However, in case of the dispute, the consent of the parties to the dispute was not required for unanimity. Where the reference of a dispute was made to the Assembly, a decision required the consent of the majority only of the Assembly, but including all the Members of the Council.
Other bodies
The Covenant implied the establishment of auxiliary bodies for various questions of a more or less technical character.
The League oversaw the Permanent Court of International Justice, the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
and several other agencies and commissions created to deal with pressing international problems. These included the
Disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such a ...
Commission, the
Health Organization
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, the
Mandates Commission, the
International Commission on Intellectual Cooperation (precursor to
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
), the Permanent Central
Opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...
Board, the Commission for
Refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. s, and the
Slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
Commission. Several of these institutions were transferred to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
; the International Labour Organization, the Permanent Court of International Justice (as the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...
), and the Health Organization (restructured as the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
) all became UN institutions.
Permanent Court of International Justice
The
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...
was provided for by the Covenant, but not established by it. The Council and Assembly established its constitution. Its judges were elected by the Council and Assembly, and its budget was provided by the Assembly. The composition of the Court was of eleven judges and four deputy-judges, elected for nine years.
The Court had been competent to hear and to determine any international dispute which the parties concerned submitted to it. The Court might also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or the Assembly.
The Court was open to all the nations of the world under certain broad conditions. Questions of fact as well as questions of law might be submitted.
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) was created in 1919 on the basis of part XIII of the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...
and became part of the League's operations.
[Northedge 1986, pp. 179–80]
The ILO, although having the same Members as the League and subjected to the budget control of the Assembly, was an autonomous organisation with its own Governing Body, its own General Conference and its own Secretariat. Its constitution was different from that of the League: representation had been accorded not only to Governments but to representatives of employers and workers' organisations.
Organisations arising from the Covenant
The Covenant left a broad discretion to the Council and the Assembly in constituting the auxiliary organs.
The accomplishment of the numerous tasks delegated to the League necessitated the creation of two main types of auxiliary bodies:
• Technical organizations dealing with finance and economics, transit, and health; and
• Advisory committees, dealing with military questions, disarmament, mandates, traffic in women and children, intellectual cooperation etc.
Health Organization
The League's Health Organisation was created in accordance with the mandated of the Covenant that the League would address "the prevention and control of disease." It was theoretically composed by three bodies:
* The Health Section of the League's Secretariat, with a Bureau of permanent officials and a section of medical experts. The Health section also worked with countries that were not members of the League of Nations.
* The Health Committee, whose purpose was to conduct inquiries, oversee the operation of the League's health work, and get work ready to be presented to the Council. This body focused on any issue related to diseases and health.
* The "General consultative council on health." which was a function, in practice, handled by the independent,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
-based
Office international d'hygiène publique
The International Office of Public Hygiene, also known by its French name as the Office International d'Hygiène Publique and abbreviated as OIHP, was an international organization founded 9 December 1907 and based in Paris, France. It merged o ...
(OIHP).
In practice, because of the overreaching views of the League (the Covenant contemplated "placing under the direction of the League all international bureaux already established by general treaties"), the work of the Health Organization was made complicated by important tensions with these preexisting treaty-based organizations, such as the
OIHP or the
Pan American Health Organization.
Nevertheless, the Health Organisation worked successfully on a number of topics, such as with the government of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
to prevent
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
epidemics including organising a large education campaign about the disease. Many topics were addressed, for example ending
leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve d ...
,
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...
, and
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
, the latter two by starting an international campaign to exterminate
mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
es.
Permanent Mandates Commission
The existence of the Commission was stipulated in Article 22 of the
League of Nations Covenant
The Covenant of the League of Nations was the charter of the League of Nations. It was signed on 28 June 1919 as Part I of the Treaty of Versailles, and became effective together with the rest of the Treaty on 10 January 1920.
Creation
Early d ...
: "A permanent Commission shall be constituted to receive and examine the annual reports of the Mandatories and to advise the Council on all matters relating to the observance of the mandates."
The Permanent Mandates Commission (PMC) was the commission of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...
responsible for oversight of
mandated territories. The commission was established on 1 December 1920.
The Commission took over the role from the Mandates Section.
Even though the PMC was composed of members from imperial and foreign policy establishments, the organization did act independently of states and established norms that constrained the behaviors of colonial powers.
The PMC was the first instance that either France or Britain had been subjected to any kind of imperial oversight. The PMC played a key role in establishing that the mandates could not be
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
by the colonial powers. The PMC helped to establish that the mandates had a unique status under
international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
.
Economic and Financial Organization
After the end of the war, the economic and financial conditions in all European countries were close to total collapse. Within this context, the League organized a large conference in Brussels in September – October 1920. The goal was to find a solution to monetary problems and facilitate the circulation of goods and funds.
Following the conference the League established an Economic and Financial Organisation, including several Committees (Financial, Economic, Fiscal, Statistical).
During the following years the League assisted many European countries: Austria, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria, etc.
The Fiscal Committee discussed several general issues related to double taxation and tax evasion.
The works of the Economic Committee comprised the treatment of foreign nationals and enterprises, abolition of the prohibition and restrictions on imports and exports, unification of customs nomenclature, bill of exchange, unification of statistical methods, trade policy, veterinary medicines, international industrial agreements, problems of coal, sugar problems, issue of smuggling in general and alcohol, in particular, and indirect protectionism.
In October 1929 the Great Depression started in the US and soon contaminated Europe. In 1933, the LON organized a new Economic Conference in London to find a common solution to the protection of national economies.
The conflict between the international political goals of the major powers and their views on economic welfare prevented from any concerted solution.
Transit, Transport and Communications
The rapid growth in communications and transit, by land, sea and air, has led to rapidly expanding technical activities of the League regarding those issues. The introduction of mass production systems organised into assembly lines and based on standardised models, hugely contributed to the development of transport and communications. The LON created its Organisation for Communication and Transit in 1921. Its General Conference included all Member States while the Committee had 18 members.
The conferences of Barcelona 1921, and Geneva 1923 concluded with conventions on the international regulation of maritime ports, waterways, and railroads. Technical assistance was provided to Member states as well as help with arbitration disputes concerning transit. The Organisation for Communication and Transit accomplished useful works and made laws that will be retained in the future work of the United Nations.
International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation
The League of Nations had devoted serious attention to the question of international intellectual cooperation since its creation. The First Assembly (December 1920) recommended that the Council should take action aiming at international organisation of intellectual work. The Council adopted report presented by the Fifth Committee of the Second Assembly and invited a distinguished Committee on Intellectual Cooperation to meet in Geneva, August 1922.
The Programme of work of the Committee included: enquiry into the conditions of intellectual life, assistance to countries whose intellectual life was endangered, creation of National Committees for intellectual cooperation, cooperation with international intellectual organisations, protection of intellectual property, inter-university cooperation, coordination of bibliographical work and international interchange of publications, and international cooperation in archaeological research.
The International Commission for Intellectual Cooperation was created in 1922. Its first president,
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson Le Roy, ...
, participated together with many distinguished people in improving conditions of intellectual workers and facilitating contacts.
From 1926 the Commission was included in the International Institute of Intellectual Cooperation, established in Paris.
The cinema was also considered a useful tool to bring minds together. The International Educational Cinematographic Institute was created in Roma after a proposal from the Italian government and placed under the League's supervision. Although serving under a fascist government, it carried out considerable work promoting the peaceful ideal and the spirit of international cooperation.
International drug control activities
= Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Opium and other Dangerous Drugs
=
Partially-integrated into the League's structure, the Permanent Central Opium Board was in charge of the supervision of the traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs. Many consider it one of the most important social and humanitarian activity of the League.
Before the creation of the League, there existed an international Convention – the
Hague Opium Convention of 1912 – that never entered into force. The signatories of the Treaty of Versailles agreed by Art. 295 to ratify it, ''ipso facto''. The 1912 Convention imposed, for the first time, certain obligations for regulating the trade in and production of drugs, on the contracting parties. The League subsequently appointed an Advisory Committee, and instructed the Secretariat to collect full information on the steps taken to apply the 1912 Convention.
The Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs was established by the first Assembly of the League, on 15 December 1920. The Advisory Committee held its first meeting from 2–5 May 1921, and continued its activities until 1940. It was succeeded under the United Nations by the
Commission on Narcotic Drugs
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is one of the functional commissions of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and is the central drug policy-making body within the United Nations System. The CND also has important man ...
.
= Permanent Central Opium Board
=
In 1925, a
Second Opium Convention signed in Geneva supplemented and extended that of 1912. Among others, it rendered the import certificates compulsory, and provided for more effective supervision of production and international trade. The Convention further provided for the setting up of a Permanent Central Opium Board. The Board was set up in 1928, and build up the international system of control. Although a treaty-mandated body, theoretically independent from the League, it became partially-integrated into the structure of the League.
= Drug Supervisory Body
=
In 1931 the Assembly summoned a Conference that deliberated in favor of limiting the national manufacturing of narcotics as the only way to make sure that no margin was left for illicit traffic, this resulted in the adoption of another treaty (the "
Limitation Convention") and another organ, the Drug Supervisory Body ("''Organe de Contrôle''") this time independent from the League, composed of four members and in charge of the collection of estimates on countries' production and trade in controlled drugs.
The Drug Supervisory Body and the Permanent Central Opium Board were merged onto the
International Narcotics Control Board
The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is an independent treaty body, one of the four treaty-mandated bodies under international drug control law (alongside the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, UNODC on behalf of the Secretary-General, an ...
in 1968.
= Office International d'Hygiène Publique
=
Under 1912, 1925, and 1931 drug Conventions, the
Office International d'Hygiène Publique
The International Office of Public Hygiene, also known by its French name as the Office International d'Hygiène Publique and abbreviated as OIHP, was an international organization founded 9 December 1907 and based in Paris, France. It merged on ...
(OIHP) has a number of mandates, including: nominating one member of the Drug Supervisory Body, undertaking the assessment of preparations to be placed under, or exempted from, international controls, as well as epidemiological monitoring functions.
Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children
International treaties were signed to combat human trafficking in 1904 and 1910.
In 1921, the League Council established the Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children. The committee was composed of delegates from nine states, as well as assessors appointed by five private organizations.
The committee was tasked with examining annual reports by League members and governments on human trafficking.
In 1921 a convention was adopted strengthening the measures against trafficking. The Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children was created. The annual reports of governments, combined with those of big private organizations working on parallel lines, enabled the committee to carry on its work of coordination and supervision.
Slavery Commission
The league has considered the problem of slavery and set about securing information from various governments since 1922.
Few years later, a convention was drawn up in view of hastening the total abolition of slavery and the slave trade. The
Slavery Convention of 25 September 1926 produced good results in many territories.
In 1932, in the league review of the convention implementation, appeared that cases of capture of free men still occurred in some areas, and that slave-markets existed in several countries.
The assembly decided therefore to appoint a permanent advisory committee to study the facts and the institutions related to slavery, and to consider means of eliminating them.
Commission for Refugees
In 1921 they helped to assist the approximately 1.5 million people who fled the Russian Revolution of 1917.
In April 1920, there were more than half a million
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
, most of them in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, waiting to be repatriated in extremely bad conditions. The Council of the League asked the famous explorer from
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
,
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...
to examine the situation. Nansen took immediate steps and in less than two years managed to repatriate more than 427, 000 prisoners of war to 26 different countries.
The League established a Commission for Refugees in 1921 and Nansen was the first High Commissioner. In autumn 1922
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 186113 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He led the team t ...
was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
.
The Commission also established the
Nansen passport
Nansen passports, originally and officially stateless persons passports, were internationally recognized refugee travel documents from 1922 to 1938, first issued by the League of Nations's Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees to stateles ...
as a means of identification for
stateless peoples.
Disarmament Commission
The Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments of 1932–1934 (sometimes World Disarmament Conference or Geneva Disarmament Conference) was an effort by member states of the League of Nations, together with the U.S., to actualize the ideology of disarmament. It took place in the Swiss city of Geneva, ostensibly between 1930 and 1934, but more correctly until May 1937.
The first effort at international arms limitation was made at the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907, which had failed in their primary objective. Although many contemporary commentators (and Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles) had blamed the outbreak of the First World War on the war guilt of Germany, historians writing in the 1930s began to emphasize the fast-paced arms race preceding 1914. Further, all the major powers except the US had committed themselves to disarmament in both the Treaty of Versailles and the Covenant of the League of Nations. A substantial international non-governmental campaign to promote disarmament also developed in the 1920s and early 1930s.
A preparatory commission was initiated by the League in 1925; by 1931, there was sufficient support to hold a conference, which duly began under the chairmanship of former British Foreign Secretary Arthur Henderson. The motivation behind the talks can be summed up by an extract from the message President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent to the conference: "If all nations will agree wholly to eliminate from possession and use the weapons which make possible a successful attack, defences automatically will become impregnable and the frontiers and independence of every nation will become secure."
The talks were beset by a number of difficulties from the outset. Among these were disagreements over what constituted "offensive" and "defensive" weapons, and the polarization of France and Germany. The increasingly military-minded German governments could see no reason why their country could not enjoy the same level of armaments as other powers, especially France. The French, for their part, were equally insistent that German military inferiority was their only insurance from future conflict as serious as they had endured in the First World War. As for the British and US governments, they were unprepared to offer the additional security commitments that France requested in exchange for limitation of French armaments.
The talks broke down and Hitler withdrew Germany from both the Conference and the League of Nations in October 1933. The 1930s had proved far too self-interested an international period to accommodate multilateral action in favour of pacifism.
Committee for the Study of the Legal Status of Women
In 1935, the League of Nations Assembly decided to conduct a study of women's legal status "around the world" as a response to pressure by women's organizations pressing for an international treaty of women's equal rights. The assembly resolved to consider how "the terms of the Equal Rights Treaty should be examined in relation to existing political, civil and economic status of women under the laws of countries around the world."
To conduct this study, the Committee for the Study of the Legal Status of Women was appointed to design a questionnaire to submit to three scientific institutes: the Institut de Droit Comparé and the Institut de Droit Penal in Paris and the Institute of Private Law at Rome. The Institute de Droit Comparé was enlisted to study women's franchise, access to educational facilities and similar questions. The Institut de Droit Penal was assigned questions of penal and criminal laws related to women, and the Institute of Private Law focused on divorce, domicile rights and similar questions. Additionally, after much discussion, the Committee agreed to employ interested women's organizations who had already been conducting studies on the legal status of women for some time. While the work was left incomplete because of the outbreak of the Second World War, the study provided a foundation upon which the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women would organize its work after 1946.
The first meeting of the Committee of Experts for the Study of the Legal Status of Women Around the World was held in Geneva on 4 April 1938. They met again in January 1939 before disbanding. The members were Mme.
Suzanne Bastid
Suzanne Basdevant Bastid (15 August 1906 – 2 March 1995) was a French professor of law who specialized in international public law.
She became a widely respected authority, lectured in many institutions, was for 30 years professor at the Faculty ...
of France, professor of law at the University of Lyon; M. de Ruelle of Belgium, legal adviser for the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration; Mme. Anka Godjevac of Yugoslavia, adviser of the Yugoslav delegation at the 1930 Codification Conference; Mr. H. C. Gutteridge of the United Kingdom, professor of comparative law at the University of Cambridge. Gutteridge was elected chair of the Committee; Mlle. Kerstin Hesselgren of Sweden, member of the Second Chamber of the Swedish Riksdag and Rapporteur of the Committee; Ms. Dorothy Kenyon of the United States, doctor of law, member of the New York Bar and legal adviser to a number of national organizations; M. Paul Sebasteyan of Hungary, counselor and head of the Treatise Division the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. McKinnon Wood of the United Kingdom who served as Secretariat of the Committee.
Protection of minorities
The work of drawing up draft treaties for the protection of minorities in the States of Eastern Europe was entrusted with the Commission on New States set up at the Peace Conference at Paris on 1 May 1919. The ten treaties containing provisions concerning minorities:
# The Treaty of 28 June 1919, between the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and Poland, (signed at Versailles, 28 June 1919), in force from 10 January I920, placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations, 13 February 1920.
# The Treaty of 10 September 1919, between the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and Czechoslovakia, placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations, 29 November 1920.
# The Treaty of 10 September 1919, between the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations, 29 November 1920.
# The Treaty of 9 December 1919, between the Principal Allied and Associated Powers and Romania, placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations, 30 August 1920.
# The Treaty of 10 August 1920, between the Principal Allied Powers and Greece (signed at Neuilly-sur-Seine, 27 November 1919), in force from 9 August 1920.
# The Treaty of 10 August 1920, between the Principal Allied Powers and Armenia.
# Articles 64 to 69 of the Treaty of Peace with Austria (signed at St.-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919), in force from 16 July 1920, placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations, 22 October 1920.
# Articles 49 to 57 of the Treaty of Peace with Bulgaria (signed at Neuilly-sur-Seine, 27 November 1919), placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations, 22 October I920.
# Articles 54 to 60 of the Treaty of Peace with Hungary (signed at Trianon on 4 June 1920), placed under guarantee of the League of Nations, 30 August 1921
# Articles 140 to 151 of the Treaty of Peace with Turkey (signed at Sèvres on 10 August 1920). These articles were replaced by Articles 37–45 of the new Treaty of Lausanne.
Finances of the League
The
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...
was maintained financially by the Member States.
The Assembly controlled the annual budget.
The total authorized League budgets for the four years 1921–1924 gave an average of 22 757 769 gold francs per year, equivalent to 4 391 187 American dollars.
This figure covered not only the League of Nations but also the cost of the
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...
and the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
.
The average share of the budget for this period was:
League of Nations: 2 178 445 American dollars at par;
International Labour Organization: 1 350 675 American dollars;
Permanent Court of International Justice: 386 000 American dollars.
Final years of the League
Since the critical setbacks in 1933, the League's political cooperation became more and more ineffective. Conversely, the technical activities continued to grow.
Thus the Council decided to evaluate the separation of technical and political activities. Committee presided by an Australian Stanley Bruce concluded that fundamental reforms were needed. However, these proposals come to an abrupt halt due to the resignation of the Secretary General, J. Avenol, and the outbreak of the Second World War.
Following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, the Secretariat prepared plans for withdrawal. The rapid advance of German armies in 1940 put pressure on the LON to transfer certain activities according to invitations by some government. While the Secretary General stayed in Geneva to symbolize the League's continuity and Swiss neutrality, the main activities were located elsewhere.
The High Commissioner for Refugees and the Treasury of the Secretariat were based in London; the Opium Committee was based in Washington D.C.; the Economic and Financial Organisation was moved to Princeton.
Neither the Assembly nor the Council could meet after December, 1939, so the rest of the
League
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
was administered by a Control Commission.
See also
*
Article X of the Covenant of the League of Nations
The Covenant of the League of Nations was the charter of the League of Nations. It was signed on 28 June 1919 as Part I of the Treaty of Versailles, and became effective together with the rest of the Treaty on 10 January 1920.
Creation
Early ...
*
Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the world after the end of World War II. The joint statement, later dubbed the Atlantic Charter, outlined the aims of the United States and ...
*
Interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
*
Latin America and the League of Nations Nine Latin American nations became charter members of the League of Nations when it was founded in 1919. The number grew to fifteen states by the time the first League Assembly met in 1920 and later, several others joined in the decade that followed ...
*
League of Nations archives
The League of Nations archives is a collection of the historical records and official documents of the League of Nations. The collection is housed at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), where it is managed by the Institutional Memory Secti ...
*
Minority Treaties
The Minority Treaties are treaties, League of Nations mandates, and unilateral declarations made by countries applying for membership in the League of Nations that conferred basic rights on all the inhabitants of the country without distinction o ...
*
Neutrality Acts
*
Palais des Nations
The Palace of Nations (french: Palais des Nations, ) is the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva, located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was built between 1929 and 1938 to serve as the headquarters of the League of Nations. It has served ...
, built as the League's headquarters.
*
Ligue internationale de la paix
The Ligue internationale de la paix (League of Peace and Freedom) was created after a public opinion campaign against a war between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia over Luxembourg. The Luxembourg crisis was peacefully resolved ...
*
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Organisation of the League of Nations
League of Nations