CYIL vol. 11 (2020)

CYIL 11 (2020) THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT… always argued that all articles of the Covenant on the League of Nations were to be strictly observed, including Articles 10, 15, 16, and 17 of the Covenant. 14 2. Securing peace, peaceful settlement of international disputes The fear of a breaching the peace led to the search for guarantees immediately after the end of World War I. A guarantee agreement was already concluded between France, Great Britain, and the USA at the Paris Peace Conference. However, the treaty did not enter into force because of the US position. France at least sought a guarantee agreement with Great Britain. It is clear that it was France who sought to guarantee peace, because out of all the great powers, France was the most threatened by Germany. However, the United Kingdom did not want to conclude a guarantee agreement, which was the reason that France focused on the idea of a collective agreement on mutual assistance under the protection of the League of Nations. 15 The draft of this agreement was elaborated on in the League of Nations in 1923, the rapporteur of the commission, who prepared the draft agreement on mutual assistance, on the basis of collective security, was Dr. Edvard Beneš. In September 1924, the text of the Protocol on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, 16 called the Geneva Protocol, was submitted to the Assembly of the League of Nations, and it was approved on 2 October 1924. The Geneva Protocol was intended to reduce armaments and prevent wars and was an important addition to the Pact. The protocol declared that an offensive war was an international crime. According to Article 10, the attacker was any State which engaged in war in breach of its obligations under the Covenant or this Protocol. States were to renounce the offensive war and commit themselves to the peaceful settlement of their disputes in the spirit of the Covenant of the League of Nations, as well as to participate in a disarmament conference. With regard to the disputes of a legal nature, mandatory arbitration should have been adopted and the competence of the Permanent Court of International Justice should have been recognized. The basic concept of the whole project was arbitration, disarmament, and security, France insisted on that. According to the correct view, which was held by France and also by other endangered states, especially smaller states, no state could be forced to disarm unless the international organization provided the state with full security. The problem of security became one of the main problems of international politics and international law after World War I. 17 Beneš’s efforts to promote a policy of collective security within the League of Nations corresponded to the interests of the Czechoslovak Republic. 14 TOMÁŠEK, M. Podíl čs. práva a diplomacie na fungování meziválečné Evropy a formování evropských integračních uskupení. [The Impact of the Czechoslovak Law and Diplomacy in the Functioning of Europe in the interwar period and the Formation of European Integration Groups.] In MALÝ, K.; SOUKUP, L. (eds.). Československé právo a právní věda v meziválečném období (1918–1938) a jejich místo ve střední Evropě. [ Czechoslovak Law and Legal Science in the Interwar Period (1918–1938) and Their Place in Central Europe. ] Praha: Karolinum, 2010, pp. 375, 378. 15 HOBZA, A. Úvod do mezinárodního práva mírového. Část I . [ Introduction to International Law of Peace. Part I. ] Praha: 1933, p. 139. 16 HOBZA, A. Dokumenty ke studiu mezinárodního práva . [ Documents for the Study of International Law.] Praha: 1931, p. 140 and following. 17 HOBZA, A. Úvod do mezinárodního práva mírového. Část I . [ Introduction to International Law of Peace. Part I. ] Praha: 1933, p. 139.

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