The French government transmitted projects of law ratifying this convention to Parliament in March, 1912, but they have not yet been acted upon. During the course of the European war the Declaration of London is the basis on which maritime questions are considered by reason of its excellence as a codification APPENDIX No. VI DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF NATIONS1 "I. Every nation has the right to exist and to protect and conserve its existence, but this right neither implies the right nor justifies the act of the State to protect itself or to conserve its existence by the commission of unlawful acts against innocent and unoffending States. "II. Every nation has the right to independence in the sense that it has a right to the pursuit of happiness and is free to develop itself without interference or control from other States, provided that in so doing it does not interfere or violate the rights of other States. "III. Every nation is in law and before law the equal of every other nation belonging to the society of nations, and all nations have the right to claim and, according to the Declaration of Independence of the United States, 'to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them.' "IV. Every nation has the right to territory within defined boundaries and to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over its territory and all persons, whether native or foreign, found therein. "V. Every nation entitled to a right by the law of nations is entitled to have that right respected and protected by all other nations, for right and duty are correlative, and the right of one is the duty of all to observe. "VI. International law is at one and the same time both national and international; national in the sense that it is the law of the land 2 and is applicable as uch to the decision of all questions involving its principles; international in the sense that it is the law of the society of nations and applicable as such to all questions between and among the members of the society of nations involving its principles." 1916. 1 Adopted by the American Institute of International Law, Washington, January 6. 2 Article 4 of the Constitution of the German Commonwealth, adopted August 11, 1919, provides: "The generally recognized principles of the law of nations are accepted as an integral part of the law of the German Commonwealth." (Trans. by W. B. Munro and A. N. Holcombe, World Peace Foundation, Vol. II, No. 6, Dec., 1919.) APPENDIX No. VII1 DRAFT SCHEME FOR THE INSTITUTION OF THE PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE Mentioned in Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. ARTICLE 1 A Permanent Court of International Justice, to which Parties shall have direct access, is hereby established, in accordance with Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. This Court shall be in addition to the Court of Arbitration organized by the Hague Convention of 1899 and 1907, and to the special Tribunals of Arbitration to which States are always at liberty to submit their disputes for settlement. CHAPTER I Organization of the Court ARTICLE 2 The Permanent Court of International Justice shall be composed of a body of independent judges, elected regardless of their nationality, from among persons of high moral character, who possess the qualifications required, in their respective countries, for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law. ARTICLE 3 The Court shall consist of 15 members: 11 judges and 4 deputyjudges. The number of judges and deputy-judges may be hereafter increased by the Assembly, upon the proposal of the Council of the League of Nations, to a total of 15 judges and 6 deputy-judges. 1 See note accompanying Appendix VIII. |