Definition of "Aggressor" at the League of Nations Conference for the Reduction
and Limitation of Armaments On the 6th February 1933
Definition of "Aggressor" at the League of Nations Conference for the Reduction
and Limitation of Armaments On the 6th February 1933
On the 6th February 1933 the then Foreign Commissar of the Soviet Union, Litvinov
submitted to the League of Nations Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of
Armaments the following definition of "Aggressor":
Considering that, in the interest of general security and in order to facilitate
the attainment of an agreement for the maximum reduction of armaments, it is
necessary, with the utmost precision, to define aggression, in order to remove any
possibility of its justification; Recognising the principle of equal right of all
States to independence, security and self-defence;
Animated by the desire of ensuring to each nation, in the interest of general peace,
the right of free development according to its own choice and at the rate that
suits it best, and of safeguarding the security, independence and complete
territorial inviolability of each State and its right to self-defence against
attack or invasion from outside but only within its own frontiers; and
Anxious to provide the necessary guidance to the international organs which may
be called upon to define the aggressor:
Declares:
1. The aggressor in an international conflict shall be considered that State
which is the first to take any of the following actions:
(a) Declaration of war against another State;
(b) The invasion by its armed forces of the territory of another State without
declaration of war;
(c) Bombarding the territory of another State by its land, naval or air forces
or knowingly attacking the naval or air forces of another State;
(d) The landing in, or introduction within the frontiers of, another State of land,
naval or air forces without the permission of the Government of such a State, or the
infringement of the conditions of such permission particularly as regards the duration
of sojourn or extension of area;
(e) The establishment of a naval blockade of the coast or ports of another State.
2. No considerations whatsoever of a political, strategical or economic nature,
including the desire to exploit natural riches or to obtain any sort of advantages
or privileges on the territory of another State, no references to considerable capital
investments or other special interests in a given State, or to the alleged absence of
certain attributes of State organisation in the case of a given country, shall be
accepted as justification of aggression as defined in Clause 1.
in particular, justification for attack cannot be based upon:
A. The internal situation in a given State, as, for instance:
(a) Political, economic or cultural backwardness of a given country;
(b) Alleged maladministration;
(c) Possible danger to life or property of foreign residents;
(d) Revolutionary or counter-revolutionary movements, civil war, disorders or strikes;
(e) The establishment or maintenance in any State of any political, economic or social
order.
B. Any acts, laws or regulations of a given State, as for instance:
(a) The infringement of international agreements;
(b) The infringement of the commercial, concessional or other economic rights or
interests of a given State or its citizens;
(c) The rupture of diplomatic or economic relations;
(d) Economic or financial boycott;
(e) Repudiation of debts;
(f) Non-admission or limitation of immigration, or restriction of rights or privileges
of foreign residents;
(g) The infringement of the privileges of official representatives of other States;
(h) The refusal to allow armed forces transit to the territory of a third State;
(i) Religious or anti-religious measures;
(k) Frontier incidents.
3. In the case of the mobilisation or concentration of armed forces to a considerable
extent in the vicinity of the frontiers, the State which such activities threaten may
have recourse to diplomatic or other means for the peaceful solution of international
controversies. it may at the same time take steps of a military nature, analogous to
those described above, without, however, crossing the frontier."
The General Commission decided to embody the above principles n the Convention on security
and disarmament, or in a special agreement to form an integral part of the said Convention.
Following the Soviet proposals the Committee on Security Questions drew up, on
instructions by the Political Committee of March 10, 1933, a draft Act relating to the
Definition of the Aggressor. This Act in general, reproduced the substance of the Soviet
proposals, adding in the inculpating acts that of supporting armed bands, and omitting
the Soviet paragraph 1 (d) dealing with the landing or introduction of forces into the
territory of another State. The added sub-paragraph designated as aggression:
Source:
League of Nations Records of the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments,
Ser. B. Minutes of the Cen. Com.Vol. 1, Geneva, 1932, pp. 237-38. Cit� p.16 dans Security
and Non-aggression, Baltic States and USSR Treaties on Non-aggression de E.Krepp, �dit� par
Estonian Inforamtion Centre & Latvian National Foundation, Stockholm 1973
Commentaires:
, Suisse Romande, 06 mars 2001,
Mise à jour: 06 mars 2001
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