9 INTERNATIONAL LAW 11. RECOGNITION OF SOVEREIGNTY.-a. Recognition of sovereignity may be express, as by written or oral declaration, or implied, as by sending and receiving diplomatic representatives, entering into negotiations, etc. A state may be recognized as a sovereign state without being recognized as a member of the society of nations. Such was the case of Turkey prior to 1856, and such is still the situation respecting a number of Asiatic states. b. The recognition of a new state born of an insurrection must not be confused with the recognition of an insurgent party as a belligerent. The recognition by European powers of the Southern States as belligerents during the Civil War did not amount to recognition of the Confederacy as a state. c. Premature recognition amounts to an act of intervention, committed in favor of insurgents or of a conqueror. The recognition of the United States by France in 1778 was in reality an act of intervention. The recognition of Cuba by the joint resolution of Congress approved April 20, 1898, declaring the people of Cuba to be free and independent and directing the President to use the Army and Navy for the purpose of causing the withdrawal of Spain from the island, was a clear case of recognition amounting to intervention. 12. RECOGNITION OF BELLIGERENCY.—ɑ. Recognition of belligerency, as above stated, differs from the recognition of the sovereignty of a state. Belligerency between already existing states is apparent and easily recognized; but in a case of insurrection, such as that of our Southern States during the Civil War, the magnitude which the political struggle must have attained before it will justify recognition of the insurgent faction as a belligerent is a rather difficult matter and may be determined only by the recognizing state. Such recognition involves such questions as the right of blockade, visitation, and search for and seizure of contraband articles on the high seas. It does not confer upon the community so recognized all the rights of an independent state, but it does grant its government and 10 · MILITARY AID TO THE CIVIL POWER It subjects the rights and imposes upon them the obligations of an independent state in all matters relating to war. gives them a recognized status which carries with it certain great advantages, such as the privilege of employing commissioned cruisers at sea, the opportunity to obtain loans and materials abroad, and the right to demand respect for their laws. Such recognition does not, however, inure solely to the advantage of the insurgents. The parent state gains the advantage of relief from responsibility for acts done in the insurgent territory, and the right to exert against neutral commerce all the powers of a party to a maritime war. b. The recognition of belligerency may be withdrawn at the discretion of the state which granted it. Thus, on January 2, 1865, England withdrew her recognition of the belligerency of our Southern States. Spain did likewise on June 4, and France followed suit on June 22, of the same year. SECTION II Reactions Induced by Violation of Principles of International Law Paragraph 13 Customary procedure when a conflict of international rights arises 14 Controversial discussion Loss of membership in the family of nations 15 16 17 18 19 13. Loss of MEMBERSHIP IN THE FAMILY OF NATIONS. -A state which is unable or unwilling to conform to those international obligations which must exist between established governments of friendly states, or which disclaims the authority of international law, renders itself no longer entitled to be regarded or recognized as a member of the family of nations. Thus, in 1898, when the Congress of INTERNATIONAL LAW 11 Ecuador passed a law declaring, among other things, that no person, whether native or foreign, should have any right of indemnity for damages incident to its military operations at home in restoring public order, the United States promptly pronounced the statute "generally and substantially subversive of the principles of international law by which, and not by domestic legislation, the ultimate liability of governments to one another must be determined," and further declared that "by such a declaration of rules for the guidance of her conduct in international relations Ecuador had placed herself outside the pale of international intercourse." 14. CUSTOMARY PROCEDURE WHEN A CONFLICT OF INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS ARISES.-a. Sometimes the acts of an offending state are such obvious and unmistakable violations of the sovereign rights of another state that no explanations are asked for, and resort is at once had to forcible measures of redress. The customary procedure, however, is for the offended state to make known its cause of complaint to the offending state and demand that justice be done, the urgency of the demand and the amount or character of the satisfaction demanded always being proportional to the views of the demanding state as to the gravity and importance of the injury alleged to have been sustained. b. When the case is clear and there is no dispute as to the facts, reparation by the offending state is usually made with the greatest promptness by acknowledging its error, disavowing the act or acts of its subordinate officials, and offering such action, accompanied by such explanation and apology, as the situation seems to demand. If only a minor rule of little importance has been violated, the mere exchange of diplomatic notes is usually deemed a sufficient remedy. What at first appears to be an injury or insult may, upon further and more deliberate examination, be found to be merely a mistake, and not at all an act of malice. or one designed to give offense. The circumstances may have arisen from unauthorized or unapproved acts of inferior persons, in which case such acts will almost invari 12 MILITARY AID TO THE CIVIL POWER ably be promptly disavowed by the government for which or in the name of which, such persons purported to act. In dealing with such questions, much depends upon the tact and moderation shown by diplomatic representatives. A little moderation, even if accompanied by considerable delay, will usually bring the offended party a just satisfaction, whereas rash and precipitate measures may often lead to serious consequences. 15. CONTROVERSIAL DISCUSSION.-If the case is not clear, and it frequently is not, a controversial discussion takes place, each state advancing arguments and citing authorities in support of that view which it holds to be in accordance with the demands of justice. These controversies are not usually settled at once. They may continue throughout a long period. That between England and the United States with reference to the right of search lasted more than fifty years. 16. MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION.—a. If the interested states seem unable to settle their differences in the customary way, they may resort to mediation; that is, they may refer the cause of difference to a disinterested power for decision or adjustment. The mediation may be asked for by the states themselves, or a third power may tender its good offices with a view to the maintenance of peace. b. Sometimes, instead of the difference being referred to a disinterested power, it is referred to a tribunal composed of one or more persons. This is arbitration. A theoretical advantage of arbitration over mediation is that all suggestions of a mediator may be rejected by the litigant parties, whereas the decision of an arbitration tribunal to which the cause has been properly submitted is binding upon the parties concerned. 17. RETORSION AND REPRISALS.-a. If the dispute can not be settled amicably by the states themselves, and if neither mediation nor arbitration be resorted to, the next step may take the form of retaliatory measures known as retorsion or reprisals. Retorsion means merely the application by a state toward another state of the same rule of INTERNATIONAL LAW 13 conduct that has been applied by that state toward the other. Reprisals are not limited to like acts. They consist in the forcible seizure of property belonging to an offending state, or to its citizens or subjects, which may be found within the territory of the offended state or on the high seas. If the dispute is settled without war, the seized property is returned, but if war results it is condemned as prize. b. Reprisals differ from retorsion not only in kind but in degree. Retorsion is resorted to when imperfect rights (as those depending upon the rules of comity) have been denied, whereas reprisals are resorted to when perfect rights (those depending upon statutory or treaty stipulation) are drawn into question, or when there has been an absolute refusal of justice. Reprisals are acts of violence and may be regarded by the state against which they are directed as amounting to a declaration of war. If war does not result, it is usually because such state regards the act as merely technical and manifests its willingness to redress the grievences of the offended state. Reprisals usually attain the desired ends without recourse to war, due in part to the fact that they are most frequently resorted to by powerful states against weak ones and very rarely by one state against another of greater or approximately equal strength. 18. EMBARGO AND PACIFIC BLOCKADE.-a. An embargo is the detention, by a state, of ships of commerce in some or all of its ports until the adjustment of an existing controversy. If the embargo is laid on the ships of the embargoing state it is called a civil embargo; if on the ships of another state, it is called a hostile embargo. The latter is a form of reprisal and follows the reprisal rule that, if war does not result, the ships are permitted to set sail as soon as the matter is adjusted, but, if war does result, the ships and their cargoes become prize. b. A hostile embargo should be distinguished from a pacific blockade of the ports of an offending state, in which case force is displayed to such extent as not to permit vessels to depart therefrom until the controversy is settled. |