The Declaration of London
Sir,—You have allowed me, in a good many letters, to criticise the Declaration of London, both in its original inception and in its subsequent applications. Thanks to the House of Lords, the Declaration, which erroneously professed to “correspond in substance with the generally recognised principles of International Law,” has remained unratified, and therefore diplomatically of no effect.
Its admirers have, however, too long preserved it, perhaps sub spe rati, in a state of suspended animation, using it by way of, as they supposed, a convenient handbook of maritime law for the purposes of the present war, though subject to such variations as might from time to time be found convenient by the Allies. The mistake thus made soon became apparent. The elaborate classification of contraband had to be at once thrown overboard, and most of the remaining provisions of the Declaration proved to be inapplicable to modern warfare.
In December last I accordingly wrote as follows:—
“To put an end to this confusion, I venture to suggest that, in concert with our Allies, the Declaration should be finally consigned to oblivion. Either let its place be taken by some clear and simple statement of unquestioned prize law, for the use of commanders and Officials,... or established principles take care of themselves, certain doubtful points only being dealt with from time to time by Orders in Council.”
I need hardly say that to anyone holding the views thus expressed, yesterday’s Order in Council must be most satisfactory; getting rid, as it does for good and all, of the unfortunate Declaration, leaving the application of established principles to those acquainted with them and promulgating authoritative guidance on specific novel questions.
I may perhaps add a word or two on the undesirability of describing as “Declarations” documents which, being equipped with provisions for ratification, although they may profess to set out old law, differ in no respect from other conventions. Also, as to the need for greater caution on the part of our representatives than has been shown by their acceptance of various craftily suggested anti-British suggestions, such as were several embodied in the Declaration in question, and notably that of the notorious cl. 23 (h) of The Hague Convention iv., the interpretation of which has exercised the ingenuity of the Foreign Office and, more recently, of the Court of Appeal.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
T. E. HOLLAND
Brighton, July 9 (1916).
On July 7, 1916, an Order in Council was made, revoking all Orders by which the provisions of the Declaration had been adopted, or modified, for the duration of the war; stating the intention of the Allies to exercise their belligerent rights at sea in strict accordance with the law of nations; but dealing specifically with certain doubtful points. The Order was accompanied by a memorandum, drawn up by the British and French Governments, explaining how their expectation that in the Declaration they would find “a suitable digest of principles and compendium of working rules” had not been realised. See also Lord Robert Cecil in the House of Commons on August 23, with reference to the Zamora case, [1916] 2 Ch. c. 77.
On misuses of the term “Declaration” cf. supra, pp. 90, 91, 92.