In August 1928, the Briand-Kellogg Pact was adopted in the French capital, according to which the allied countries committed themselves not to wage war against each other. Despite the fact that the contract was by and large only formal, it contributed significantly to the development of interstate law.
Political situation
International relations in the 1920s of the last century rested on two very controversial concepts. The first of them was based on the dissemination and popularization of pacifist ideas. After the end of the First World War, during which a number of deadly innovations in the field of weapons were applied, each of the victorious countries, one after another, publicly declared that from now on it was striving only for peace, and put forward proposals on the need for disarmament.
The second concept was the exact opposite of the first. Speaking of peace, the leadership of these countries continued to accumulate weapons. At the same time, they tried to convince the public that everything was done only in order to provide themselves with a guarantee of security. They emphasized that not only potential rivals, but also their allies did not want to disarm.
Collective Security Theory
The earlier adopted Versailles-Washington system of relations between the countries established some inequality regarding the distribution of arms, and further negotiations on this subject only exacerbated it. But in 1925, countries still managed to sign a protocol in Geneva banning the use of bacteriological and chemical weapons.
In addition, the Locarno Conference, which took place in the same year, adopted a system of guarantees of state borders and a number of mutual agreements between the powers that all disputed issues between them would be resolved only through arbitration. At that time, it seemed that these obligations opened up a broad path to establishing peaceful relations, as well as to creating a theory of collective security.
Briana's offer
At the same time, a new mass movement was expanding around the world. His goal was to outlaw all wars. In Anglo-Saxon countries, this movement was especially developed. Therefore, the then Foreign Minister of France, Briand, having met the broad public opinion, decided to involve the United States in solving European problems. I must say that this was done in contrast to the UK.
In April 1927, Briand signed an appeal to the American people. In it, he proposed to draw up an agreement between France and the United States, which said about the ban on the use of hostilities as a method of implementing national policy. In fact, this appeal was written by Columbia University professor James Shotwell. With the help of this treaty, the French government sought to ensure a favorable attitude of the entire world community to its policy, which would help to significantly strengthen the position of the state in Europe.
Project Promotion
The idea of the French minister was approved by US Secretary of State Kellogg. But he proposed to sign not a bilateral treaty, but a multilateral one, and turned with this proposal to other leaders of European states. Germany was the first to support the American project.
It should be noted that the Kellogg proposal created some legal difficulties for a number of countries that expressed a desire to join the League of Nations. This concerned article 16th. It stated that the use of military force was not ruled out as sanctions against the invading country.
The Briand-Kellogg Pact caused the greatest discontent among the British government. It stated that it would not allow even the slightest interference by anyone in the circle of its national interests. For example, the British authorities agreed in advance on their right to conduct hostilities in territories of particular importance to the country.
England also categorically did not agree that the signing should be attended by states that have not yet received universal recognition. First of all, it was a question of the young Land of Soviets, since a year earlier their diplomatic relations were severed. That is why England was against the Soviet Union signing the Briand-Kellogg Pact. The history of Russia, and subsequently of the USSR, has many facts that indicate that many European states treated their northern neighbor with some caution and even hostility.
Amendments to the contract
Soon, the French government introduced a new version of the project. Now the Briand-Kellogg Pact of 1928 granted the right to self-defense of states, but only within the framework of existing agreements. The leaders of Italy and Japan were the first to welcome such a version of the document and perceived it as the final destruction of the possibility of a war.
A month later, the US Secretary of State published his updated draft and sent it to the governments of 14 countries. In it, he clarified that the renunciation of hostilities concerns only relations between the powers that have signed the treaty. All other countries were not taken into account. Diplomatic correspondence regarding the interpretation of such an expression as “war outside the law” lasted for a month.
Finally, the Briand-Kellogg Pact on August 27, 1928 was finally approved and signed in Paris by the leaderships of 15 states. This list includes the United States, Canada, South Africa, Germany, France, Belgium, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Czechoslovakia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, India, Poland and Japan.
What was in the contract
The document itself consisted of an introduction and two main articles. The first said that the parties strongly condemn the use of hostilities to resolve various international differences and resolutely reject them as an instrument for implementing state policy. In the second article, all parties recognized that they would resort exclusively to peaceful means to resolve interstate conflicts and disputes.
Wide opportunities
In addition to the 15 powers that have already signed the agreement, the Briand-Kellogg Pact of 1928 gave the right to join both semi-colonial and dependent countries. On August 27, the United States sent a proposal to accept the terms of the treaty to 48 non-negotiating states.
The USSR was the first of the list of additionally invited to ratify this international agreement. In February 1929, a protocol was adopted in Moscow in which the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia and Romania, and a little later Iran, Lithuania and Turkey announced that the Briand-Kellogg Pact came into force. For other countries, the contract entered into force on July 24, i.e. six months later.
Relevance
First of all, this agreement helped to find mutual understanding among states such as Germany and France. When German Chancellor Gustav Stresemann arrived in Paris to sign the Briand-Kellogg Pact, he raised the question of the Rhine region occupied at that time. I must say that in part it was already resolved by the Locarno Accords, but was limited to the articles contained in the Treaty of Versailles. The last document said that the occupation was supposed to last until 1935. According to the chancellor, after the ratification of the treaty, the presence of foreign soldiers in German territory no longer made any sense. Therefore, during the Hague Conference , it was decided to withdraw the Allied forces from the Rhine region.
It should be noted that the adoption of the Briand-Kellogg Pact was of great social and moral importance, and also contributed to the significant development of interstate law. But, nevertheless, this document was only declarative, it was formal. By signing the agreement, the countries did not substantiate their obligations to abandon hostilities and did not limit the arms race. The reservations of England and France were not fixed in the treaty, and in fact the countries reserved the right to wage war for the purpose of self-defense.