NEUTRALITY AND PEACE
Neutrality represents a status half-way between war andpeace.. As an institution, neutrality dates but from the XVIIth century, when progress towards and international organization drafted during the Middle Ages had long been arrested.. The dogma of unlimited sovereignty killed the theory of the just war. The conflagration of 1914 showed the absurdity of the absolute right ofwar and of neutrality.
THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NEUTRALITY. As a fact, neutrality is as old as war itself; but as a juridical institution, it is of comparatively recent origin. The principle of neutrality was first accepted in maritime warfare: the Consolato del Mare. The attempt to reconcile neutrality and war first affected neutral duties; the determination of the rights followed. The duties of neutrals may be summed up in the two terms, abstention and impartiality. The duty of abstention becomes more clearly defined towards the end of the XVIIIth century. Declarations of neutrality: origin and purpose. The rights of neutrals may be summed up in the inviolability of their territory and the freedom of their commerce. The struggle for the freedom of neutral trade, and for the freedom of the seas. Codification of the law of neutrality during the XXth century: the Hague and London Conferences.
THE DECLINE OF NEUTRALITY. Through its development neutrality has prepared the way to end war, and, consequently, itself. The awakening of the doctrine of the just war. The neutral duty of assistance. The War of 1914 dealt the death blow to neutrality.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF NEUTRALITY. President Wilson\'s conception of neutrality. In case of lawful war, neutrality exists, but with certain changes. The condition of the States non-members of the League of Nations in the case of an unlawful war. Neutrality agreements: their compatibility with the Covenant of the League of Nations.
THE NEW NEUTRALITY. The United States\' double tradition of neutrality and peace, and the Pact of Paris. Proposals submitted to the United States Congress with a view to the adaptation of their neutrality policy to the duties flowing from the Pact of Paris. The attitude of the United States at the Disarmament Conference: President Roosevelt\'s message of March 16, 1933; the subsequent declaration of Mr. Norman Davis. The opposition in the United States to the realization of these reforms: Mr. John Bassett Moore\'s thesis; Senator Johnson\'s amendment against the simple embargo. Lack of confidence in the international organization constitutes an obstacle to the abandonment of neutrality.
