Bilateral Treaties of Inquiry: a Re-Examination

Abstract

A BOUT A HALF-CENTURY ago Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan negotiated a series of Treaties for Advancement of Peace with other states. He was attempting to realize hope, then widely current, that dangers of war could be averted if parties knew facts underlying disputes. It was claimed that nations often rushed into war without an adequate knowledge of what true situation was, and that if factual ignorance were eliminated a peaceful settlement could be worked out. Secretary Bryan added to this belief conviction that precipitate action by one or more of disputants often touched a war, and that if time were allowed to elapse, parties might be brought together in an atmosphere of calmness. He and later occupants of office, especially Frank B. Kellogg (1925-29), brought to completion a number of similar treaties embodying two concepts of fact-finding and delay (a cooling off period). Hailed at time as substantial contributions to world peace, treaties have been largely forgotten, though most of them are still in effect. Only once has such a treaty been invoked (the treaty with Switzerland), and then full advantage was not taken of its facilities. This article will survey terms and procedures of these treaties and re-examine them in light of modern conditions. Although Bryan-Kellogg treaties have been called treaties they do not employ word in generally accepted sense. Oppenheim defines conciliation (and this article adopts his use of word) as the process of settling a dispute by referring it to a commission of persons whose task it is to elucidate facts and (usually after hearing parties and endeavoring to bring them to an agreement) to make a report containing proposals for a settlement, but not having binding character of an award or a judgment. Secretaries Bryan and Kellogg were interested more in inquiries into facts and reporting them, than in proposing settlements. Fact-finding may be, and usually is, an initial stage of conciliation, but conciliation goes farther than factfinding and suggests a solution. The treaties did not expressly provide for this additional step. TERMS AND PROCEDURES