International Law. A Treatise Volume I Part 44

Every vessel has to bear visibly in white colour on black ground its number, name, and the name of its harbour (articles 6-11). Every vessel must bear an official voucher of her nationality (articles 12-13).

(2) To avoid conflicts between the different fis.h.i.+ng vessels, very minute interdictions and injunctions are provided (articles 14-25).

(3) The supervision of the fisheries by the fis.h.i.+ng vessels of the signatory Powers is exercised by special cruisers of these Powers (article 26). With the exception of those contraventions which are specially enumerated by article 27, all these cruisers are competent to verify all contraventions committed by the fis.h.i.+ng vessels of all the signatory Powers (article 28). For that purpose they have the right of visit, search, and arrest (article 29). But a seized fis.h.i.+ng vessel is to be brought into a harbour of her flag State and to be handed over to the authorities there (article 30). All contraventions are to be tried by the Courts of the State to which the contravening vessels belong (article 36); but in cases of a trifling character the matter can be compromised on the spot by the commanders of the special public cruisers of the Powers (article 33).

[Sidenote: b.u.mboats in the North Sea.]

-- 283. Connected with the regulation of the fisheries is the abolition of the liquor trade among the fis.h.i.+ng vessels in the North Sea. Since serious quarrels and difficulties were caused through b.u.mboats and floating grog-shops selling intoxicating liquors to the fishermen, an International Conference took place at the Hague in 1886, where the signatory Powers of the Hague Convention concerning the fisheries in the North Sea were represented. And on November 16, 1887, the International Convention concerning the Abolition of the Liquor Traffic among the fishermen in the North Sea was signed by the representatives of these Powers--namely, Great Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, and Holland. This treaty[573] was, however, not ratified until 1894, and France did not ratify it at all. It contains the following stipulations:[574]--

[Footnote 573: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XIV. p. 540, and XXII. p.

563.]

[Footnote 574: The matter is treated by Guillaume in R.I. XXVI. (1894), p. 488.]

It is interdicted to sell spirituous drinks to persons on board of fis.h.i.+ng vessels, and these persons are prohibited from buying such drinks (article 2). b.u.mboats, which wish to sell provisions to fishermen, must be licensed by their flag State and must fly a white flag[575] with the letter S in black in the middle (article 3). The special cruisers of the Powers which supervise the fisheries in the North Sea are likewise competent to supervise the treaty stipulations concerning b.u.mboats; they have the right to ask for the production of the proper licence, and eventually the right to arrest the vessel (article 7). But arrested vessels must always be brought into a harbour of their flag State, and all contraventions are to be tried by Courts of the flag State of the contravening vessel (articles 2, 7, 8).

[Footnote 575: This flag was agreed upon in the Protocol concerning the ratification of the Convention. (See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XXII. p.

565.)]

[Sidenote: Seal Fisheries in Behring Sea.]

-- 284. In 1886 a conflict arose between Great Britain and the United States through the seizure and confiscation of British-Columbian vessels which had hunted seals in the Behring Sea outside the American territorial belt, infringing regulations made by the United States concerning seal fis.h.i.+ng in that sea. Great Britain and the United States concluded an arbitration treaty[576] concerning this conflict in 1892, according to which the arbitrators should not only settle the dispute itself, but also (article 7) "determine what concurrent regulations outside the jurisdictional limits of the respective Governments are necessary" in the interest of the preservation of the seals. The Arbitration Tribunal, which a.s.sembled and gave its award[577] at Paris in 1893, imposed the duty upon both parties of forbidding their subjects to kill seals within a zone of sixty miles around the Pribilof Islands; the killing of seals at all between May 1 and July 31 each year; seal-fis.h.i.+ng with nets, firearms, and explosives; seal-fis.h.i.+ng in other than specially licensed sailing vessels. Both parties in 1894 carried out this task imposed upon them.[578] Other maritime Powers were at the same time asked by the United States to submit voluntarily to the regulations made for the parties by the arbitrators, but only Italy[579]

has agreed to this.

[Footnote 576: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XVIII. p. 587.]

[Footnote 577: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XXI. p. 439. The award is discussed by Barclay in R.I. XXV. (1893), p. 417, and Engelhardt in R.I.

XXVI. (1894), p. 386, and R.G. V. (1898), pp. 193 and 347. See also Tillier, "Les Pecheries de Phoques de la Mer de Behring" (1906), and Balch, "L'evolution de l'Arbitrage International" (1908), pp. 70-91.]

[Footnote 578: See the Behring Sea Award Act, 1894 (57 Vict. c. 2).]

[Footnote 579: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XXII. p. 624.]

Experience has shown that the provisions made by the Arbitration Tribunal for the purpose of preventing the extinction of the seals in the Behring Sea are insufficient. The United States therefore invited the maritime Powers whose subjects are engaged in the seal fisheries to a Pelagic Sealing Conference which took place at Was.h.i.+ngton in 1911, and produced a convention[580] which was signed on July 7, 1911, by which the suspension of pelagic sealing for fifteen years was agreed upon.

[No further details of this Convention are as yet known, and it has not yet been ratified.]

[Footnote 580: See below, -- 593, No. 2.]

[Sidenote: Fisheries around the Faroe Islands and Iceland.]

-- 285. For the purpose of regulating the fisheries outside territorial waters around the Faroe Islands and Iceland, Great Britain and Denmark signed on June 24, 1901, the Convention of London,[581] whose stipulations are for the most part literally the same as those of the International Convention for the Regulation of the Fisheries in the North Sea, concluded at the Hague in 1882.[582] The additional article of this Convention of London stipulates that any other State whose subjects fish around the Faroe Islands and Iceland may accede to it.

[Footnote 581: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. x.x.xIII. (1906), p. 268.]

[Footnote 582: See above, -- 282.]

VII

TELEGRAPH CABLES IN THE OPEN SEA

Bonfils, No. 583--Despagnet, No. 401--Pradier-Fodere, V. No.

2548--Merignhac, II. p. 532--Nys, II. p. 170--Rivier, I. pp. 244 and 386--Fiore, II. No. 822, and Code, Nos. 1134-1137--Stoerk in Holtzendorff, II. pp. 507-508--Liszt, -- 29--Ullmann, -- 103--Lauterbach, "Die Beschadigung unterseeischer Telegraphenkabel" (1889)--Landois, "Zur Lehre vom volkerrechtlichen Schutz der submarinen Telegraphenkabel"

(1894)--Jouhannaud, "Les cables sous-marins" (1904)--Renault, in R.I. XII. (1880), p. 251, XV. (1883), p. 17. See also the literature quoted below, vol. II., at the commencement of -- 214.

[Sidenote: Telegraph cables in the Open Sea admitted.]

-- 286. It is a consequence of the freedom of the Open Sea that no State can prevent another from laying telegraph and telephone cables in any part of the Open Sea, whereas no State need allow this within its territorial maritime belt. As numerous submarine cables have been laid, the question as to their protection arose. Already in 1869 the United States proposed an international convention for this purpose, but the matter dropped in consequence of the outbreak of the Franco-German war.

The Inst.i.tute of International Law took up the matter in 1879[583] and recommended an international agreement. In 1882 France invited the Powers to an International Conference at Paris for the purpose of regulating the protection of submarine cables. This conference met in October 1882, again in October 1883, and produced the "International Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables" which was signed at Paris on April 16, 1884.[584]

[Footnote 583: See Annuaire, III. pp. 351-394.]

[Footnote 584: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XI. p. 281.]

The signatory Powers are:--Great Britain, Argentina, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, San Domingo, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Holland, Italy, Persia, Portugal, Roumania, Russia, Salvador, Servia, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Turkey, the United States, and Uruguay. Colombia and Persia did not ratify the treaty, but, on the other hand, j.a.pan acceded to it later on.

[Sidenote: International Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cables.]

-- 287. The protection afforded to submarine telegraph cables finds its expression in the following stipulations of this international treaty:--

(1) Intentional or culpably negligent breaking or damaging of a cable in the Open Sea is to be punished by all the signatory Powers,[585] except in the case of such damage having been caused in the effort of self-preservation (article 2).

[Footnote 585: See the Submarine Telegraph Act, 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c.

49).]

(2) s.h.i.+ps within sight of buoys indicating cables which are being laid or which are damaged must keep at least a quarter of a nautical mile distant (article 6).

(3) For dealing with infractions of the interdictions and injunctions of the treaty the Courts of the flag State of the infringing vessel are exclusively competent (article 8).

(4) Men-of-war of all signatory Powers have a right to stop and to verify the nationality of merchantmen of all nations which are suspected of having infringed the regulations of the treaty (article 10).

(5) All stipulations are made for the time of peace only and in no wise restrict the action of belligerents during time of war.[586]

[Footnote 586: See below, vol. II. -- 214, and art. 54 of the Hague rules concerning land warfare which enacts:--"Submarine cables connecting a territory occupied with a neutral territory shall not be seized or destroyed except in the case of absolute necessity. They also must be restored and indemnities for them regulated at the peace."]

VIII

WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY ON THE OPEN SEA

Bonfils, Nos. 531{10, 11}--Despagnet, 433 _quater_--Liszt, -- 29--Ullmann, -- 147--Meili, "Die drahtlose Telegraphie, &c."

(1908)--Schneeli, "Drahtlose Telegraphie und Volkerrecht"

(1908)--Landsberg, "Die drahtlose Telegraphie" (1909)--Kausen, "Die drahtlose Telegraphie im Volkerrecht" (1910)--Rolland in R.G.

XIII. (1906), pp. 58-92--Fauchille in Annuaire, XXI. (1906), pp.

76-87--Meurer and Boidin in R.G. XVI. (1909), pp. 76 and 261.

[Sidenote: Radio-telegraphy between s.h.i.+ps and the sh.o.r.e.]