The exact legacies of the two Hague Peace Conferences remain unclear. On the one hand, diplomatic and military historians, who cast their gaze to 1914, traditionally dismiss the events of 1899 and 1907 as insignificant footnotes on the path to the First World War. On the other, experts in international law posit that The Hague’s foremost legacy lies in the manner in which the conferences progressed the law of war and the concept and application of international justice. This volume brings together some of the latest scholarship on the legacies of the Hague Peace Conferences in a comprehensive volume, drawing together an international team of contributors.
Permanent organizations of the society of nations began with the Second Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907 and the Permanent Court of Arbitration founded by the Peace Conference of 1899. The establishment of the League of Nations by the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 began a second period in the history of international organization. A third period began in 1945 when the United Nations replaced the League of Nations. In his prize-winning book, The United States and the First Hague Peace Conference, Professor Davis told the story of American participation in the Peace Conference of 1899. In the present volume he focuses on the role of the United States in the Peace Conference of 1907, but also describes the connections between that conference and the Pan-American Conferences, the Geneva Conference of 1906, the London Naval Conference and may other important relations of the era. He concludes this new book with a discussion of connections between the internationalism of the Hague period and the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Edited by A. Pearce Higgins in 1909, The Hague Peace Conferences is a compilation of the conventions, agreements, and peace laws formulated and agreed upon during major world conventions, used to regulate warfare and peace treaties. The text contains agreements from The Geneva Convention, the Declaration of Paris, and the two Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907. The text is written in both French and English. ALEXANDER PEARCE HIGGINS (1863-1935) was a British lawyer who began practicing law in 1908. In addition to editing The Hague Peace Conferences, he also wrote several books on international law and its relation to wars and treatises.
The book is the successor of the authors monumental and ASIL Award-winning commemorative books on the International Court of Justice (1996) and the First Hague Peace Conference (1999). The present publication links its two predecessors in bridging the gap between that first seminal gathering of the nations in The Hague in 1899 and the institutionalization of the international judicature in 1922. The book presents a comprehensive overview of the first ever and unique diplomatic gathering of the self-acclaimed Civilized World prior to the cataclysm of WWI. In its essentially interdisciplinary approach it offers insights into the complex political backdrop, the vexing legal challenges faced and the social atmosphere of the Conference. All this is enlightened with authentic source material and illustrated with pictures that captivate the world of the Belle Epoque. This book offers - A Sweeping Panorama of the Period - A Rich Analysis of the Conventions - Scores of Excerpts from Speeches of Delegates - A Captivating Review of the Social Entourage - A Dazzling Display of Photographs - Historical Documents and Cartoons
'The Dawn of a New Era', as some rejoiced, 'a printer's error in the history of mankind', as others loathed. From the day Czar Nicholas' Peace Rescript surprised a divided world, the First Hague Peace Conference has evoked irreconcilable responses. A predictable failure in the disarmament debate, a distinct leap ahead in curbing the Moloch of War, its lasting repute is linked to its brainchild, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the cradle of The Hague's present claim as self-imposed Juridical Capital of the World. By all accounts, this 'First Parliament of Man' opened the door to the International Era & man's ultimate dream, 'The Federation of the World'. The 1899 Hague Peace Conference pays tribute to this historical assembly. It deals comprehensively with the genesis, proceedings, & outcome of this first diplomatic encounter of its kind, in the political heart & royal residence of a small, yet ambitious nation. It details the substance matter of the Conference, to put a check on the armaments spiral, to restrain the evils & control the customs of war, & to provide for the peaceful settlement of disputes. Enlarging on the intense debate in committees large & small, the publication likewise echoes the splendour of the ceremonial sittings of the Plenary, that 'New Areopagus' gathered in the House in the Wood, itself the glorification of the Peace of Westphalia, its exotic drawing rooms & celebrated canvasses the pinnacle of arts & crafts of the Dutch Golden Age. On top of this, the work colourfully portrays to a man the full hundred delegates, politicians, diplomats, jurists, & military men, luminaries of the day most of them, & highlights some of their astounding addresses. It introduces the world of pacifists, led by Bloch, Stead, & Von Suttner, who gravitated in great numbers to the hotels of repute at the luxury seashore resort. In a wealth of anecdotes distilled from diaries, memoirs & magazines, this jubilee book pictures in gorgeous detail the splendid social entourage of royal receptions, public dinners & cultural excursions. Lavishly illustrated with scores of ravishing pictures it sketches The Hague of the Belle Epoque, the world of Mesdag & Couperus. Based on primary sources & in-depth research, this commemorative publication is an essentially multi-disciplined approach to a pivotal diplomatic venue, a sweeping legal debate, & a breath-taking social event. Arthur Eyffinger's book on the 1899 Hague Peace Conference was awarded the Certificate of Merit for High Technical Craftsmanship. The Committee stated: "The book was painstakingly researched & richly descriptive, reflecting archival research at its best. Eyffinger recreates the Hague Peace Conference for a contemporary audience, incorporating historical & political context & art, as well as the text of a wealth of original documents. Readers are genuinely transported back to another world, in a way that helps them better appreciate this one."
Beginning with the extraordinary rescript by Tsar Nicholas II in August 1898 calling the world's governments to a disarmament conference, this book charts the history of the two Hague peace conferences of 1899 and 1907 – and the third conference of 1915 that was never held – using diplomatic correspondence, newspaper reports, contemporary publications and the papers of internationalist organizations and peace activists. Focusing on the international media frenzy that developed around them, Maartje Abbenhuis provides a new angle on the conferences. Highlighting the conventions that they brought about, she demonstrates how The Hague set the tone for international politics in the years leading up to the First World War, permeating media reports and shaping the views and activities of key organizations such as the inter-parliamentary union, the international council of women and the Institut de droit international (Institute of International Law). Based on extensive archival research in the Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland and the United States alongside contemporary publications in a range of languages, this book considers the history of the Hague conferences in a new way, and presents a powerful case for the importance of The Hague conferences in shaping twentieth century international politics.
In the formation of the modern law of nations, peace treaties played a pivotal role. Many basic principles and rules that governed and still govern relations between states were introduced and elaborated in the great peace treaties from the Renaissance onwards. Nevertheless, until recently few scholars have studied these primary sources of the law of nations from a juridical perspective. In this edited collection, specialists from all over Europe, including legal and diplomatic historians, international lawyers and an International Relations theorist, analyse peace treaty practice from the late fifteenth century to the Peace of Versailles of 1919. Important emphasis is given to the doctrinal debate about peace treaties and the influence of older, Roman and medieval concepts on modern practices. This book goes back further in time beyond the epochal Peace of Treaties of Westphalia of 1648 and this broader perspective allows for a reassessment of the role of the sovereign state in the modern international legal order.
