The purpose of this chapter is to explain what international law is, what obligations it imposes, and how the United States carries on its relations with other countries.
Trade has brought nations together.
The Contact of Nations.—In all ages the nations of the world have been brought into relations with one another. During the early centuries their contact was not very close, as a rule, because differences in race, religion, and language, together with the lack of facilities for travel and transportation served to keep the people apart. But the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans all traded with their neighbors, and this trade, which began around the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, gradually widened east and west. After the fall of the Roman empire chaos reigned over the greater part of Europe; commerce declined, and incessant warfare prevented the growth of friendly intercourse among the people of different religions. These were the so-called Dark Ages, in which travel was fraught with danger and trade was at the mercy of bandits. Gradually, however, intercourse between different regions revived and expanded. The highways and waterways became safe again. Nations were once more brought into friendly relationships. During the past three or four hundred years this intercourse of nation with nation has been steadily becoming more extensive, broken only from time to time by the waging of wars. The steamship, the railroads, the automobile, the telegraph, and the telephone have all served to reduce distances and bring the various parts of the world closer together.
The origin of international law.
International Rules and Customs.—Just as social and economic relations among men gave rise to customs and usages which everyone now obeys for the common good, so the growth of intercourse among the nations brought into existence, little by little, a body of usages and rules which guide them in their relations with one another. Even the Greeks and Romans recognized the necessity of some such rules to prevent misunderstandings. Since ancient times these usages, rules, and agreements have been gradually becoming more definite until they now form that body of jurisprudence which is known as International Law. In a strict sense international law is not law at all; its rules have not emanated from any definite source such as parliament or a legislature, and there are no courts with power to enforce its provisions.[[283]] Some of its rules are of long standing custom; others have come into effect as the result of agreements among nations. The provision that the ambassador is exempt from the jurisdiction of the state to which he goes is very old,—as old as the Achaean League. It is an ancient custom, now called law. On the other hand the rule that a blockade of enemy ports is not valid unless maintained by an adequate force is a relatively modern rule and rests upon international agreement.
What international law includes.
International Law.—International law may therefore be defined as that body of usages and rules which the civilized nations of the world are accustomed to observe in their dealings with one another. These rules and usages relate to a great many things. |The laws of war.| They provide for friendly communication between nations in time of peace by means of ambassadors and other diplomatic envoys. International law declares the high seas to be free to all, but stipulates that a country may exercise jurisdiction over its adjacent seas for a distance of one marine league from the shore. The usages and rules of international law also provide for the protection of aliens, the collection of debts, the carrying on of trade, and many other questions which arise between nations at peace.
When nations are at war they are called belligerents, and the rules of international law restrict the ways in which war may be carried on. They forbid a belligerent to put poison in wells, or to bombard undefended towns, or to kill prisoners of war. It is quite true that these so-called “laws of war” are sometimes set at naught in the heat of conflict, and it is also true that when a nation violates them there is no regular redress; but the rules are well established and the public opinion of the world always condemns any country which indulges in barbarities contrary to the rules of war.
The laws of neutrality.
Nations which are not at war when war is going on are called neutrals. Their rights as neutrals are defined and their duties as neutrals are prescribed by the rules of international law. Neutrals are permitted to carry on trade with belligerents subject to two limitations, namely that their ships must not try to enter any blockaded port and must not carry contraband of war. Contraband of war includes weapons, munitions, military supplies, and any other merchandise which a belligerent can use directly or indirectly in carrying on the war. The citizens of neutral states are also debarred from serving in the armed forces of belligerents.