Effects of the League of Nations Covenant

The League of Nations covenant is designed to “promote international coöperation and to achieve international peace and security.” To accomplish the first it provides organs of conference and recommendation and coördinates the numerous international unions already existing with some new ones. To accomplish the second, the members of the league covenant to refrain from acting or to act in a specified manner, in specified circumstances. “Scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations” is emphasized; thus in relation to the treaty of peace of which it is a part, the covenant is comparable to the various forms of oaths, hostages, and guaranties of previous peace treaties.No intention of modifying international law is expressed. On the contrary “the understandings of international law” are to be firmly established “as the actual rules of conduct among governments.” In fact, however, the character of law is dependent upon the character of its sanction. Law and organization are interdependent, and the covenant when put in operation will modify international law, though less in its specific rules than in certain assumptions upon which they have heretofore been supposed to rest.