Second Hague Conference (1907)

Second Hague Conference (1907)
Name	Second Hague Conference (1907)
Caption	Delegates at the 1907 Hague Peace Conference
Date	15 June – 18 October 1907
Location	The Hague, Netherlands
Participants	Representatives of 44 states
Result	Adoption of thirteen conventions and one declaration

Second Hague Conference (1907)

The Second Hague Conference convened at The Hague from 15 June to 18 October 1907 as a successor to the 1899 diplomatic meeting associated with the First Hague Conference (1899). It assembled representatives from forty-four sovereign entities to negotiate multilateral instruments on the laws of war and peaceful dispute resolution. The conference produced thirteen conventions and one declaration that sought to codify legal norms concerning armed conflict, neutral rights, and arbitration.

Background and Preparations

When the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) and the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion stimulated public interest in legal restraints on force, prominent figures such as Czar Nicholas II and Tsar Nicholas II—through earlier initiatives—endorsed periodic diplomatic conferences that had roots in the 1889 Universal Peace Conference movement. The convening was propelled by reports from commissions formed after the First Hague Conference (1899), including the Permanent Court of Arbitration established under the those earlier accords and supported by proponents like Baron Édouard Descamps and jurists linked to the Institut de Droit International. Preparations in Saint Petersburg and correspondence among foreign ministers—most notably Henri Brisson of France, Léon Bourgeois advocates, Joseph Chamberlain of United Kingdom, Theodore Roosevelt of United States and Aleksandr Izvolsky of Russia—shaped the agenda. Colonial disputes involving German Empire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Kingdom of Italy and others influenced participation lists and pre-conference reservations.

Participating States and Delegations

Forty-four delegations attended, ranging from great powers like German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russian Empire, Ottoman Empire and United States to smaller polities including Kingdom of Siam, Ethiopia (then Abyssinia), and Kingdom of Serbia. Delegations were led by foreign ministers and legal experts such as Miklós Bánffy-style envoys, plenipotentiaries from Japan (Empire of Japan), representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and dominion delegations like Canada and Australia sending subordinate envoys. The presence of colonial authorities representing Belgian Congo interests and delegates from Spain and Portugal reflected imperial stakes in maritime and colonial law. Legal luminaries included members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and scholars affiliated with the Universität Leipzig and Collège de France.

Major Conventions and Declarations Adopted

The conference adopted thirteen conventions and a single declaration. Key instruments included a convention on the rights and duties of neutral powers and persons in naval war; a convention relative to the opening of hostilities; conventions on the bombardment of towns, the employment of submarines, and the laying of automatic contact mines. Additional conventions addressed the laws and customs of war on land, the adaptation to maritime warfare of principles of the laws of war on land, and the establishment and functioning of the Hague Convention (1907) framework for arbitration. The declaration prohibited the discharge of projectiles and explosives from balloons. The conventions further elaborated protections for prisoners, protections for the wounded and sick in armed forces, and rules regarding the seizure of private property at sea, reflecting precedents in the Brussels Declaration (1874) and developments from International Red Cross practice.

Key Debates and Diplomatic Negotiations

Contentious negotiations focused on the legality of means of warfare—particularly submarine warfare—where representatives from United Kingdom, Germany, United States, and Japan (Empire of Japan) clashed. Debate over an international court to settle disputes saw friction between advocates of compulsory arbitration, including reformers aligned with Andrew Carnegie-backed peace societies, and sovereignty defenders among delegations from France and Russia. Colonial powers pressed issues of prize law and contraband, with heated exchanges between Ottoman Empire representatives and Mediterranean powers over boarding and search practices. The question of an agreement to prohibit the use of poison gas, foreshadowing later chemical weapons debates, was discussed alongside rules on bombardment, where urbanist concerns voiced by delegates from Netherlands and humanitarian legalists found opponents in advocates of naval supremacy like British Admiralty delegates. Votes and reservations reflect diplomatic trade-offs among security, commerce, and humanitarian considerations.

Implementation, Ratification, and Impact on International Law

Many signatory states ratified the conventions, integrating provisions into national naval codes and military manuals such as those of the Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy. The instruments influenced arbitration practice at the Permanent Court of Arbitration and informed later jurisprudence of entities that evolved into the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Court of Justice. During World War I, several provisions were violated, notably in submarine unrestricted warfare by the German Empire and bombardments affecting Belgium and France, provoking legal debates in diplomatic protests and cases before mixed tribunals. Nonetheless, the corpus contributed to customary international law development and served as reference in interwar treaties and conventions, including negotiations at the League of Nations and discussions leading to the Geneva Conventions expansion.

Legacy and Historical Assessment

The 1907 conference is regarded by historians and legal scholars as a milestone in codification, exemplified in works by Hersch Lauterpacht-era analysts and commentators such as Georges Scelle and Lassa Oppenheim whose scholarship connected Hague norms to later legal doctrine. Critics argue the conventions revealed limits of legal restraint absent enforcement mechanisms, as seen in the failure to prevent the scale of World War I. Supporters highlight the conference’s normative contributions to diplomatic arbitration culture and humanitarian law that persisted into the twentieth century and influenced postwar institutions like the United Nations and subsequent disarmament dialogues at conferences including the Washington Naval Conference. Overall, the conference stands as a complex legacy of ambition, compromise, and the gradual institutionalization of international legal norms.

Category:Hague Conventions Category:1907 in international relations