International Law. A Treatise Volume I Part 78

[Footnote 979: See above, -- 467.]

[Footnote 980: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XXII. p. 208, and Pelletier et Vidal-Noguet, "La convention d'union pour la protection de la propriete industrielle du 20 mars 1883 et les conferences de revision posterieures" (1902).]

[Footnote 981: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. x.x.x. p. 475.]

(3) On March 5, 1902, the Convention of Brussels[982] was signed concerning the abolition of bounties on the production and exportation of sugar. The original parties were:--Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain, and Sweden; but Spain has never ratified. Luxemburg, Peru, and Russia acceded later. A Permanent Commission[983] was established at Brussels for the purpose of supervising the execution of the convention. An additional Act[984] was signed at Brussels on August 28, 1907.

[Footnote 982: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. x.x.xI. p. 272, and Kaufmann, "Welt-Zuckerindustrie und internationales und coloniales Recht" (1904).]

[Footnote 983: See above, ---- 462 and 471.]

[Footnote 984: See Martens, N.R.G. 3rd Ser. I. p. 874.]

[Sidenote: Agriculture.]

-- 586. Three general conventions are in existence in the interest of Agriculture:--

(1) On June 7, 1905, the Convention for the Creation of an International Agricultural Inst.i.tute[985] was signed at Rome by forty States. The Inst.i.tute has its seat at Rome.

[Footnote 985: See above, -- 471_a_, and Martens, N.R.G. 3rd Ser. II. p.

238, and Treaty Series, 1910, No. 17.]

(2) Owing to the great damage done to grapes through phylloxera epidemics a general convention[986] for the prevention of the extension of such epidemics was concluded on September 17, 1878, at Berne. Its place was afterwards taken by the convention[987] signed at Berne on November 3, 1881. The original members were:--Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Portugal, and Switzerland. Belgium, Italy, Spain, Holland, Luxemburg, Roumania, and Servia acceded later.

[Footnote 986: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. VI. p. 261.]

[Footnote 987: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. VIII. p. 435.]

(3) On March 19, 1902, a general convention[988] was signed at Paris concerning the preservation of birds useful to agriculture. The parties are:--Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Spain, France, Greece, Luxemburg, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland.

[Footnote 988: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. x.x.x. p. 686.]

[Sidenote: Welfare of Working Cla.s.ses.]

-- 587. Two general treaties are in existence with regard to the welfare of the working cla.s.ses:--

(1) On September 26, 1906, was signed at Berne a convention[989]

concerning the prohibition of the use of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches. The original parties were:--Germany, Denmark, France, Holland, Luxemburg, Switzerland. Great Britain, Italy, Spain, and Tunis acceded later. To give effect to this convention in Great Britain, Parliament pa.s.sed in 1908 the White Phosphorus Matches Prohibition Act (8 Edw. VII. c. 42).

[Footnote 989: See Martens, N.R.G. 3rd Ser. II. p. 872, and Treaty Series, 1909, No. 4.]

(2) Likewise at Berne on September 26, 1906, was signed the convention[990] for the prohibition of night-work for women in industrial employment. The original parties are:--Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Spain, France, Luxemburg, Holland, Portugal, and Switzerland. Italy and Sweden, which had signed the convention, but had not ratified in time, acceded in 1910.

[Footnote 990: See Martens, N.R.G. 3rd Ser. II. p. 861, and Treaty Series, 1910, No. 21.]

[Sidenote: Weights, Measures, Coinage.]

-- 588. One Union concerning weights and measures and two monetary Unions are in existence.

(1) In the interest of the unification and improvement of the metric system a general convention[991] was signed at Paris on May 20, 1875, for the purpose of inst.i.tuting at Paris an International Office[992] of Weights and Measures. The original parties were:--Argentina, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States of America, and Venezuela; but Brazil has never ratified. Great Britain, j.a.pan, Mexico, Roumania, and Servia acceded later.

[Footnote 991: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. I. p. 663.]

[Footnote 992: See above, -- 466.]

(2) On December 23, 1865, Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland signed the Convention of Paris which created the so-called "Latin Monetary Union" between the parties; Greece acceded in 1868.[993] This convention was three times renewed and amended--namely, in 1878, 1885, and 1893.[994]

[Footnote 993: See Martens, N.R.G. XX. pp. 688 and 694.]

[Footnote 994: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. IV. p. 725, XI. p. 65, XXI.

p. 285.]

Another Monetary Union is that entered into by Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by the Convention of Copenhagen[995] of May 27, 1873.

[Footnote 995: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. I. p. 290.]

On November 22, 1892, the International Monetary Conference[996] met at Brussels, where the following States were represented:--Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Roumania, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States of America. The deliberations of this conference, however, had no practical result.

[Footnote 996: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XXIV. pp. 167-478.]

[Sidenote: Official Publications.]

-- 589. On March 15, 1886, Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Portugal, Servia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States of America signed at Brussels a convention[997] concerning the exchange of their official doc.u.ments and of their scientific and literary publications in so far as they are edited by the Governments. The same States, except Switzerland, signed under the same date at Brussels a convention[998] for the exchange of their _Journaux officiels ainsi que des annales et des doc.u.ments parlementaires_.

[Footnote 997: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XIV. p. 287.]

[Footnote 998: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XIV. p. 285.]

[Sidenote: Sanitation.]

-- 590. In the interest of public health as endangered by cholera and plague a number of so-called sanitary conventions have been concluded:--

(1) On January 30, 1892, Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Holland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden-Norway, and Turkey signed the International Sanitary Convention of Venice.[999]

[Footnote 999: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XIX. p. 261, and Treaty Series, 1893, No. 8.]

(2) On April 15, 1893, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxemburg, Montenegro, Holland, Russia, Switzerland signed the Cholera Convention of Dresden;[1000] but Montenegro has not ratified. Great Britain, Servia, Lichtenstein, and Roumania acceded later.

[Footnote 1000: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XIX. p. 39, and Treaty Series, 1894, No. 4.]

(3) On April 3, 1894, Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Holland, Persia, Portugal, and Russia signed the Cholera Convention of Paris; an additional declaration was signed at Paris on October 30, 1897.[1001] Sweden-Norway acceded later.

[Footnote 1001: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XXIV. pp. 516 and 552, and Treaty Series, 1899, No. 8.]

(4) On March 19, 1897, Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Montenegro, Turkey, Holland, Persia, Portugal, Roumania, Russia, Servia, and Switzerland signed the Plague Convention of Venice; an additional declaration was signed at Rome on January 24, 1900;[1002] but Greece, Turkey, Portugal, and Servia do not seem to have ratified. Sweden acceded later.

[Footnote 1002: See Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. XXVIII. p. 339, XXIX. p.

495, and Treaty Series, 1900, No. 6--See also Loutti, "La politique sanitaire internationale" (1906). Attention should be drawn to a very valuable suggestion made by Ullmann in R.I. XI. (1879), p. 527, and in R.G. IV. (1897), p. 437. Bearing in mind the fact that frequently in time of war epidemics break out in consequence of insufficient disinfection of the battlefields, Ullmann suggests a general convention inst.i.tuting neutral sanitary commissions whose duty would be to take all necessary sanitary measures after a battle.]