XXIII. INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS

"Art. 24. There shall be placed under the direction of the League all international bureaus already established by general treaties, if the parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaus and all commissions for the regulation of matters of international interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under the direction of the League.

"In all matters of international interest which are regulated by general conventions but which are not placed under the control of international bureaus or commissions, the Secretariat of the League shall, subject to the consent of the Council and if desired by the parties, collect and distribute all relevant information and shall render any other assistance which may be necessary or desirable."-Covenant.

Publications-The Secretariat of the League prepares and publishes a Quarterly Bulletin of Information on the Work of International Organisations, the first number of which appeared in October, 1922. The publication is a record of the meetings and general activities of existing public and private international institutions. It serves as the central information medium in making the work of the various organizations known.

The "Handbook of International Organisations" published in 1922 and containing succinct information as to the number, objects, history and general activities of some 352 international organizations, whether established by private initiative or created by general treaties, was revised in 1923 in order to bring the information up to date.

The Council on August 3, 1920, voted to contribute £1,500 toward the publication of a compilation of the resolutions of international congresses which was in course of publication by the Union of International Associations at Brussels. By April, 1923, the work of compilation was completed and 600 pages had been printed.

Organizations-Art. 24 of the Covenant provides that international bureaus "already established by general treaties," that is, existing on January 10, 1920, are to be under the direction of the League, if the treaty parties consent. On the other hand, those

subsequently established by treaty "and all commissions for the regulation of matters of general interest" shall be placed under its direction. A question has arisen as to whether only official organ izations are to be affiliated to the League. A specific case was referred by the Council to the Economic Committee in January, 1923, and that committee, while attaching great value to the collaboration of non-official organizations in the investigation of special problems, came to the conclusion that the placing of these organizations under the direction of the League might give rise to serious difficulties. It accordingly expressed the view that Art. 24 of the Covenant should be applied in the strict and literal sense, and that only international organizations established by general treaties should be admitted. The Council indorsed this opinion in a resolution adopted on July 2, 1923, but it was decided to include in the minutes a reservation of the British representative concerning the general proposition that only organizations created by means of international conventions should be affiliated. It was felt desirable not to establish definitely a hard and fast rule but to make it possible that special cases might be open to consideration and that a door should be left open for further discussion of the general principles.

The organizations on which the Council has acted under Art. 24

are:

The International Hydrographic Bureau was created by a conference held in London in 1919, the purpose of which was to coordinate and re-establish the extensive and important work of studying ocean currents and other maritime phenomena, which is best known through the popular interest in the scientific activities of the Prince of Monaco. The United States participated in the conference. The bureau, when organized, applied to the League to be taken under its direction. The application was granted by a decision of the Council of October 2, 1921. The Prince of Monaco contributed the real estate of his Oceanographic Institute to the bureau as its headquarters. It issues a Hydrographic Review and a conference is held every five years.

The states members of the Bureau are: The Argentine Republic, Belgium, Brazil, British Empire (The United Kingdom and Australia), Chile, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy,

Japan, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Siam, Spain, Sweden, United States and Uruguay.

Vice-Admiral Albert P. Niblack, U. S. N. retired, is a member of the Permanent Committee.

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The International Association for the Promotion of Child Welfare was placed under the direction of the League by resolution of the Council at its 28th meeting in March, 1924. The association was organized on July 21, 1921, by the official delegates of states and has maintained offices at Brussels. Its purpose is to serve as a link between those in the different countries interested in child welfare; to facilitate the study of questions relating to children and to support progress by legislation and the conclusion of international agreements." Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Morocco and Egypt have signed a constituent convention, while China, Switzerland and Mexico are adhering members. Besides states, international and national institutions and associations, as well as individuals, are members. The association includes 705 individual members. The annual dues of adhering states vary from 3,000 to 12,000 Belgian francs, while the dues of individual and national organizations are fixed at 50 francs. Annual conferences are held, and a publication reviewing national child legislation is issued.

The association in June, 1922, applied to be taken under the direction of the League, and this application was considered by the Council at its meeting in September, 1922. Before coming to a final decision, the Council decided to ask the association whether it were possible for it to modify the constitution of its governing body-an international committee selected in July, 1922, during the first ordinary session of the association. On this committee the majority of the members was not composed of representatives of adherent Governments. In February, 1923, the president of the association, M. Carton de Wiart, informed the SecretaryGeneral that the members of the international committee were not disposed to make the changes suggested by the Council, and requested that the matter be again placed before the Council. The Council reconsidered the matter on April 17, 1923, but decided that as various Governments seemed to take somewhat different views, the question should again be adjourned.

The matter again came up for discussion at the 28th meeting

of the Council on March 14, when a report was submitted by M. Quiñones de León. After an examination of the report,' the following resolution was adopted:

"Subject to ratification by the Assembly, the Council decides that the work hitherto carried out by the International Association for the Promotion of Child Welfare, shall in future be intrusted to the Secretariat of the League of Nations.

The Council authorizes the Secretary-General to take at once such steps as may be necessary to give provisional effect to the above decision."

The International Commission for Air Navigation was constituted on July 11, 1922, under Art. 35 of the convention relating to the regulation of aerial navigation dated Paris, October 13, 1919. According to this article, "there shall be instituted, under the name of the International Commission for Air Navigation, a permanent international commission placed under the direction of the League of Nations." Ten states have ratified the convention, which is in force, and the commission accordingly came automatically under the direction of the League. The Commission, from the nature of its work, is in close touch with the Organization for Communications and Transit of the League.

In September 1922, the Council received a request from the International Institute of Commerce to be placed under the direction of the League. This body had in 1921 submitted a request that it might be considered as the official organ of commercial documentation of the League. It now desired merely to be placed under the direction of the League, as had been done with other associations. The Council referred the application for examination to the Economic Committee, which, during its seventh session in January, 1923, suggested that it should be authorized by the Council to enlist the co-operation of the Institute of Commerce, as and when occasion might arise, on subjects with regard to which it might be able and willing to assist. The Council, on January 30, 1923, approved the proposals of the Economic Committee and requested it to examine the practical questions for which, by reason of its technical competence, the Institute might usefully be asked to give its assistance.

At its meeting on January 30, 1923, the Council considered a request from the International Committee on Agriculture to be

1 Official Journal V, 715.

placed under the direction of the League. Sixteen countries are represented on the committee, which was founded in 1889 and has its seat in Paris. Its object is the study of agriculture and rural economy, and it has held eleven international congresses and published a number of valuable reports on different aspects of agriculture. The committee was not established by a general treaty and therefore does not necessarily come under the provisions of Art. 24 of the Covenant. The Council therefore decided to request the Economic Committee of the League to examine the advisability of placing it under the direction of the League and to submit a report at a subsequent session of the Council.