"The Kellogg–Briand Pact (also called the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War or the World Peace Act) was an agreement signed on August 28, 1928, by the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Weimar Germany and a number of other countries such as Second Polish Republic and the Irish Free State, The pact renounced war (very intentionally renouncing not "aggressive war" but all war), prohibiting the use of war as "an instrument of national policy".[SUP][1][/SUP] It made no provisions for sanctions. The pact was the result of a determined American effort to avoid involvement in the European alliance system. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on September 4, 1928.[SUP][2][/SUP] In its original form, the Kellogg-Briand was a renunciation of war between only France and the United States. However, Frank B. Kellogg, the U.S. Secretary of State, wanted to retain American freedom of action; he thus responded with a proposal for a multilateral pact against war open for all nations to become signatories.[SUP][3][/SUP] The Kellogg–Briand Pact is named after its authors: Frank B. Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand. Effect and Legacy The 1928 Kellogg–Briand Pact was concluded outside the League of Nations, and remains a binding treaty under international law. In the United States, it remains in force as federal law (see U.S. Const. art. VI). One month following its conclusion, a similar agreement, General Act for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, was concluded in Geneva, which obliged its signatory parties to establish conciliation commissions in any case of dispute.[SUP][8][/SUP] As a practical matter, the Kellogg–Briand Pact did not live up to its aim of ending war, and in this sense it made no immediate contribution to international peace and proved to be ineffective in the years to come. It did not prevent the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1935, and the German and Soviet Union invasions of Poland. Nevertheless, the pact is an important multilateral treaty because, in addition to binding the particular nations that signed it, it has also served as one of the legal bases establishing the international norms that the threat[SUP][9][/SUP] or use of military force in contravention of international law, as well as the territorial acquisitions resulting from it,[SUP][10][/SUP] are unlawful. Notably, the pact served as the legal basis for the creation of the notion of crime against peace — it was for committing this crime that the Nuremberg Tribunal sentenced a number of people responsible for starting World War II. The interdiction of aggressive war was confirmed and broadened by the United Nations Charter, which states in article 2, paragraph 4, that All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations. As a consequence, since World War II, nations have had to invoke the right to self-defense or collective defense when using military action. They have also been prohibited from annexing territory by force, though several have done it without penalty anyway, in some cases as the proxy for or under the protection of one or more of the major powers." Kellogg Avalon Project - The Kellogg-Briand Pact - Documents
These are like pacts to never to hit a woman...its only the ones who would never do it that make the pact... In other words, the countries that are most likely to start a war or behave in a manner that demands a reaction do not sign theses things...making them a little pathetic. Also, as Germany has shown in the past (and Japan) treaties are a thing of convenience, to be discardrd when convenient.
Since there is no force to impose punishments for a violation of said law the law itself is in reality a dead letter.
kellog and Briand were both peace nobelprice winners Briand : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristide_Briand Kellog : Frank B. Kellogg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That means,a very bad idea,arisen from the mind of people ,believing that one can transport national law(with judges,lawyers ,prisons),into international affairs .
You'd think that one would have learned from the horrors of the great war. What a mistake, but they were not to blame: others like Chamberlain, Daladier, Maginot , Blum , Roosevelt were just the same until the bitter awakness of their country under attack brought them back to reality.
