THE PROTECTION OF MINORITIES UNDER THE GUARANTEE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS The Minorities Treaties.—In pursuance of certain clauses in the general treaties of peace, Greece, Poland, Rumania, Czecho slovakia and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes agreed to the insertion in special treaties with the principal Allied and Associated Powers of the provisions which these Powers judged necessary to protect the interests of inhabitants differing from the majority of the population of these States in race, lan guage or religion. For Greece, see Treaty of Neuilly, article 46; for Poland, Treaty of Versailles, article 93 for Rumania, Czecho slovakia and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Treaty of St. Germain, articles 6o, 57 and 51 respectively. Articles 44 and 47 of the Treaty of Trianon confirm the pledges given to Hungary by the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Rumania respectively.
The drafting of these treaties was entrusted to a commission of the Peace Conference, called the Commission on New States, set up on May 1, 1919. The following countries were represented on this commission: France (M. Berthelot), the United States (Mr. Miller and Mr. Hudson), Great Britain (Mr. Headlam Morley), and later also Italy (M de Martino and M. Castoldi) and Japan (M. Adatci).
The first treaty prepared by this commission was that concluded with Poland. Its text was transmitted to M. Paderewski, the prime minister of Poland, with a letter from the president of the Con ference, M. Clemenceau. This letter may be said to contain the "considerations" which in the Peace Conference's opinion form the basis of all treaties dealing with minorities. The letter first of all lays stress on the fact that the minorities treaties do not inaugu rate any fresh departure. It had for a long time, said M. Clemen ceau, been the established procedure of the public law of Europe, when a new State was created, or when an existing State absorbed any considerable amount of territory, for the formal recognition of the situation by the Great Powers to be accompanied by a request on the part of these Powers to the Government thus recognized that it should undertake to apply certain definite prin ciples of government in the form of an agreement possessing an international character.
M. Clemenceau went on to point out that the new minorities treaties nevertheless differed in form from previous conventions relating to similar questions. This change of form was a necessary consequence of an essential part of the new system of international relations inaugurated by the establishment of the League of Nations. Formerly the guarantee for provisions of this nature was vested in the Great Powers. Experience had shown that this arrangement was ineffective in practice, and it was also open to the criticism that it might give the Great Powers, either individ ually or in combination, a right to interfere in the internal consti tution of the States affected which could be used for purely political purposes. In the new system the guarantee was entrusted to the League of Nations. Furthermore, added M. Clemenceau, a clause had been inserted in the treaties by virtue of which dis putes which might arise in connection with the guarantees in question should be submitted to the Permanent Court of Inter national Justice. In this way the differences which might arise were removed from a political to a juridical sphere—a fact which facilitated an impartial decision.
Tilt; stipulations relating to the protection of minorities con tained in the special minorities treaties and in the treaties of peace mentioned in category 2 were placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations by special resolutions of the Council of the League. See report to the Sixth Assembly on the work of the Council and the secretariat (pages 44 and 45).