NEUTRALITY. The state of a nation which takes no part between two or more other nations at war with each other.
"The relation of neutrality will be found to consist in two principal circumstances : Entire abstinence from any participation in the war, and impartiality of conduct towards both belligerents." 3 Phill. Int,. L. 225. They remain the common friends of the bel ligerents, favoring the arms of neither to the detriment of the other; 2 Halleck, Int. L., Baker's ed. 161.
It has been said that there should be, on the part of a neutral state, not an impartiali ty of action, but of nonaction; Masse, Droit Cora. 199. • The rights and duties of neutral states may be classified as follows : Rights. The territory of neutral powers must not be violated by any acts of hostility between the two belligerents or by any acts on the part of either belligerent which are directly connected with the conduct, of hos tilities. Neutral powers may repel by force any such acts without thereby committing a hostile act.
D uties. Passive duties. In all matters re lating to the war a neutral must abstain in its official capacity from giving any help to either belligerent ; it must not furnish troops or give or sell arms or munitions to either belligerent, nor make presents or loans of money, nor purchase belligerent ships, nor decide in its courts upon the va lidity of belligerent captures, nor give ex pression to its sympathy for either party. It must acquiesce in the exercise of the bel ligerent's right of search, blockade, and cap ture of contraband.
Active duties. A neutral state must resist the commission of any act of hostility by either belligerent within its territories; it must prevent the issuance of commissions in the service of either belligerent, the enlist ment of soldiers, the fitting out of hostile ex peditions in its ports, and the preparation of military expeditions on land; it need not, however, prevent its individual subjects from leaving the country to enlist abroad, nor from exporting arms or ammunition to el ' ther belligerent, nor from making loans to either belligerent, nor from giving expres sion to their sympathy for either party.
On the other hand, belligerents have the right to interfere with neutral commerce by the capture of contraband (q. v.) and by blockade (q. v.), and they have the duty of refraining from committing within neutral territory any acts connected with hostile operations.
There are certain acts of friendliness on the part of neutral towards belligerent states, such as the furnishing of warships with limited supplies of food, coal, etc., which are permitted in spite of the fact that they involve a certain amount of indirect assistance to the belligerents. But absolute impartiality must be observed towards both belligerents.
It was formerly held that where a neutral has bound itself, by previous treaty, to one belligerent, assistance under such treaty does 'not necessarily forfeit its neutral character; but this doctrine is now rejected by the ma jority of writers. 2 Opp. § 305.
The idea of neutrality which, strictly speaking, consists of an abstention from any participation in a public, private or civil war, must not be so extended as to prevent the recognition of the belligerency of an insur gent party in a foreign state, when the ex tent of the insurrection calls for such recog nition; and acts of war undertaken upon the territory of the United States in favor of foreign insurgents cannot be excused on the ground that the neutrality of the United estates prevents that government from recog nizing the belligerency of the insurgents to the extent of checking their hostile opera tions upon its soil. See The Three Friends, 166 U. S. 1, 17 Sup. Ct. 495, 41 L. Ed. 897.
The recognition of the belligerency of in surgents relieves the parent state from all responsibility for damages for any irregu larities committed against neutrals by the other belligerent, which claims could be en forced against the parent nation if the inju ries were committed by insurgents.