Présentation - Hague Convention VIII 1907

i n t r o d u c t i o n

Convention (VIII) relative to the Laying of Automatic Submarine Contact Mines. The Hague, 18 October 1907.

General title

Second Peace Conference of The Hague, 1907.

Forum of adoption

International Peace Conference 1907

Entry into force

26.01.1910

Mines have been used in wars since the middle of the 19th century. Their extensive use in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905 made an international regulation desirable both to protect neutral commerce and to uphold the principle of immunity of enemy merchantmen from attack without warning. Based on preparatory work by the Institute of International Law and the International Law Association, the present Convention was concluded at the Second Hague Peace Conference. The Powers were unable to reach complete agreement on the matter. The result of the deliberation was a compromise. Only Articles 1 and 5 contain clear and unequivocal regulations. Article 2, which forbids the laying of contact mines off the coast and the ports of the enemy, with the sole object of intercepting commercial shipping, is of limited value, for a belligerent has only to allege that mines were laid for a purpose other than merely intercepting commercial navigation.

Meetings of forum

15.06.1907 - 18.10.1907, The Hague

Dade of adoption

18.10.1907

Depositary

Netherlands

Number of articles

Authentic text

French

Source

D.Schindler and J.Toman, The Laws of Armed Conflicts, Martinus Nihjoff Publisher, 1988, pp.804-807.

Keywords

NAVAL WARFARE; MEANS OF COMBAT; METHOD OF COMBAT; USE OF WEAPONS; WEAPON; INDISCRIMINATE WEAPON; PROHIBITION; SUBMARINE AUTOMATIC MINE; SUBMARINE WARFARE; INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT; NEUTRAL STATE