ARTICLE 21.

The present Protocol, of which the French and English texts are both authentic, shall be ratified.

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Le depot des ratifications sera effectue au Secretariat de la Societe des Nations le plus tot qu'il sera possible.

Les Etats dont le gouvernement a son siege hors d'Europe auront la faculte de se borner a faire connaitre au Secretariat de la Societe des Nations que leur ratification a ete donnee et, dans ce cas, ils devront en transmettre l'instrument aussitot que faire se pourra.

Des que la majorite des Membres representes en permanence au Conseil et dix autres Membres de la Societe auront depose ou effectue leur ratification, un proces-verbal sera dresse par le Secretariat pour le constater.

La mise en vigueur du Protocole aura lieu apres que ce proces-verbal aura ete dresse et des que le plan de reduction des armements aura ete adopte par la Conference prevue a l'article 17.

Si, dans un delai, a fixer par ladite Conference apres l'adoption du plan de reduction des armements, ce plan n'a pas ete execute, il appartiendra au Conseil de le constater; par l'effet de cette constatation le present Protocole deviendra caduc.

Les conditions en vertu desquelles le Conseil pourra constater que le plan etabli par la Conference internationale pour la reduction des armements n'a pas ete execute et que, par consequent, le present Protocole est devenu caduc, seront definies par la Conference elle-meme.

Tout Etat signataire qui ne se conformerait pas, apres l'expiration du delai fixe par la Conference, au plan adopte par elle, ne pourra beneficier des dispositions du present Protocole.

En foi de quoi les Soussignes, dument autorises a cet effet, ont signe le present Protocole.

Fait a Geneve, le deux octobre, mil neuf cent vingt-quatre, en un seul exemplaire qui restera depose dans les archives du Secretariat de la Societe des Nations et qui sera enregistre par lui a la date de son entree en vigueur.

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The deposit of ratifications shall be made at the Secretariat of the League of Nations as soon as possible.

States of which the seat of government is outside Europe will be ent.i.tled merely to inform the Secretariat of the League of Nations that their ratification has been given; in that case, they must transmit the instrument of ratification as soon as possible.

So soon as the majority of the permanent Members of the Council and ten other Members of the League have deposited or have effected their ratifications, a _proces-verbal_ to that effect shall be drawn up by the Secretariat.

After the said _proces-verbal_ has been drawn up, the Protocol shall come into force as soon as the plan for the reduction of armaments has been adopted by the Conference provided for in Article 17.

If within such period after the adoption of the plan for the reduction of armaments as shall be fixed by the said Conference, the plan has not been carried out, the Council shall make a declaration to that effect; this declaration shall render the present Protocol null and void.

The grounds on which the Council may declare that the plan drawn up by the International Conference for the Reduction of Armaments has not been carried out, and that in consequence the present Protocol has been rendered null and void, shall be laid down by the Conference itself.

A signatory State which, after the expiration of the period fixed by the Conference, fails to comply with the plan adopted by the Conference, shall not be admitted to benefit by the provisions of the present Protocol.

In faith whereof the Undersigned, duly authorised for this purpose, have signed the present Protocol.

DONE at Geneva, on the second day of October, nineteen hundred and twenty-four, in a single copy, which will be kept in the archives of the Secretariat of the League and registered by it on the date of its coming into force.

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ANNEX C.

GENERAL REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE FIFTH a.s.sEMBLY ON BEHALF OF THE FIRST AND THIRD COMMITTEES BY M. POLITIS (GREECE) AND M. BENES (CZECHOSLOVAKIA).

I

INTRODUCTION.

After being examined for several years by the Third Committee, the problem of the reduction of armaments has this year suddenly a.s.sumed a different, a wider and even an unexpected form.

Last year a draft Treaty of Mutual a.s.sistance was prepared, which the a.s.sembly sent to the Members of the League for their consideration.

The replies from the Governments were to be examined by the Fifth a.s.sembly.

At the very beginning of its work, however, after a memorable debate, the a.s.sembly indicated to the Third Committee a new path. On September 6th, 1924, on the proposal of the Prime Ministers of France and Great Britain, M. Edouard Herriot and Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, the a.s.sembly adopted the following resolution:

"The a.s.sembly,

"Noting the declarations of the Governments represented, observes with satisfaction that they contain the basis of an understanding tending to establish a secure peace,

"Decides as follows:

"With a view to reconciling in the new proposals the divergences between certain points of view which have been expressed and, when agreement has been reached, to enable an international conference upon armaments to be summoned by the League of Nations at the earliest possible moment:

"(1) The Third Committee is requested to consider the {157} material dealing with security and the reduction of armaments, particularly the observations of the Governments on the draft Treaty of Mutual a.s.sistance, prepared in pursuance of Resolution XIV of the Third a.s.sembly and other plans prepared and presented to the Secretary-General since the publication of the draft Treaty, and to examine the obligations contained in the Covenant of the League in relation to the guarantees of security which a resort to arbitration and a reduction of armaments may require:

"(2) The First Committee is requested:

"(_a_) To consider, in view of possible amendments, the articles in the Covenant relating to the settlement of disputes;

"(_b_) To examine within what limits the terms of Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute establishing the Permanent Court of International Justice might be rendered more precise and thereby facilitate the more general acceptance of the clause;

and thus strengthen the solidarity and the security of the nations of the world by settling by pacific means all disputes which may arise between States."

This resolution had two merits, first, that of briefly summarising all the investigations made in the last four years by the different organisations of the League in their efforts to establish peace and bring about the reduction of armaments, and, secondly, that of indicating the programme of work of the Committees in the hope that, with the aid of past experience, they would at last attain the end in view.

The a.s.sembly had a.s.signed to each Committee a distinct and separate task; to the First Committee, the examination of the pacific settlement of disputes by methods capable of being applied in every case; to the Third Committee, the question of the security of nations considered as a necessary preliminary condition for the reduction of their armaments.

Each Committee, after a general discussion which served to {158} detach the essential elements from the rest of the problem, referred the examination of its programme to a Sub-Committee, which devoted a large number of meetings to this purpose.

The proposals of the Sub-Committees then led to very full debates by the Committees, which terminated in the texts a.n.a.lysed below.

As, however, the questions submitted respectively to the two Committees form part of an indivisible whole, contact and collaboration had to be established between the Committees by means of a Mixed Committee of nine members and finally by a joint Drafting Committee of four members.

For the same reason, the work of the Committees has resulted in a single draft protocol accompanied by two draft resolutions for which the Committees are jointly responsible.