Structure of the League Flashcards
The aims of the League were very ambitious?
It was hoped the league would settle disputes, encourage countries to get rid of their weapons and make the world a better place. Many historians say the league was doomed from the start due to its structure and organisation.
The Assembly - structure
Every member could send a representative to the Assembly, which met once a year - first Monday of September - to discuss and vote on matters.
Every country had an equal vote.
To pass a vote the decision had to be unanimous. If not, the motion couldn’t pass and would have to be referred to the Council.
Assembly in charge of deciding when a new country could join, election of judges to the Permanent court of international Justice, voting for non-permanent members of the council
and how the League’s money was to be spent.
The Council
Assembly was too big (42 years) and met only once a year so would have difficulty reacting in an emergency.
So, there was a council which met more frequently.
4 permanent members: Britain, France, Italy and Japan. 4 other countries would be chosen to sit on the Council, each for a 3-year term. Later increased to 9 non-permanent members.
Council had power of veto- it could stop a ruling with its vote. Sp, even if Assembly passed a unanimous ruling, the Council could stop it.
Who set up and funded the Permanent Court of international Justice
The League
What would the Permanent court of International Justice do ?
Was a court of law to settle international disputes.
How many judges did the Permanent court of International Justice have?
11 judges and 4 deputy judges would listen to both sides before reaching a verdict.
Who could bring an issue to the Permanent court?
Any country
Was the verdict of the Permanent court of International Justice binding?
No. It was just advice, it was not a compulsory ruling and as the League had no army it was difficult to make countries agree unless they wanted to.
Who elected the judges for the Permanent court of International Justice
The Assembly and the council. Judges would fill that role for 11 years.
What was The Secretariat?
The civil Service of the League - in charge of administration and organising any action that the League wanted to take.
A body of experts from different areas, eg finance, who were responsible for carrying out any decision taken by the League except military decisions.
Who were the Special Commissions?
Special groups put together to tackle issues that the League was worried about. Included:
the international Labour Organisation (ILO)
the Disarmament
the Health Organisation
the Slavery Commission
the Commission for Refugees
the Permanent Central Opium Board
Other Commissions helped undeveloped countries with economic issues, supported under represented groups such as women, and supervised the mandates.
Strengths of League of Nations ?
it was written into all the peace treaties at the end of the First World War, so all nations involved had signed an agreement that recognised the organisation.
It had vast membership.
As there were so many members, economic sanctions and moral condemnation were daunting punishments for many countries
