League of Nations, The

The League formally came into being on 1 January 1920, with the Treaty of Versailles. It consisted of 28 Allied states and 14 neutral states. The USA was not a member. The membership of the League of Nations was later increased to some 60 states, Britain and the dominions (including the Irish Free State, together with India) being each independent members, with separate voting power and representation. Japan and Germany withdrew in 1935, and Italy in 1937; the USSR and Afghanistan became members in 1934.

Membership was open to all self-governing states, dominions and colonies, provided effective guarantees were given of intentions to observe international obligations and to accept the ruling of the League in matters concerned with the military services; but the subsequent history of Europe made these and many other conditions of purely academic interest. A two-thirds majority in the Assembly was required to secure membership. The purpose of the League of Nations was 'to prevent future wars by establishing relations on the basis of justice and honour and to promote co-operation, material and intellectual, between the nations of the world'.

The official seat of the League was at Geneva and the official languages were French and English. Under the covenant of the League, a member state undertook never to go to war with a fellow state until all possibilities of a peaceful settlement had been exhausted, and then only after an interval of nine months. With a member state that broke this pledge, the other states guaranteed to discontinue financial and economic relations. The covenant's signatories constituted the majority of the world's governments, and its provisions were very far-reaching, including the establishment of a permanent administrative, deliberative, and judicial organisation; and, also, it was based implicitly upon an agreed philosophy of government.

The League was, in essence, an association for mutual protection. It was based on the conception of co-operative defence and it was pledged to embody that conception in a practical system. All treaties which a member state contracted with other states were to be registered with the League for immediate publication. Members of the League guaranteed to direct international interest and action towards such questions as labour conditions, public health, communications, economic and financial questions, the traffic in arms, the traffic in women and children, and the traffic in dangerous drugs.

The primary organisations of the League of Nations were as follows: (1) the Assembly, consisting of delegations from all the other member states. Each delegation consisted of three delegates, and each state had one vote. The decisions of the Assembly had to be unanimous, except on questions of procedure, when a majority vote only was required. (2) The council consisted of permanent members and non-permanent members, and any state might be represented at meetings at which matters affecting that state were discussed. (3) The secretariat, the permanent civil service of the League of Nations, was composed of the secretary-general and 500 officials, selected from citizens of the member states and the USA. It was the working instrument of the League, with headquarters in Geneva. (4) The International Labour Office had a working staff almost as large as that of the secretariat. (5) The Permanent Court of International Justice was established at The Hague. There were other secondary organisations belonging to the League, such as technical organisations, permanent and temporary advisory committees, administrative commissions, international institutes, and an international bureau. The expenses of the League were shared by the member states, and the annual expenditure was about £1 million.

On 8 April 1946 the council met for the last time when it handed its powers to the United Nations.

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