On the record
Every law presupposes an authority to superintend and direct its execution, and international conventions are supported by no such authority.
Said by
Thomas Erskine Holland
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Holland points out that laws require enforcement, which is lacking in international conventions.
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We know also that war, which moves nations so deeply, rouses to exceptional activity the good qualities as well as the evil instincts of human nature.
What neutral States would ever take up arms for the sole reason that, two Powers being at war, the 'laws of war' had been violated by one or both of the belligerents?
I am of opinion that in war, where everything must be individual, the only articles which will prove efficacious are those which are addressed specifically to commanders.
It is surely desirable that henceforth Great Britain should know, and that other nations should at least have the means of knowing, for certain, whether she is at war or at peace.
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