Either let its place be taken by some clear and simple statement of unquestioned prize law, for the use of commanders and Officials, ... or established principles take care of themselves, certain doubtful points only being dealt with from time to time by Orders in Council.
Holland advocates for replacing the outdated Declaration with a straightforward statement of prize law for practical use.
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More from Thomas Erskine Holland
The fact is that the vitally important questions of theory and practice raised by the Convention and the Declaration need calmer and better instructed discussion than they have yet received.
Already in the first weeks of the war England had renounced the Declaration of London, the contents of which her own delegates had recognised as binding in international law.
The elaborate classification of contraband had to be at once thrown overboard, and most of the remaining provisions of the Declaration proved to be inapplicable to modern warfare.
To put an end to this confusion, I venture to suggest that, in concert with our Allies, the Declaration should be finally consigned to oblivion.
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