JOURNAL ARTICLE
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The Versailles Peace Treaty Before the Permanent Court of International Justice: Tracing the Legalism of the Paris Settlement
German Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 62 (2019), Iss. 1 : pp. 129–162
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Thomas Kleinlein, Chair of Public Law, Public International Law, EU Law and Comparative Law, Faculty of Law, Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
Abstract
The concept of international law underlying the Versailles Peace Treaty is marked by a complex and ambivalent combination of references to just peace and the use of the legal form. This article analyses the concept of law and the use of legal techniques and institutions in the Paris settlement, and connects it to various contemporaneous strands of ‘legalism' and to the transformation from (classical) nineteenth-century to (modern) twentieth-century international law. In a second step, the article turns to how the ambivalent legalism in the Versailles Peace Treaty impacted on the respective case law of the Permanent Court and how this case law connects to ‘modern' approaches to international law. While, in substance, the cases involving the Versailles Peace Treaty raised issues of both post-war settlement and international organisation, in doctrinal terms, the Court tentatively developed a concept of international law that squares with modern approaches. This can be demonstrated by examination of the case law, which contributed to the law of international organisations, redefined sovereignty, and developed the humanitarian dimension of international law.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Kleinlein\nThe Versailles Peace Treaty Before the Permanent Court of International Justice: Tracing the Legalism of the Paris Settlement | 129 | ||
| I. Introduction | 129 | ||
| II. Varieties of Legalism and the Paris Peace Settlement | 131 | ||
| A. Legalism in the Techniques and Institutions of the Versailles Peace Treaty | 132 | ||
| 1. Institutional Provisions | 132 | ||
| 2. Reparations, Disarmament, and Individual Responsibility | 133 | ||
| 3. Self-Determination and Minority Rights | 135 | ||
| B. Invocation of Higher Legal Principles and Morality | 137 | ||
| 1. Legalism as a Justification for the War | 129 | ||
| 2. Legalism and ‘Wilsonianism’ | 129 | ||
| C. Legalism in the German Counter-Perspective | 129 | ||
| D. Modern International Law | 129 | ||
| III. The Treaty of Versailles in the Case Law of the Permanent Court of International Justice | 129 | ||
| A. International Organisations: Competences of the ILO and of the European Danube Commission | 129 | ||
| B. Sovereignty Redefined: The Wimbledon Case | 130 | ||
| C. The Humanitarian Dimension of International Law: Cases Concerning the German Minorities in Poland | 130 | ||
| IV. Conclusion | 131 |