THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,

In order to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security

by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war,

by the prescription of open, just and honourable relations between nations,

by the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another,

Agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations.

Note to I, Preamble

The text of an amendment to the Covenant was determined by a resolution adopted by the Assembly. It was then embodied in a protocol which was transmitted to member states for ratification.

The protocol opened by the Assembly for signature by members of the League on September 30, 1938, when ratified, would revise the Preamble to read as follows:

"In order to promote international cooperation and to achieve international peace and security

"by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war,

"by the prescription of open, just and honorable relations between nations,

"by the firm establishment of the understanding of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and

"by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one another,

"This Covenant has been adopted for the establishment of the League of Nations."

ARTICLE 1.

[The paragraphs of the Covenant are numbered in accordance with a resolution of the Assembly adopted on September 27, 1926.]

1. The original Members of the League of Nations shall be those of the Signatories which are named in the Annex to this Covenant

and also such of those other States named in the Annex as shall accede without reservation to this Covenant. Such accession shall be effected by a Declaration deposited with the Secretariat within two months of the coming into force of the Covenant. Notice thereof shall be sent to all other Members of the League.

2. Any fully self-governing State, Dominion or Colony not named in the Annex may become a Member of the League if its admission is agreed to by two-thirds of the Assembly, provided that it shall give effective guarantees of its sincere intention to observe its international obligations, and shall accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military, naval and air forces and armaments.

Text of May 7:

Any fully self-governing State, Dominion or Colony not named in the Annex may become a Member of the League if its admission is agreed to by two-thirds of the Assembly, provided that it shall give effective guarantees of its sincere intention to observe its international obligations, and shall accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military and naval forces and

armaments.

3. Any Member of the League may, after two years' notice of its intention so to do, withdraw from the League, provided that all its international obligations and all its obligations under this Covenant shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal. Note to I, 1

The protocol opened for signature on September 30, 1938 would, when ratified, revise article 1 to read as follows:

"1. Any fully self-governing State, Dominion or Colony not being a Member of the League of Nations may become a Member thereof if its admission is agreed to by two-thirds of the Assembly, provided that it shall give effective guarantees of its sincere intention to observe its international obligations, and shall accept such regulations as may be prescribed by the League in regard to its military, naval and air forces and armaments.

"2. Any Member of the League may, after two years' notice of its intention so to do, withdraw from the League provided that all its international obligations and all its obligations under this Covenant shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal."

The Albanian regime set up after the Italian coup d'état of April 7, 1939 gave a notice of intention to withdraw that was not accepted at its face value by the Secretary-General and was referred by the Council to the Assembly, which did not consider the question at its session in December 1939. Albania was subsequently retained in the budget for a token annual payment.

Austria, after the occupation by Germany on March 13, 1938, was the subject of a notice by Germany to the Secretary-General on March 18 that Austria had "ceased to be a member of the League of Nations" from the promulgation of a federal law dated March 13. The Assembly in 1938 decided that this communication was not a notice of withdrawal; it made no claim for payment by Austria of budgetary contributions after March 18, 1938.

The French Government at Vichy gave a two years' notice of withdrawal on April 19, 1941 (Doc. C.26.M.23. 1941). On April 15, 1943 General Henri-Honoré Giraud and on April 16 General Charles de Gaulle, acting for the groups which joined to form the French Committee of National Liberation, addressed telegrams to the chairman of the Supervisory Commission and the Secretary-General, respectively, in which they were requested "to be good enough to consider that the said notification made under foreign pressure can have no effect and that consequently France continues to be a Member of the League of Nations" (Doc. C.8.M.8. 1943; see also file 500.C001/1525 and 500.C001/1527).

Note to I, 1-Continued

Honduras, Hungary, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru were in arrears in their contributions to the League budget at the expiration of their membership. After 1940 all failed to keep up the annuities under the consolidated arrears contracts.

China, which was unwilling to accept articles 156-158 relating to Shantung by signing the treaty of peace with Germany, became a member of the League of Nations by signing and ratifying the treaty of peace with Austria, which entered into force on July 16, 1920.

Rumania's membership in the League resulted from its ratification of the treaty of peace with Hungary on September 4, 1920.

Ecuador ratified no treaty of peace but took up membership in the League of Nations in September 1934 as a consequence of its being named an original member in the annex.

The parties of the second part of the treaties of peace with Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and Hungary were admitted to the League of Nations in virtue of article 1 of the Covenant as follows:

Germany, Italy, and Japan, the signatories to the treaty of September 7, 1940 establishing the totalitarian "Axis", withdrew from membership in the League of Nations in order to gain freedom from the obligations of the Covenant under the following circumstances: Japan

On February 24, 1933 the Assembly of the League of Nations adopted a resolution that found against Japan in the "Manchuria Incident" which began on September 18, 1931. The Committee of Inquiry, headed by the Earl of Lytton, had incorporated in its report detailed suggestions for the orderly reconciliation of the complex relations between China and Japan, and that program of reformation and reorganization was repeated in the resolution adopted by the Assembly in February 1933. Japan alone voted against the resolution, its vote not counting under article 15, paragraph 10, of the Covenant. The Assembly of the League simultaneously set up under a further resolution a Far East Advisory Committee to follow events and to concert action to maintain non-recognition of the existing regime in Manchuria. On March 27 the Japanese Government telegraphed to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations that the "gross errors" in the Assembly showed a failure to grasp realities in the Far