Key Benefits:
Original text 1
The President of the Republic of Albania; the President of the German Reich; His Majesty the King of the Belgians; the President of the United States of Brazil; His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Territories beyond the sea, Emperor of the Indes; Her Majesty the King of the Bulgarians; the President of the Republic of Colombia; the President of the Republic of Cuba; the President of the Republic of Poland, on behalf of the Free City of Danzig; His Majesty the King of Egypt; the President of the Republic of Republic of Ecuador; Her Majesty the King of Spain; the President of the Republic of Finland; the President of The French Republic; the President of the Hellenic Republic; the President of the Republic of Guatemala; His Serene Highness the Governor of Hungary; Her Majesty the King of Italy; the President of the Republic of Latvia; His Highness Serenissime Prince of Monaco; President of the Republic of Nicaragua; President of the Republic of Peru; President of the Republic of Poland; President of the Republic of Portugal; His Majesty the King of Romania; The Capitaines-Regents Of the Republic of Saint-Marin; the President of the Republic of Czechoslovakia; Republic of Turkey; the President of the Republic of Uruguay and the President of the United States of Venezuela,
In view of the preamble to the League of Nations Pact 3 , according to which, "to develop cooperation between the nations ..., it is important ... to maintain international relations based on justice ...";
In view of art. 23 (f) of the Covenant, under which the members of the League of Nations "shall endeavour to take international measures to prevent and combat diseases";
In view of art. 25 of the pact, according to which " the members of the Society undertake to encourage and promote the establishment and cooperation of duly authorized national Red Cross voluntary organisations whose purpose is to improve health, Preventive defence against disease and the softening of suffering in the world;
Considering that these principles also meet with the consent of all States;
Resolved to develop mutual assistance in calamities, to encourage international relief through the methodical planning of available resources and to prepare for any progress in international law in this area,
Have nominated for their plenipotentiaries:
(Following are the names of plenipotentiaries)
Which, after having communicated their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:
The High Contracting Parties constitute an international relief union governed by this Convention and the annexed Statutes.
The members of the International Emergency Union shall be members of the League of Nations and those of the non-member States of the League of Nations which are parties to this Convention.
The purpose of the International Emergency Union is to:
The international relief union is acting in favour of all affected populations, irrespective of their nationality and race, without making any distinction from a social, political or religious point of view.
However, the action of the International Relief Union shall be limited to calamities occurring in the territories of the High Contracting Parties to which this Convention is applicable and to those that would occur in other countries and which The opinion of the executive committee referred to in s. 6, would be of such a nature as to affect those territories of the High Contracting Parties.
The action of the international relief union in each country is subject to the approval of the government.
The Constitution and the functioning of the Union include the free competition:
The action of the International Emergency Union shall be exercised by a General Council, which shall designate an Executive Committee in accordance with the conditions laid down in this Convention and the annexed Statutes.
The General Council of the International Emergency Union shall comprise the delegates of all members of the International Emergency Union, on the basis of one delegate per member.
Each member of the International Emergency Union may be represented by his national society of the Red Cross or by one of the national organizations referred to in art. 5.
The International Emergency Union has its headquarters in the city where the League of Nations is established.
It may have all or part of its administrative services in any place designated by the Executive Committee.
Within the limits of its object and in accordance with the various national laws, the international relief union has the right, either directly or through any person acting on its behalf, to take legal action, to acquire Free or expensive and to own property, subject to the reserves set out in Art. 12.
Each member of the League of Nations and non-member States, parties to this Convention, shall make a commitment to participate in the establishment of an initial fund of the International Emergency Union. This fund is divided in shares of 700 Swiss francs each. Any member of the League of Nations shall have a number of shares equal to the number of units in its contribution to the expenses of the League of Nations. The contributions of the non-member States of the League of Nations shall be fixed by the Executive Committee, according to the principles in force for the fixing of contributions by members of the League of Nations.
Each of the High Contracting Parties shall endeavour to ensure that, to the extent permitted by its legislation, those of its territories to which this Convention applies, it shall be granted to the International Emergency Union and to the Organizations acting on its behalf, in accordance with the provisions of s. 5 of this Convention and the annexed Statutes, all the most favourable immunities, facilities and franchises for their installation, the movement of their personnel and equipment and their relief operations, as well as for the Advertising of their appeals.
The resources of the International Emergency Union are composed, in addition to the initial fund provided for in Art. 9:
The international relief union can receive all kinds of liberalities. The liberalities may be either pure and simple, or intended by their authors by means of special charges, conditions or allotments, to such a country, to such a category of calamity or particular calamity that they would indicate.
Liberalities will only be acceptable if they are in conformity with the purpose of the international relief union defined in Art. 2 and 3 of this Convention, as well as the specific legislation of the States concerned.
Nothing in this Convention shall be construed as infringing in any way the liberty of the societies, institutions or bodies referred to in s. 5, when they act for their own account.
The High Contracting Parties agree that all disputes which may arise between them concerning the interpretation or application of this Convention shall be, if they cannot be resolved through direct negotiations or by Any other amicable settlement, sent for decision to the Permanent Court of International Justice 1 The Court may be seized, where appropriate, by a request from one of the parties. If the States between which a dispute arises, or one of them, were not parties to the Protocol of 16 December 1920 on the Permanent Court of International Justice 2 , this dispute shall be submitted, at their discretion and in accordance with the constitutional rules of each of them, to the Permanent Court of International Justice 3 , or to an arbitration tribunal established in accordance with the Convention of 18 October 1907 for the peaceful settlement of international conflicts 4 Or any other arbitration tribunal.
1 The Permanent Court of International Justice was dissolved by resolution of the Assembly of the League of Nations of 18 April 1946 (FF 1946 , II, 1186) and replaced by the International Court of Justice (RS 0.193.501 ).
2 The Permanent Court of International Justice was dissolved by resolution of the Assembly of the League of Nations of 18 April 1946 (FF 1946 , II, 1186) and replaced by the International Court of Justice (RS 0.193.501 ).
3 The Permanent Court of International Justice was dissolved by resolution of the Assembly of the League of Nations of 18 April 1946 (FF 1946 , II, 1186) and replaced by the International Court of Justice (RS 0.193.501 ).
4 See RS 0.193.212 .
This Agreement, the English and French texts of which shall be equally authentic, shall bear the date of this day and may, until April 30, 1928, be signed on behalf of any member of the League of Nations and any non-member State represented in the The Geneva Conference, or to whom the Council of the League of Nations would have communicated a copy of the Convention to that effect.
This Convention is subject to ratification. Instruments of ratification shall be transmitted to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations 1 Which shall notify the deposit to any signatory or acceding State.
1 After the dissolution of the League of Nations, the General Secretariat of the United Nations was responsible for the functions mentioned here. Cf. FF 1946 , II, 1181, 1187, and later.
From the first of May 1928, any member of the League of Nations and any State mentioned in art. 15 may accede to this Agreement. Such accession shall be effected by a notification to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations 1 , to be deposited in the archives of the secretariat. The Secretary-General shall notify such deposit immediately to any signatory or acceding State.
1 After the dissolution of the League of Nations, the General Secretariat of the United Nations was responsible for the functions mentioned here. Cf. FF 1946 , II, 1181, 1187, and later.
This Convention shall enter into force only when the ratifications or accessions have been deposited on behalf of at least twelve members of the League of Nations or non-member States, whose combined subscriptions would reach six hundred units. The date of its entry into force shall be the ninetieth day after the receipt by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations of the last of these ratifications or accessions. Thereafter, the present Convention shall take effect, in respect of each of the Parties, ninety days after the receipt of the instrument of ratification or notification of accession.
For the purposes of this Article, the Secretary-General of the League of Nations shall draw up a provisional estimate of the contributions of the non-member States of the League of Nations.
In accordance with the provisions of Art. 18 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, the Secretary-General shall register this Convention on the date of entry into force of this Convention.
Any member of the International Emergency Union may withdraw from the Union upon notice of one year's notice to the Secretary General of the League of Nations 1 .
One year after receipt of this notice by the Secretary General of the League of Nations 2 , the provisions of this Agreement shall cease to be applicable to the territory of the member who has so withdrawn from the Union.
Secretary General of the League of Nations 3 Notify the members of the Union of the receipt of the notice of withdrawal.
The High Contracting Parties may declare, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, that, by their acceptance of this Convention, they do not intend to assume any obligation in respect of the whole or all Part of their colonies, protectorates or territories under their suzerainty or warrant; in this case, this Agreement shall not apply to the territories subject to such a declaration.
The High Contracting Parties may subsequently notify the Secretary-General of the League of Nations 1 That they intend to make this Convention applicable to all or any part of their territories which have been the subject of the declaration provided for in the preceding paragraph. In that case, the Convention shall apply to the territories referred to in the notification ninety days after the receipt of the latter by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations 2 .
Similarly, the high contracting parties may at any time declare that they intend that this Convention shall cease to apply to all or any part of their colonies, protectorates or territories under their suzerainty or Mandate; in this case, the Convention shall cease to be applicable to the territories subject to such declaration one year after the receipt of the latter by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations 3 .
The revision of this Convention may be requested at any time by one third of the members of the International Emergency Union.
The statutes annexed to this Convention may be amended by the General Council. In such cases, the General Council shall bring together three quarters of its members and the amendment shall be approved by two-thirds of the members present.
In witness whereof, The aforementioned plenipotentiaries have signed this Convention.
Done at Geneva, on July 12, mil nine hundred and twenty-seven, in a single copy which shall be deposited in the archives of the secretariat of the League of Nations 1 Copy shall be provided to all members of the League of Nations and to non-member States represented at the Conference.
(Suivent signatures)
1 See note to art. 16.
Each delegate to the General Council may have an alternate who attends the meetings, but shall have a consultative and deliberative vote only in the absence of the holder.
Representatives of international relief associations or other qualified organizations or institutions may be invited to attend the meetings of the General Council in an advisory capacity.
The Secretary General of the League of Nations may attend or be represented at all meetings of the General Council.
The General Council shall meet on convocation by the Executive Committee, every two years, at the headquarters of the International Emergency Union. Within the two-year interval, it may be convened at any place fixed by the Committee. The Executive Committee shall convene the General Council on request of at least one-quarter of the members of the Executive Committee.
For its first meeting, the General Council will be convened by the Council of the League of Nations.
The convening of the General Council, sent at least three months in advance, shall indicate the agenda of the meeting.
The General Council is validly concerned only if it brings together the delegates of half of the members of the International Emergency Union, subject to s. 21 of the Convention; it shall decide by a majority of the votes cast in all cases where a stronger majority is not provided for in these Statutes.
The General Council shall appoint, by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, the members of the Executive Committee and their alternates. It shall establish by the same majority all administrative regulations necessary for the implementation of these Statutes.
The General Council shall establish by majority its rules of procedure, which may provide for an absolute majority for the election of the members of the Executive Committee in cases where several rounds of voting have not yielded any results.
The General Council is aware of all the cases of the International Emergency Union.
The Executive Committee is composed of seven members. They shall be appointed for a period of two years and their alternates.
In the event of a vacancy, for any reason, the Committee shall be supplemented by the addition of one of the alternates until the expiry of the current period.
Two representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies) participate in an advisory capacity to the Committee.
The Secretary General of the League of Nations may attend or be represented at all meetings of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.
The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a year at the headquarters of the International Emergency Union on the convocation of its President. The President shall fix the date and place of the other meetings.
The Executive Committee is the representative of the International Emergency Union, and may be the trustee of the resources provided on a charge, conditions or special assignment basis. The Executive Committee shall have the most extensive powers to carry out all acts in conformity with and on behalf of the International Emergency Union.
The Executive Committee represents the International Emergency Union vis-à-vis the League of Nations, the Governments and the organizations referred to in Art. 5 of the Convention and of all natural and legal persons. It has the power to take legal action or defend it on behalf of, or on behalf of, the International Emergency Union. He can compromise.
The Executive Committee collects the funds, employs them, invests them, manages them as trustee or trustee, and acts on behalf of the International Emergency Union, all banking and insurance operations.
The Executive Committee passes and authorizes contracts of all kinds; it regulates supplies.
The Executive Committee shall adopt regulations for the placement of funds of the International Emergency Union.
In the event of a calamity, the executive committee has the power to initiate the action of the international relief union and to organize the relief, as well as the appeals of funds.
Subject to the provisions of Art. 9, the Executive Committee may delegate all or part of its powers to one or more of its members.
All acts performed by the Executive Committee, such as trustee or trustee of a special charge, conditions or special assignments, shall bear at least two signatures.
The same applies to acts of disposition.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Art. 18, the Executive Committee shall draw up an annual report on its activities and operations, addressed to the members of the International Emergency Union. This report is also communicated to the Secretary General of the League of Nations to be brought to the attention of the Council and the Assembly of the League of Nations. It is also brought to the public's attention.
The Executive Committee shall be assisted by experts who may be consulted either individually or collectively.
The experts shall be appointed by the Executive Committee, on the basis of one or more experts by country or by geographical area comprising several countries and determined by the Executive Committee in agreement with the members concerned.
Experts are appointed for three years; they must reside in their area. The Executive Committee may, in the event that circumstances require it, appoint, in addition to the above-mentioned experts, alternate experts not required at the residence.
The appointment of experts and alternate experts shall be approved for each of them, of the member (s) concerned.
The Executive Committee shall convene the experts whose collaboration appears to be necessary or shall take their opinions by correspondence whenever the circumstances so require.
The travel and subsistence allowances and expenses of the delegates to the General Council shall be borne by the authorities designating them.
The travel and subsistence allowances and expenses of the members of the Executive Committee and the experts shall be borne by the budget of the International Emergency Union. The functions of members of the Executive Committee and of experts shall not include any treatment.
International Red Cross organizations (International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies) will be invited to ensure, at their own expense and within the limits that they will be compatible with their resources, the service Central and permanent of the international relief union. This service is under the direction of the Executive Committee.
The relief work shall be carried out in each area, on behalf of the International Emergency Union, by the organizations referred to in Art. 5 of the convention and included in this zone.
If the same zone comprises several States or, in one area, several of the above mentioned organizations are involved in the relief effort, the Executive Committee shall take all appropriate measures to ensure coordination of the efforts and distribution of the Backup. In particular, it may, with the consent of such organizations, constitute, for that purpose, regional committees, taking into account, for the recruitment of their members, technical capacity, experience and administrative expediency.
In the event of a calamity, the Executive Committee shall, in principle, be informed by the care of the expert (s) belonging to the zone concerned.
The International Emergency Union shall, irrespective of the initial fund and any other funds it deems necessary, constitute:
1. A Management Fund is formed:
This management fund covers the costs of the regular and permanent services of the International Emergency Union, when, by exception, they are not provided by international Red Cross organizations (International Committee of the Red Cross And League of Red Cross Societies).
2. A reserve formed:
First, this reserve is used to replenish the original fund under s. 9 of the Convention and, for the remainder, to provide or complete relief in calamities for which no special liberality exists.
The funds of the International Emergency Union, with the exception of the sums required for current expenditure, shall be deposited, either in the same credit institutions as the funds of the League of Nations, or in such other institutions Approved by the General Council.
It is drawn up every year by the Executive Committee on the International Emergency Union.
This assessment indicates the active and passive situation of the international relief union, as well as the accounts that consolidate operations relating to each calamity.
The League of Nations is called upon to ensure, under conditions to be determined by it, the control of the accounts of the International Emergency Union, on the understanding that the company does not assume any responsibility for that leader.
| States Parties |
Ratification Accession (A) |
Entry into force |
||
| Albania |
August 31 |
1929 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Germany |
July 22 |
1929 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Belgium |
9 May |
1929 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Bulgaria |
22 May |
1931 |
27 December |
1932 |
| China |
29 May |
1935 A |
August 27 |
1935 |
| Ecuador |
July 30 |
1928 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Finland |
10 April |
1929 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Iran |
28 September |
1932 A |
27 December |
1932 |
| Italy |
2 August |
1928 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Monaco |
21 May |
1929 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Poland |
11 June |
1930 |
27 December |
1932 |
| San Marino |
August 12 |
1929 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Sudan |
11 May |
1928 A |
27 December |
1932 |
| Switzerland |
2 January |
1930 A |
27 December |
1932 |
| Turkey |
10 March |
1932 |
27 December |
1932 |
| Venezuela |
19 June |
1929 |
27 December |
1932 |
