In Full Flower 325general, which drew heavily on the Brussels projet of 1874. Th ese Hague
Rules, as they appropriately became known, are still in force. Th e subcom-
mittee that did the draft ing was presided over by Martens and included Re-
nault, Lammasch, and Rolin- Jaequemyns fi ls among its members.
One of the fi ercest controversies that arose in the draft ing of the Hague
Rules concerned entitlement to combatant status, the most contested issue
being the extent to which irregular forces, such as volunteer militia groups
or self- formed guerrilla bands, could lawfully exercise the rights of war. Dif-
ferences were papered over by a form of words proposed by Martens— and
known thereaft er as the “Martens Clause.” Th is was an express ac know ledg-
ment that the Hague Rules do not form a comprehensive code of law— and
that, regarding matters not codifi ed in the rules, civilians and de facto bel-
ligerents must nevertheless be understood to remain “under the protection
and rule of the principles of the law of nations” in general. Th ese “principles”
were, in turn, stated to arise from customary practices and also from “the
laws of humanity, and the dictates of the public conscience.”
Th e First Hague Peace Conference agreed, in addition, to three specifi c
restrictions on the conduct of war. One was a ban on the use of asphyxiating
gases in projectiles. Th e second was a prohibition against the use of expand-
ing bullets (“dum- dum bullets,” as they were commonly called, aft er the ar-
senal in India where they were most famously produced). Th e third was a
fi ve- year ban on the launching of projectiles and explosives from balloons.
In 1907, the Second Hague Peace Conference was convened. Th is one
was a much more inclusive aff air. Forty- seven states were invited, with forty-
four actually attending. Th is time, all of the Latin American countries were
present, except Costa Rica and Honduras (and even they appointed dele-
gates, who unfortunately failed to arrive in time). Th e government of Korea
sought to attend but was refused admission, on the ground that Korea was
not an in de pen dent state (it was under Japa nese dominance).
As before, the “scientifi c delegates” included a number of prominent inter-
national lawyers. Several had attended the fi rst conference, including Mar-
tens, Renault, Asser, Lammasch, and Rolin- Jaequemyns fi ls (t h is t i me repre-
senting his home country of Belgium). But a number of new fi gures were
present, too. On the American delegation was James Brown Scott. Repre-
senting Britain was Cecil Hurst, who was legal adviser to the foreign offi ce
(and a future World Court judge). A young American named Ellery Stowell