Dreams Born and Shattered 361became increasingly unpop u lar. Governments disliked them as badges of
second- class international citizenship and as restrictions on their freedom
of action. Th e intended benefi ciaries, too, became increasingly disillusioned,
as hopes for improved treatment went largely unfulfi lled.Further Legislation
Th e interwar period was a busy time in the conclusion of multilateral treaties,
on a wide range of subjects. In the area of aviation, for example, a Convention
on Aerial Navigation was adopted in 1919, which marked the defi nitive rejec-
tion of proposals for freedom of the air, analogous to freedom of the high seas.
Instead, there was recognition of “complete and exclusive sovereignty” of
states over airspace above their territories. Th e convention also set rules on
such topics as the nationality of aircraft , procedures to be followed on depar-
ture and landing, and certain prohibitions on transport (of explosives or ar-
maments), as well as establishing an International Commission for Air Navi-
gation. Aerial warfare received some attention soon aft er this. In 1923, a group
of private experts, under the chairmanship of Moore, met in Th e Hague to
draft a set of rules for the conduct of aerial warfare. Although these did not
take the form of a legally binding treaty, they represent, to the present day, the
most authoritative statement of the law of aerial warfare.
In 1925, a convention prohibiting the use of asphyxiating gases was
draft ed. Th is was widely ratifi ed by states, but usually subject to the impor-
tant reservation of the right to employ such gases against an enemy that used
them fi rst. In 1929, two additional Geneva conventions were concluded un-
der the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross— one ex-
tending the immunities of medical personnel to airborne units, and the other
on prisoners of war. Aft er several unsuccessful attempts, rules on submarine
warfare were fi nally agreed in the London Naval Protocol of 1936. It did not
prohibit the sinking of merchant ships, but it required that provisions be made
for the safety of passengers and crew in the event of a sinking.
Th e most prominent treaty on the subject of armed confl ict was the Pact
of Paris of 1928 (or Kellogg- Briand Treaty, aft er its two principal instigators,
Frank Kellogg of the United States and Aristide Briand of France). It took
the momentous step of prohibiting war “as an instrument of national policy.”
In time, over sixty states became parties to it. Th e pact was not a charter of