(3.) Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities.

(4.) Responsibility of States for damage done in their Territories to the person or property of foreigners.

(5.) Procedure of International Conferences and Procedure for the Conclusion and Drafting of Treaties.

66. The rapporteur (Polish delegate) suggested that, in view of the present very heavy programme of work of the League, the Assembly might wish to invite a Government, possessing a traditional interest in the advancement of international law and the necessary special experience, to convene a conference on the following three of those questions on which the Committee of Experts had reported nationality, territorial waters and responsibility of States for damage done in their territory to the person or property of foreigners. This conference would be held at the express invitation of the League, with its full support and with such assistance as might be required from the Secretariat and the technical organisations of the League. As regards Piracy and Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities, on which the Committee of Experts had submitted reports, the Rapporteur suggested that, as these questions were in no way urgent, they should be omitted from the agenda of the proposed conference. The rapporteur proposed that, as regards "the Procedure of International Conferences and Procedure for the Conclusion and Drafting of Treaties," the Secretary-General should be asked to consider whether the Secretariat could, with advantage, produce a study of the methods of conferences and the methods adopted in making treaties, which might possibly be later submitted to criticism by international organisations and Governments having special experience in holding general conferences. As regards the remaining subject on which the Committee of Experts had submitted a report, "Exploitation of the Products of the Sea," the rapporteur suggested that the committee's report on this subject should be referred to the Economic Committee of the League with a request that it should invite the collaboration of the Permanent International Council for the Exploitation of the Sea at Copenhagen and any other international organisations specially interested, and should advise the Council whether any action in this matter is possible and desirable.

67. In his report to the Council, the Polish delegate referred to the active interest which had been shown by the Netherlands Government for many years in all matters connected with international law. The Netherlands representative (Jonkheer Beelaerts van Blokland) thanked the rapporteur for the reference to the previous actions of his Government in this connection and informed the Council that his Government would have much pleasure in convening the proposed conference if invited to do so by the Assembly.

68. The Council decided to transmit to the Assembly the report of the Committee of Experts for the Progressive Codification of

International Law, the report thereon of the Polish delegate, together with the minutes of the meeting of the Council, and to place the consideration of these documents on the agenda of the Assembly.

(2.) Health Committee.

69. The Health Committee had reported to the Council that it had reached an agreement with the Committee of the International Public Health Office in Paris in regard to the use which is to be made of the Epidemiological Intelligence Service of the League for the purposes of the International Sanitary Convention concluded in Paris in June 1926, and that these two committees had also adopted a common method of work during their sessions. The Health Committee reported at the same time that it had taken. note of the progress made in their respective studies by the Joint Commission of Experts for the Study of the Relationship between Public Health Services and Health Insurance Organisations and by the Commission of Expert Statisticians set up to deal with preparatory work in connection with the Revision of the International List of Causes of Death.

70. On the proposal of the rapporteur (Japanese delegate), the Council approved this report of the Health Committee.

(3.) Communications and Transit Committee.

71. M. de Aguero y Bethancourt, chairman of the Advisory and Technical Committee for Communications and Transit, who had been appointed by the Council to be President of the Third General Conference on Communications and Transit meeting on the 23rd August, 1927 (see "Miscellaneous No. 6 (1927)," Cmd. 2894), had written to the Council proposing that the list of invitations to this conference should include, not only the Members of the League which had already been invited, but also the Governments of States non-Members which received invitations to the Second General Conference on Communications and Transit. On the proposal of the rapporteur (Columbian delegate), the Council instructed the Secretary-General to invite to the Third General Conference on Communications and Transit those States not Members of the League which were invited to the second of these conferences, as well as the Governments of Egypt, the Sudan and Costa Rica. The Secretary-General was also requested to send invitations to those international organisations interested in the proceedings of the conference to attend in an advisory capacity and under the conditions laid down in the rules for the organisation of General Conferences on Communications and Transit.

(4.) Committee on Intellectual Co-operation.

72. The Director of the International Labour Office had informed the Secretary-General of the League that the Governing Body of his Office had decided to form an Advisory Committee of

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Intellectual Workers, which would include two members of the League's Committee on Intellectual Co-operation, subject to the approval of the Council. On the proposal of the rapporteur (French delegate), the Council authorised the Committee on Intellectual Co-operation to appoint two of its members to take part in the work of this Advisory Committee of Intellectual Workers, if it should so think fit.

73. On the 23rd September, 1924, the Fifth Assembly had invited the Belgian Government to make an enquiry in regard to the possibility of securing partial accessions by States to the Brussels General Convention of 1886 on the International Exchange of Official Publications. The Belgian Government had now communicated the result of this enquiry to the Secretary-General. On the proposal of the rapporteur (French delegate), the Council decided to forward the Belgian Government's communication to the Committee on Intellectual Co-operation and to invite this committee to examine the situation resulting from the enquiry of that Government, with a view to the possible submission of further suggestions.

(5.) Economic Committee.

74. The Secretary-General had received a letter from Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith in which he resigned his membership of the Economic Committee. The Council instructed the SecretaryGeneral to thank Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith for the great services which he had rendered and appointed Sir Sydney Chapman, Permanent Secretary of the Board of Trade, to be a member of the Economic Committee.

75. At its previous session in March 1927 the Council provisionally fixed the 14th November, 1927, as the date for the commencement of the Diplomatic Conference for the abolition of Export and Import Prohibitions and Restrictions (see Miscellaneous No. 6 (1927)," Cmd. 2894). As it was contemplated that there would also be a meeting in November of the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference, the Council decided to fix the 17th October instead of the 14th November as the date for the former conference.

76. A committee of lawyers had been requested by the Economic Committee to examine the possibility of supplementing by means of a fresh international agreement the provisions of the 1923 Protocol on Arbitration Clauses in Commercial Contracts. This committee of lawyers had now submitted a draft protocol designed to rectify an omission in that of 1923 by providing, in certain conditions. for the enforcement of arbitral awards made in foreign countries. The Economic Committee recommended that the question, whether or no this protocol should be opened for signature, should be placed on the agenda of the next Assembly.

77. The Italian delegate pointed out that reference was made in the scheme before the Council to a final award. This term might be differently interpreted by each State, and it was not easy to define it even within a State. Senator Scialoja therefore suggested

that the attention of the Governments should be drawn to this point, and that each of them should explain what might be understood, as regards internal law, by a final award.

78. The rapporteur (German delegate) informed the Council that the Secretary-General had, with his permission, already sent a provisional communication on this subject to the members of the League, inviting the various Governments to submit such observations, as they might wish to make, before the opening of the next Assembly. On the proposal of the rapporteur, the Council decided to place this question on the agenda of the next Assembly and to send the minutes of that meeting to all the members of the League

(6.) Financial Committee.

79. The Financial Committee met in Geneva from the 8th June to the 14th June, and reported to the Council on the desire of the Greek Government to raise a loan under the auspices of the League of Nations, financial assistance for a State which is the victim of aggression, the settlement of Bulgarian refugees and the Danzig Harbour Board loan, which are dealt with in separate portions of this report. The committee also reported on the progress made in the examination of double taxation and tax evasion. On the proposal of the rapporteur (Belgian delegate), the Council requested the Secretary-General to forward to the Governments of all States members and non-members of the League a report which had been submitted by technical experts on double taxation and tax evasion, for their observations, and to convene a general meeting of Government experts in 1928 to discuss this report.

(1.) Opium.

VII.-SOCIAL QUESTIONS.

80. The Secretary-General had submitted a memorandum to the Council on the expenses of the Permanent Central Board to be set up after the entry into force of the Opium Convention of the 19th February, 1925, as article 7 of the Final Act of the Second Opium Conference of February 1925 contained a request that the expenses of this board should be included in those of the League Secretariat. As this matter involved an alteration in the budget of the League, the Council directed the Secretary-General to communicate his memorandum and the minutes of their meeting to the States members of the League, and referred the matter to the Assembly for a decision.

81. In a letter dated the 14th January, 1927, the Swedish Government had informed the Secretary-General that Sweden would be unable to accede to the Opium Convention of the 19th February, 1925, unless this accession were accompanied by a reservation in regard to an article of that convention. This letter was communicated by the Secretary-General to the Governments interested in the convention for their observations. His Majesty's Government in Great Britain and the Swiss Government had suggested that the

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question should be submitted to the Opium Advisory Committee for a report. On the proposal of the rapporteur (Polish delegate), the Council decided to submit the question to that committee.

2.) Settlement of Armenian Refugees in the Caucasus.

82. In September 1926 the Assembly had considered a scheme which had been evolved for the settlement of Armenian refugees in the Republic of Armenia. The Assembly had requested the Council to consider the possibility of setting up a small committee to investigate whether the sum required for this scheme could be obtained, and had voted a credit of 15,000 gold francs to enable literature respecting the scheme to be printed and distributed, and also to permit Dr. Nansen, the League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or his representative, to lay proposals before possible contributors in Europe or America (see "Miscellaneous No. 12 (1926)," Cmd. 2780).

83. Dr. Nansen now explained to the Council that he had proposed to the Armenian Government that they should take over the irrigation of land in their territory to enable the settlement of refugees to take place, and that they should raise the necessary funds for this purpose, which would be between £600,000 and £900,000. If the Armenian Government did this, Dr. Nansen had promised to do his utmost to raise the money required for the transport of the Armenian refugees and for their settlement on the land thus irrigated, which would amount to roughly £300,000. Dr. Nansen informed the Council that he had received promises from Armenians in Europe and America that they would provide about one-third of the money required for the transport and settlement of the refugees, and the question now arose whether it would be possible for the League to raise the rest of the money required. However, no definite reply had been received from the Armenian Government whether or no they accepted Dr. Nansen's proposal. At the suggestion of the rapporteur (Chilean delegate) the Council therefore directed that the minutes of that meeting should be sent to all Governments, together with such further documents as Dr. Nansen might think desirable, in order that the present position in regard to the settlement of Armenian refugees in the Caucasus might be made quite clear, and that the question should be placed on the agenda of the next session of the Council. The members of the Council also undertook to invite their respective Governments to examine Dr. Nansen's proposals with sympathy subject to the Armenian Government giving satisfactory undertakings that they would carry out the necessary irrigation work.

(3.) Settlement of Bulgarian Refugees.

84. The League Commissioner for the Settlement of Bulgarian Refugees had submitted a report on the progress made in this work. This report was examined by the Financial Committee, who observed that, in spite of the progress which had been achieved, there were certain respects in which the situation was not altogether satisfactory.