§ Mr. EYRES-MONSELLasked the Prime Minister, with reference to Article No. 23H of the Regulations embodied in The Hague Convention No. 4, which particularly forbids a belligerent to declare extinguished, suspended, or unenforceable in a court of law the rights of action of the nationals of the adverse party, and the statement that it does not abrogate the principle of British law prohibiting all dealings with the enemy and suspending all rights of action on contracts made previously to the war, have His Majesty's Government consulted the Law Officers of the Crown as to whether this article does or does not abrogate that principle; are they aware that on 3rd July, 1907, Mr. Goppert, the representative of Germany, which proposed the article in question, stated that its object was to prohibit such laws on the part of a belligerent as would prevent an enemy subject from obtaining his ordinary remedies from breach of contractual obligations from the tribunals of the other side in time of war; are they advised that this object is not attained by the Article 23H in question, and has a correspondence on the point taken place between Professor Oppenheim and the Foreign Office which has been communicated to jurists of 489W eminence; and, if so, when does he propose to lay that correspondence before this House?
§ Sir E. GREYThe answer to the first question is in the negative. The hon. Member is probably correct with regard to the statement made by Mr. Goppert, but the official record of the proceedings of the Second Peace Conference leaves it uncertain to which of the various German proposals the statement referred. The answer given by the Secretary of State for the Colonies on the 9th instant shows that, if the German intention was accurately described by Mr. Goppert, His Majesty's Government are advised that the object has not been attained by the insertion of Article 23H in the Land War Regulations. The subject has formed the subject of correspondence between Professor Oppenheim and the Foreign Office, and I understand that the professor has given copies of it to various persons who are interested in the study of international law. The subject is very technical, but the correspondence can be laid before the House if there is any general desire to that effect.