PREFACE.

THE holding of the Twenty-second Conference of the Association at Christiania has fulfilled the long-standing wish of the Executive Council to arrange a meeting in one of the Scandinavian capitals; and its result may be regarded as specially gratifying after the temporary uncertainty caused by the change in the political relations of Norway and Sweden then in progress, and since peacefully accomplished. Nearly fifty new members joined at the Conference, and the interest shown by the people of Christiania and Norway generally, and the hearty support accorded to it by the representatives of the Municipality and University, and the legal and commercial societies of the city, made the meeting one of the most successful in the history of the Association. The President, Mr. Beichmann, an eminent Norwegian judge who has represented his country at the Private International Law Conferences at The Hague, had as his colleagues in the chair Mr. Justice Phillimore and Mr. Cephas Brainerd, of New York; and the quality of the work done in many directions attained a high level.

The subject of International Arbitration produced the usual careful summary by Dr. Evans Darby of the progress made up to date by treaties and arbitrations, which was supplemented by an account of the special work of the Norwegian Government and Parliament for promoting arbitration and neutrality from Mr. Haldan Koht; and a proposal for compulsory Arbitration in a paper by Mr. Le Roy Parker. But the attention of the Conference was conspicuously devoted to the various questions connected with the law of belligerency

and neutrality recently brought into prominent notice; and it may be hoped that the next Hague Conference will find valuable material in the papers dealing with these subjects on the present occasion.

Mr. Douglas Owen presented a forcible argument in favour of exempting the world's passenger and mail steamers from belligerent interference during war, and the adoption of an international agreement to prevent the shipment and carriage of contraband by such vessels, which received the approval of the Conference; and on the proposition of Mr. Georges Marais, a resolution in favour of regarding coal as conditional contraband only was also adopted. Other aspects of the same problems were dealt with by Mr. Thorvald Boye, Mr. Baty, and Mr. Gaston de Leval, the last-named dealing specifically with the concrete questions raised during the recent hostilities. The question whether Prize Courts should be international in composition was specially dealt with in a paper by Mr. J. Pawley Bate, treating it from a practical standpoint, and advocating as a necessary preliminary the adoption of an International Prize Code.

In the field of maritime law the long-standing difficulty of regulating the legal relations between charterers and shipowners, so often discussed at previous Conferences of the Association, and as yet with no practical result, was introduced in a paper by Professor Platou, and produced an interesting discussion; uniformity of expression in charter-parties and bills of lading was suggested by Mr. Fredericksen, and Dr. Stubbs called attention to the position of holders of bills of lading of goods in chartered ships, a matter which should receive attention at future Conferences.

The important question of the desirability of such States as Great Britain and Norway adhering to the Berne Convention of 1890 with regard to the international transport of goods by railway was considered from the various standpoints of Swiss, Norwegian, French, and English lawyers, notably Director Winkler of the Central Office of the Convention at Berne, M. Léon Poinsard, Mr. Christian Platou, and Mr. Schröder, and a resolution was carried in favour of calling

the attention of British commercial authorities to the advantages of the Convention, which is already under official consideration in Norway.

A draft code of rules for the international recognition of foreign companies, prepared for the Committee on Company Law, of which Mr. W. F. Hamilton, K.C., was convener, was referred back for consideration to a subsequent Conference, Dr. Schirrmeister contributing a statement of the German law on this subject. The effect of foreign judgments in Norwegian law was described in a paper by Mr. Fliflet, and the attention of the Conference was directed to a proposal that public national ships should be amenable to an International Court, and to the want of international regulations for lights or signals of fishingvessels at sea. The Conference also sent a congratulatory message to President Roosevelt on the conclusion of peace between Japan and Russia.

The hospitality and friendliness shown by the people of Norway generally to the Association was remarkable, even in our long experience of public and private welcomes in many countries, and the special thanks of all the foreign members attending the Conference are due to the Chamber of Shipping and Commerce, the Municipality of Christiania, and the Norwegian Barristers' Society, for a varied succession of pleasant hospitalities; and to the Nobel Committee of the Norwegian Parliament, which allowed its new building to be used for the first time for the Conference.

At the close of the meeting, Sir Walter Phillimore, who has been Chairman of the Executive Council since 1885, was elected President of the Association, thus succeeding to the office held by Sir Robert Phillimore from 1880 to 1885.

At a meeting of the Executive Council held on November 10th, Mr. J. G. Alexander tendered his resignation of the post of Honorary General Secretary, which he has held for over twenty-two years. Since he joined the Association, then in its infancy thirty years ago, Mr. Alexander has been continuously active in promoting its work on the broadest lines, and keeping it in touch with the progress of pacific and philanthropic ideas, as well as with the legal side of questions

of public and private international law. In accepting his resignation, the Council adopted the following resolution :

"The Council desires to express its high appreciation of the valuable services rendered to the Association by Mr. J. G. Alexander as Honorary General Secretary during a period of more than twenty-two years, and to thank him on behalf of the Association for his loyal support and constant interest in its work."

His colleagues are glad to think that they will continue to have the benefit of his experience on the Council. At the same meeting Dr. Thomas Baty, Barrister at Law, London, was appointed Joint Secretary with Mr. G. G. Phlllimore.