Secret Spies. no distinct rules concerning special privileges to be granted to such agents seem to have grown up in practice. Inviolability of their persons and official papers ought to be granted to them.1 1 § 454. Secret political agents may be sent for the same purposes as public political agents. But two kinds of secret political agents must be distinguished. An agent may be secretly sent to another Power with a letter of recommendation and admitted by that Power. Such agent is a secret one in so far as third Powers do not know, or are not supposed to know, of his existence. As he is, although secretly, admitted by the receiving State, his position is essentially the same as that of a public political agent. On the other hand, an agent may be secretly sent abroad for political purposes without a letter of recommendation, and therefore without being formally admitted by the Government of the State in which he is fulfilling his task. Such agent has no recognised position whatever according to International Law. He is not an agent of a State for its relations with other States, and he is therefore in the same position as any other foreign individual living within the boundaries of a State. He may be expelled at any moment if he becomes troublesome, and he may be criminally punished if he commits a political or ordinary crime. Such secret agents are often abroad for the purpose of watching the movements of political refugees or partisans, or of Socialists, Anarchists, Nihilists, and the like. As long as such agents do not turn into so-called agents provocateurs, the local authorities will not interfere. § 455. Spies are secret agents of a State sent abroad 2 for the purpose of obtaining clandestinely information 1 Ullmann, § 66, and Rivier, I. § 40, maintain that they must be granted the privilege of inviolability to the same extent as diplomatic envoys. * Concerning spies in time of war, see below, vol. II. §§ 159 and 210, and Adler, "Die Spionage" (1906), pp. 7-62. in regard to military or political secrets. Although all States constantly or occasionally send spies abroad, and although it is neither morally nor politically and legally considered wrong to send spies, such agents have, of course, no recognised position whatever according to International Law, since they are not agents of States for their international relations. Every State punishes them severely when they are caught committing an act which is a crime by the law of the land, or expels them if they cannot be punished. And a spy cannot legally! excuse himself by pleading that he only executed the orders of his Government. The latter, on the other/ hand, will never interfere, since it cannot officially confess to having commissioned a spy. missaries. § 456. Commissaries are agents sent with a letter Comof recommendation or commission by one State to another for negotiations, not of a political but of a technical or administrative character only. Such commissaries are, for instance, sent and received for the purpose of arrangements between the two States as regards railways, post, telegraphs, navigation, delineation of boundary lines, and so on. A distinct practice of guaranteeing certain privileges to such commissaries has not grown up, but inviolability of their persons and official papers ought to be granted to them, as they are officially sent and received for official purposes. Thus Germany, in 1887, in the case of the French officer of police Schnaebélé, who was invited by local German functionaries to cross the German frontier for official purposes and then arrested, recognised the rule that a safe-conduct is tacitly granted to foreign officials when they enter officially the territory of a State with the consent of the local authorities, although Schnaebélé was not a commissary sent by his Government to the German Government. Bearers of Des § 457. Individuals commissioned to carry official patches. despatches from a State to its head or to diplomatic envoys abroad are agents of such State. Despatchbearers who belong to the retinue of diplomatic envoys as their couriers must enjoy, as stated above (§ 405), exemption from civil and criminal jurisdiction and a special protection in the State to which the envoy is accredited, and a right of innocent passage through third States. But bearers of official despatches who are not in the retinue of the diplomatic envoys employing them must nevertheless be granted inviolability for their person and official papers, provided they possess special passports stating their official character as despatch-bearers. And the same is valid respecting bearers of despatches between the head of a State who is temporarily abroad and his Government at home. nent in IV INTERNATIONAL COMMISSIONS Rivier, I. pp. 564-566-Ullmann, § 68-Gareis, §§ 51-52-Liszt, § 16-Moore, IV. § 623. Perma- § 458. A distinction must be made between temContradis-porary and permanent international commissions. The tinction to former consist of commissaries delegated by two or more Tem porary Commissions. States to arrange all kinds of non-political matters, such as railways, post, telegraphs, navigation, boundary lines, and the like. Such temporary commissions dissolve as soon as their purpose is realised.1 Besides temporary commissions, there are, however, permanent 1 The position of their members has been discussed above, § 456. Quite novel institutions are the International Commissions of Inquiry recommended by the Hague Peace Conferences of 1890 and 1907. Articles 9 to 36 of the Hague Convention for the peaceful adjustment of international differences provide that, in international differences involving neither honour nor vital interests, and arising from a difference of opinion on matters of fact, the parties should institute an International Commission of Inquiry; this commission to present a report to the parties, which shall be limited to a statement of the facts. See below, vol. II. § 5. commissions in existence. They have been instituted by the Powers1 in the interest of free navigation on two international rivers and the Suez Canal; further, in the interest of international sanitation; thirdly, in the interest of the foreign creditors of several States unable to pay the interest on their stocks; and, lastly, concerning bounties on sugar. As regards the privileges to be granted to the members of either temporary or permanent international commissions, no distinct practice has grown up. If the treaty according to which a commission concerned does not stipulate anything as regards such privileges, none need be granted, but the persons of the commissioners must be specially protected. However that may be, there is no doubt that members of international commissions cannot, unless this be specially stipulated, claim the privileges of diplomatic envoys. Thus, when in 1796 Messrs. Gore and Pinkney," the American Commissioners in London under article 7 of the Jay Treaty, claimed these privileges, Great Britain refused to concede them. missions § 459. Four international commissions have been cominstituted in the interest of navigation-namely, two in the for the river Danube, one for the Congo river, and one interest for the Suez Canal. 1. With regard to navigation on the Danube, the European Danube Commission was instituted by 1 Only such permanent commissions are mentioned in the text as have been instituted by the Powers in conference. There are, however, many permanent commissions in existence which have been instituted by neighbouring Powers for local purposes, as for example :(1) The American-Canadian International Fisheries Commission, instituted according to article 1 of the Treaty of Washington of April 11, 1908; see Treaty Series, 1908, No. 17. (2) The American-Canadian VOL. I. International Joint Commission con- See Moore, IV. § 623, p. 428. 2 K of Naviga tion. article 16 of the Peace Treaty of Paris in 1856. This commission, whose members are appointed by the signatory Powers of the Treaty of Paris, was reconstituted by the Berlin Conference in 1878 and again by the Conference of London in 1883. The commission is totally independent of the territorial Governments, its rights are clearly defined, and its members, offices, and archives enjoy the privilege of inviolability. The competence of the European Danube Commission comprehends the Danube from Ibraila downwards to its mouth.1 2 2. The above-mentioned London Conference of 1883 has sanctioned regulations in regard to the navigation and river-police of the Danube from the Iron Gates down to Ibraila, and has, by article 96 of these regulations, instituted the Mixed Commission of the Danube to enforce the observance of the regulations. The members of this Commission are delegates from Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Roumania, Servia, and the European Danube Commission-one member from each.3 3. The Powers represented at the Berlin Congo Conference of 1884 have sanctioned certain regulations in regard to navigation on the Congo river, and have, by articles 17-21 of the General Act of the Conference, instituted an International Commission of the Congo to enforce the observance of these regulations. This Commission, in which every signatory Power may be represented by one member, is totally independent of the territorial Governments, and its members, offices, and archives enjoy the privilege of inviolability.* 4. By article 8 of the Treaty of Constantinople of 1888 in regard to the neutralisation of the Suez Canal, a Commission was instituted for the supervision of the 1 Details in Twiss, I. §§ 150-152. 2 Martens, N.R.G. 2nd Ser. IX. p. 394. 3 Details in Twiss, § 152. Details in Calvo, I. § 334. According to Liszt, § 16, II. 3, this Commission has never been appointed. |