ABSTRACT
Where a dispute arises between two states which turns on a disagreement as to basic facts, then it may be appropriate to set up an international body which is capable of hearing all relevant evidence and producing clear factual findings upon which remedies may be determined. Such a method became popular at the end of the 19th century, when in the Maine incident of 1898 a Spanish and an American Board of Enquiry reached different conclusions in respect of the same incident.22 The unsatisfactory nature of national enquiries prompted the 1899 Hague Peace Conference23 to suggest international commissions charged with an impartial investigation of the facts. These proposals were included in six articles of the Hague Convention for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes (1899).24 The value of such a system was demonstrated in the Dogger Bank incident of October 1904 when Russian naval forces attacked a number of Hull fishing trawlers in the mistaken belief that they were Japanese vessels. Prompted by France an international board of enquiry was set up in November 1904 and delivered its report in February 1905. The report was accept by Russia who paid a sum in compensation.25 The experience was seen as successful so that the Hague Convention of 190726 expanded the procedural rules to permit and expedite further enquiries.
