ABSTRACT
The League of Nations was established in 1919 with the object of managing disputes between states. It represented an attempt by the then United States, President Woodrow Wilson, to replace the European concept of the balance of power with the American emphasis on collective security and the rule of law. The organisation was founded on the principles of respect for state sovereignty, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the desirability of disarmament; it sought to introduce a regime of collective security, with a system of sanctions in the event of aggression. It is of interest that the preamble to the covenant referred to ‘the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments’. Under the terms of Art 2 of the Covenant, the League operated through an Assembly, a Council and a Secretariat; by the terms of Art 4, the Council consisted of representatives of the principal allied powers together with a number of non-permanent members. Under the terms of Art 1, it was intended that the League should be a universal institution but in the event it remained predominantly European. The Council met when required while the Assembly met annually.
