ABSTRACT
The League of Nations was established after the First World War, and its Covenant declared any war or threat thereof to be a matter of concern to the whole League. 1 It also required all members to mutually respect and preserve the territorial integrity and political independence of one another against ‘external aggression’. 2 Yet the Covenant contained a number of loopholes as well. For instance, states could have recourse to war in order to enforce an arbitral award or a unanimous decision by the League’s Council. Moreover, if the Council failed to come to a unanimous decision regarding a dispute submitted to it, member states had the right to take such action as they considered ‘necessary for the maintenance of right and justice’, including war. 3
