ABSTRACT
The invasion by German troops of the territories of Belgium and Luxemburg and the occupation by Japanese troops of Chinese territory to facilitate their attack upon the German forces at Kaio-Chau have raised one of the most fundamental questions of international law, namely, under what circumstances, if any, is a belligerent justified in violating the territory of a neutral for the purpose of prosecuting his military operations against the enemy. The German and Japanese offenses differ somewhat because in the one case the neutrality of the violated territory had been guaranteed by a special convention of long standing to which the violating belligerent was himself a party; in the other case the neutrality of the violated territory, although protected by a long established rule of international law, as well as by one of the Hague conventions, had not been made the subject of a special and solemn guarantee by a group of Powers.
