Structure and organisation of the League of Nations

What sections was the League organised into?

The assembly, council, secretariat, permanent court of international justice, and the commission projects

Who was part of the assembly?

Each country sent a representative to the assembly

How often did the assembly meet?

Once a year

When did the assembly meet?

On the first Monday of September

What had to happen in order to pass a vote?

The decision had to be unanimous, since every country had an equal vote

How did having a unanimous vote weaken the power of the assembly?

Even if only one country disagreed, the motion wouldn’t be passed so it would have to be referred to the council, meaning that not much power was held here.

What did the assembly decide?

When a new country could join, electing judges to the permanent court of international justice, voting for members of the council and deciding how the League’s money was spent

Who was in the Council?

Five permanent members and four non-permanent members

Who were the five permanent members of the council?

Britain, France, Italy, Japan and Germany later on

How often were the non-permanent members elected for?

On a three year basis

When did the Council meet?

Several times a year and for emergencies

Wha power did the Council hold over the Assembly?

They could veto the Assembly’ decision, even if a unanimous decision had been reached - this weakened the League’s power

What did the number of non-permanent members of the council change to?

9 from 4

What could the council do?

Impose sanctions on countries, including moral condemnation, economic sanctions and military force

What was moral condemnation?

Telling off a country and demanding that it should change its behaviour

What were economic sanctions?

Restricting the trade of a nation so that all members of the League must stop trading with them immediately

What was military force?

Members of the League would send their armies to stop the aggressor state

What purposes did the Secretariat have?

It was an administrative and advice-based body, which kept records, made notes from meetings and created reports

Examples of the specialist teams that were incorporated into the Secretariat

Economics, education and health

What were the weaknesses of the Secretariat?

It’s advice wasn’t always useful, and it didn’t advise on military issues

What was the Permanent Court of International Justice for?

It was designed to settle international disputes

How would the PCIJ (Permanent Court of International Justice) settle disputes?

Any country could take an issue to the court - 11 judges and 4 deputy judges would reach a verdict after listening to both sides

What were weaknesses of the PCIJ?

It’s verdict wasn’t compulsory - the countries didn’t have to listen to its advice, and the League didn’t have an army of its own, so had to rely on its member countries to supply troops - the goodwill of the countries.

What were the special commissions groups?

Groups put together to tackle the issues that the League were concerned about

Examples of special commissions groups

The International Labour Organisation, the Disarmament Commission, the Health Organisation, the Slavery Commission and the Permanent Central Opium Board

What happened to the Health Organisation?

It became the World Heath Organisation, under the United Nations

What were the aims of other commissions?

Helping underdeveloped countries with economic issues, supporting under represented or minority groups, such as women, and it supervised the mandates

What was the aim of the International Labour Organisation?

Bringing workers, employers and governments together to improve working conditions globally

How often did the LO (Labour Organisation) meet and what did they do?

Once a year and they produced suggestions and reports on working conditions to persuade countries to adept and implement their ideas

What were the successes of the LO?

Banned the use of white lead in paint in 1922 since it is poisonous, helping Greece set up social insurance in 1930 and ensuring that member countries set a minimum wage in 1927 - 77 countries followed this

What were the failures of the LO?

When it suggested that children under the age of 14 shouldn’t work, many countries believed that they would lose cheap labour and didn’t want to spend the extra money. When the LO suggested that the working day should be limited to 8 hours, members complained that they would lose too much money, and they had a similar reaction to introducing paid holiday

What was the aim of the Refugee Commission?

Returning prisoners of war home and supporting refugees by improving camp conditions, finding new homes or returning them to their own countries once the threat of the conflict has passed

What was the aim of the Slavery commission?

Abolishing slavery