Эссе на тему Explain the differences and the similarities of the two Hague Conferences (1899 & 1907).

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Essay

The differences and the similarities of the two Hague Conferences (1899
& 1907)

There is no doubt that
international conferences have always been played an important role in both
European and international law. Two Hague International Peace Conference of
1899 and 1907 (hereinafter — first and second Conference respectively) are
considered so. In 1898, Nicolas II, Russian Tsar, had proposed an international
conference in order to “put an end to incessant armaments” (Abbenhuis, 2018).
After some time, the first Conference was recognized as an example of
successful cooperation between states (Синдеев, 2016). The second Conference
confirmed the importance of negotiations, thus forming an effective management
strategy being appropriate for ‘Great Powers’.

The major similarity between
these events was their initial aim. According to one of the main co-organizers
Fyodor Martens, “the main goals should have been the reduction of the war
danger; to mitigate its horrors, and to strengthen international legitimacy by
achieving the possible agreement among states” (Гликман, 2018). Additionally, the
importance of a ‘power state’s participation’ was relevant for both Conferences
(Best, 1999). National interests of participatory states ensured the emergence
of common law practices and some improvement of the system itself (Синдеев, 2018).

The differences include the list
of conference participants. 26 governments only six of which came from outside of Europe,
with 138 delegates were
represented at the first Conference. The second Conference was even greater
with 44 member-states. Furthermore, the second Conference, in comparison to the
first one, was influenced by the antagonism between two opposing blocs: on the
one hand, England, France, and Russia, with Germany and Austria-Hungary on the
other. Such contradictions created plenty of challenges to reach some
agreements, especially on minor issues.

To conclude, two Hague
Conferences resulted in a large-scale codification and progressive development
of two branches of international law regarding the peaceful settlement of
disputes and international humanitarian law. The Hague acts regulating
principles of war have become the basis of international humanitarian law.
Moreover, these documents marked the transition from customary international
law to contract one. Therefore, two Hague Conferences themselves became an
important milestone in the formation of international law principles, like
sovereign equality and intergovernmental cooperation.