Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-14T23:10:04.398Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Legal Status of Political Refugees, 1920–1938

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2017

Louise W. Holborn Ph. D
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The term “refugee” is generally held to refer to those who have left or been forced to leave their country for political reasons, who have been deprived of its diplomatic protection and have not acquired the nationality or diplomatic protection of any other state. This includes those from whom the state has taken away protection and assistance but without suppressing juridically their nationality, and those whom the state has deprived of their nationality, thus making them stateless. While in strict law the position of these different categories of refugees is not uniform, in practice it is identical.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 32 , Issue 4 , October 1938 , pp. 680 - 703
Copyright
Copyright © by the American Society of International Law 1938

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 The Institute of International Law examined the legal status of political refugees in international law at the Brussels Conference in 1936 and accepted the following definition: “Dans les présentes résolutions, le terme réfugié désigne tout individu, qui, en raison d’événements politiques survenus sur le territoire de l’État dont il était ressortissant, a quitté volontairement ou non ce territoire ou en demeure éloigné, qui n’a acquis aucune nationalité nouvelle et ne jouit de la protection diplomatique d’aucun autre État.” Cf. Annuaire de l’Institut…, 1936, Vol. II, p. 294; cf. also François, J. P. A., “Le Problème des Apatrides,” Recueil des Cours, Acad. de Dr. Int., 1935, Vol. 53.Google Scholar

2 International assistance and protection may be withdrawn by implication or by decree. The Italian State, for example, did not denationalize Italian émigrés who were not Fascists, but by government order they refused them assistance and protection. Cf. Nitti, G., “Les émigrés italiens en France,” Revue générale de droit international public, 1929, pp. 739–759 Google Scholar, and Colanéri, A., De la Condition des “Sans-Patrie,” Paris, 1932, p. 31.Google Scholar

The second group, refugees deprived of their citizenship, has come as the result of specific legal measures taken by the country of origin. The Soviet Government promulgated a series of decrees which deprived Russian refugees of their citizenship. This loss was automatic and complete without resort to intervention or to special decision by tribunals or other authorities. Cf. T. Taracouzio, A., The Soviet Union and International Law, New York, 1935, pp. 80–122 Google Scholar; also A. Colanéri, op. cit., pp. 62–69; and Scheftel, V., “L’Apatridie des Réfugiés Russes,” Journal de Droit International, 1934, Vol. 61, pp. 36–69 Google Scholar. First Decree issued Dec. 15, 1921, and law, promulgated Apr. 22, 1931. Many of the Armenians became stateless by decree and, in specific cases, by administrative decisions. The Turkish law of Apr. 15, 1923, confiscated all goods of Armenians living abroad as “biens abandonnés par des fugitifs.” The Turkish law of March 23, 1927, denaturalized Armenian refugees. Droit International Privé, 1929, p. 409. In general, cf. Preuss, Lawrence, “La Dénationalisation imposée pour des Motifs politiques,” Revue Internationale Française du Droit des Gens, 1937, Vol. IV, Nos. 1–2, 5.Google Scholar

3 “They are repudiated by their country of origin, which turns its back on them and grants them neither admittance nor protection. Their circumstances are conditioned and pervaded by the consequences of this repudiation.” Cf. Rubinstein, J. L., “The Refugee Problem,” International Affairs, 1936, Vol. XV, p. 721.Google Scholar The definition of refugees, therefore, adopted in the Arrangement of May 12, 1926, and later taken over in the Convention of 1933, is not based on denationalization, but on the fact that the party has ceased to enjoy the protection of his state of origin.

4 Raestad, A., “Statut juridique des apatrides et des réfugiés,” Annuaire de l’Institut de Droit International, 1936, Vol. I, p. 32 Google Scholar; op. cit., 1930. See also James Brown Scott in his preface to Janowsky, O. J. and Fagen, M. M., International Aspects of German Racial Policies, New York, 1937, p. vi Google Scholar; A. N. Mandelstam, “Les dernières phases du mouvement pour la protection internationale des droits de l’homme” (Extrait de la Revue de Droit International, No. 4, 1933, and No. 1, 1934), Paris, 1934, p. 4; Fauchille, P., Traité de Droit International Public (8th ed.), 1922, Vol. I, 1, p. 757.Google Scholar

5 Bulgaria, Serbia, and others.

6 Belgium, , League of Nations Official Journal, July/August, 1921 Google Scholar, Annex 3; Denmark, ibid., Annex 10; Greece, ibid., November, 1921, p. 1006.

7 The Treaty of Riga, signed March 18, 1921, arranging peace between the Soviet Union and Poland, provided that all Russians in Poland could retain Russian nationality, their interests being officially placed under the diplomatic and consular protection of the Moscow Government. The Russians in Poland, who included great numbers of refugees, had the choice, however, of accepting or refusing this protection. Those who did not wish to recognize the Soviet Government and refused its protection were accorded in Poland the right of asylum. Cf. League of Nations Official Journal, 1921, p. 486, Annex 9, and ibid., November, 1921, p. 1006, Annex 7.

8 League of Nations Document, C.126.M.72.1921.VII, p. 6. They suggested concentrating activities under the League of Nations in view of the manifold problems involved.

9 Cf. Switzerland, League of Nations Official Journal, July/August, 1921, p. 486; League of Nations Documents, C.277.M.203.1921.VII, and C.132.M.73.1921.

10 Reale, E., Le Régime des Passeports et la Société des Nations, Paris, 1931, pp. 167 and 197Google Scholar.

11 League of Nations Official Journal, 1921, p. 899, and Conference on the Russian Refugee Question, Resolutions, Aug. 26, 1921, C.277.M.203.1921.VII.

12 Held in Geneva, July 3 to 5,1922, under the presidency of Dr. van Hamel, Director of the Legal Section of the Secretariat. Cf. Official Journal, August, 1922, p: 926.

13 Official Journal, August, 1922, p. 926. Arrangement with respect to the issue of certificates of identity to Russian refugees, July 5, 1922, Treaty Series, No. 355, Vol. XIII, p. 237.

14 Also non-member states adhered to it, e.g., Germany, Mexico, in 1922.

15 Document: Ref./General/1–1931 (Arrangements), p. 4 (C.L.72(a).1924).

16 Document A.30.1923.XII, p. 4.

17 League of Nations, VIII. Transit. 1926.VIII.5.

18 Arrangement relating to the issue of identity certificates to Russian and Armenian refugees, May 12, 1926, Treaty Series, No. 2004, LXXXIX, p. 47.

19 Document A.28.1930.XIII, p. 3.

20 Document XIII.Refugees.1927.XIII.3.

21 The Arrangement of June 30, 1928, regarding the Extension to Other Categories of Refugees of Certain Measures taken for the Benefit of Russian and Armenian Refugees contains definitions of “Assyrian, Assyro-Chaldean and Turkish refugees,” similar to those given for Russian and Armenian refugees. It provided for the extension to the former categories of the provisions of the Arrangements of 1922, 1924, and 1926, and twelve states adhered. Document A.28.1930.XIII, p. 2.

22 League of Nations Doc., Transit.1927.VIII.15.III.

23 Document A.78.1927; and E. Reale, op. cit., p. 164.

24 Documents C.245.M.84.1929.VIII; C.216.M.81.1929.VIII, p. 15 (Resolutions). The resolutions were adopted by the Tenth Assembly on Sept. 21,1929. Document A.66.1929. VIII.

25 Cf. infra, p. 692.

26 The discussion was based on a memorandum of May 21, 1928, prepared by a committee of Russian and Armenian legal experts in consultation with the High Commissioner. Documents Préparatoires et Procès-Verbaux de la Conférence Intergouvernementale pour le Statut Juridique des Réfugiés. Document XIII.Refugees.1930.XIII.1, p. 14.

27 League of Nations Treaty Series, No. 2005, Vol. LXXXIX, p. 53.

28 Document: Ref./General/1–1931, p. 16.

29 League of Nations Treaty Series, No. 2126, Vol. XCIII, p. 377.

30 The administrative work was centralized in the hands of the Assistant High Commiesioner who was also the Chief in charge of the Refugee Section of the International Labor Office. Dr. Nansen, however, as League High Commissioner, still retained the responsibility for the political and legal aspects of the refugee problem.

31 League of Nations Document, A.33.1928. VIII.

32 Document A.34.1930.XIII.

33 Document A.29.1930.XIII.

34 The office was called into being in April, 1931. Cf. Official Journal, Special Supplement, Minutes of the Sixth Committee, 1930, p. 84, for more details about the character and nature of the office. The organs of the office are : The Governing Body, with 12 members consisting of the President, nominated by the Assembly, 4 members by the Inter-Governmental Advisory Commission for Refugees, 2 members by international relief organizations, 3 members by the Advisory Committee of Private Organizations working for refugees, the Secretary-General of the League, and the Director of the International Labor Office; the Managing Committee; and the Finance Committee.

35 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, Danzig, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Rumania, Syria, Turkey, Yugoslavia. Cf. Document A.24.1932, p. 2.

36 It had been originally decided to terminate the office not later than Dec. 31, 1939.

37 Document A.31.1931.

38 E.g., Poland promulgated a law on Apr. 6, 1931, according to which no foreigners domiciled in Poland after January, 1921, could be employed without special authorization for each case. In France two laws of 1926 and 1932 were directed against foreign workers. The decree of Feb. 6, 1936, made renewal of working permits almost impossible. Cf. the Report on Russian, Armenian, German, and Saar Refugees in France by the Save the Children Fund, London, May, 1935.

39 Cf. Bentwich, N. The International Problem of Refugees, Geneva, 1935, p. 9 Google Scholar, and J. P. A. François, loc. cit., pp. 329 and 370.

40 Cf. J. P. A. François, loc. cit., p. 324, for details; Hansson, M., The Refugees and Their Fate, Geneva, 1937, p. 17 Google Scholar; Trachtenberg, B., “L’expulsion des apatrides,” Revue de Droit Internationale, 1936, Vol. 17, p. 552.Google Scholar

41 France spent three million francs per annum for imprisonment of such cases.

42 Document C.266.M. 136.1933, p. 5.

43 Documents C.650(1)M.311(1).1933, and C.650(a)M.311(a).1933.

44 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Rumania, Switzerland, Yugoslavia.

45 Most agreements concerning aliens are embodied in bilateral trade and immigration treaties and conventions. The refugee has no state to negotiate and conclude conventions on his behalf. This situation could be remedied only by a formal convention between states defining the international status of refugees.

46 Article 3 provides “that Governments agree not to expel refugees except for reasons of national security and public order—a term which unfortunately lacks precision.” Cf. Mr. Hansson in his Special Report: A.27.1936.XII, p. 10.

47 The Convention came into operation in 1935 through ratification by Bulgaria, Czecho-slovakia, and Norway. Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain and Italy adhered later. The United States, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Iraq, Latvia, Sweden, and Switzerland intimated that they would not accede to the Convention since “refugees already enjoy in their respective countries the majority of the rights provided for under the Convention or even more.” Cf. A.21.937.XII, p. 5.

48 Mr. Hansson, Acting President of the Governing Body of the Nansen International Office in his Special Report to the Seventeenth Assembly: A.27.1936.XII, p. 9.

49 It is estimated that during the spring and summer of 1933, the exodus comprised about 60,000 individuals. Ever since, other Germans have left their country. The figure 150,000 is given in the report of the Committee of Three to the Council at its 101st Session, May, 1938. A detailed account of the German refugee question is given in N. Bentwich, The Refugees from Germany (Apr. 1933 to Dec. 1935), London, 1936. He was the Director, under Mr. J. G. McDonald, of the High Commission for Refugees (Jewish and Others) coming from Germany. Cf. also Janowsky, O. J. and Fagen, M., International Aspects of German Racial Policies, New York, 1937 Google Scholar.

50 Letter of Resignation of James McDonald, High Commissioner for Refugees (Jewish and Others) coming from Germany, London, Dec. 17, 1937, p. 31; also International Conciliation, 1936, p. 109.

51 Gesetz über den Widerruf von Einbürgerungen und die Aberkennung der Staatsangehörigkeit vom 14. Juli 1933 (R. G. Bl. 1933.I, p. 480); Durchführungsverordung vom 26. Juli 1933. Cf. Scelle, , Revue critique de droit international, 1934, p. 63 Google Scholar; and von Stauffenberg, B., “Die Entziehung der Staatsangehörigkeit und das Völkerrecht,” Zeitschrift fur ausländisches Rechi, 1934, Vol. IV, p. 261 Google Scholar. The law of Sept. 15, 1935 (R. G. B1. 1935, p. 1146), withdraws citizenship from persons of non-German blood.

52 McDonald, , Letter of Resignation, p. 31.Google Scholar

53 The largest part went to France, Czechoslovakia, and Holland, which extended the right of asylum and did not require compliance with the passport regulations. Many went to Belgium, Denmark, England, Austria, Italy, Luxemburg, Switzerland, and to Spain, Yugostavia and Poland. A large stream was directed overseas, primarily to the United States and to Palestine.

54 The Council had already been engaged, in May, 1935, with the German question. The “Bernheim Petition” accused the National Socialist Government of having violated the spirit and letter of the German pledge of 1919 in regard to minorities, and the Upper Silesian Convention of 1922. League of Nations Official Journal, 1933, pp. 838 and 934. For details cf. also Janowsky, op. cit., p. 110; Official Journal, Spl. Supp., Records of the Fourteenth Assembly, 1933, Plenary Meetings, p. 29, and Minutes of the Sixth Committee, p. 41.

55 He was appointed by the Council on Oct. 26, 1933, and his resignation became effective on Dec. 31, 1935.

56 The United States of America, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Uruguay. Spain, Argentina and Brazil did not accept. Yugoslavia was added.

57 Report of the Second Meeting of the Governing Body, held in London, May 2–4, 1934.

58 Cf. his opening speech at the First Meeting of the Governing Body, Dec. 5, 1933.

58a Cf. supra, p. 686.

59 Fourth Meeting, July 17, 1935, p. 18. Cf. also, Reale, E., Le Problème des Passeport» (Extrait du Recueil des Cours, Acad. de Dr. Int.), Paris, 1935, p. 78 Google Scholar.

60 Cf. Report of the Fourth Meeting, p. 18.

61 Belgium and Holland at first surreptitiously expelled great numbers of German Jews into each other’s countries. Later they agreed not to expel into each other’s territory German refugees found in their countries, whether coming from Germany or from a third state. Cf. François, loc. cit., p. 322.

62 Document C.233.1935.XII.

63 Cf. Document A.27.1936.XII, p. 5, No. 13, and Bentwich, N., The Refugees from Germany, p. 65 Google Scholar. Later figures give 7,000 to 8,000 refugees from the Saar.

64 Document C.L.120.1935.XII. Seventeen states acceded to the Arrangement of May 24, 1935.

65 Documents A.VI/1936 and A.19.1936.XII, p. 2.

66 Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Rumania, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Uruguay were represented. The United States of America and Finland were represented by observers.

67 Document A.19.1936.XII, Appendix 1, p. 8. The Arrangement was signed by six states: Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. It went into effect on Aug. 4, 1936. Cf. ibid., p. 4. Later Spain and several other states which have not signed the Arrangement, put it into practice, e.g., the United Kingdom.

68 Ibid., p. 4. The High Commissioner’s Report to the Seventeenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly.

69 Document C.75.M.30.1938.XII. Convention concerning the Status of Refugees Coming from Germany, of Feb. 10, 1938, and C.75(a).M.30(a).1938.XII, Final Act.

70 Delegates were sent by Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Cuba, Denmark, Spain, France, Luxemburg, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, while the United States of America, Yugoslavia and Finland sent observers. See the draft Convention drawn up by the High Commissioner in Document A.17.1937.XII, Appendix, p. 6.

71 This term needs to be more specifically defined. The stipulation of the Swiss delegate, that any economic, fiscal or military reason should be considered as purely personal, seems to be very broad.

72 The British delegate declared that his government would take these measures only in case of condemnation for a serious crime or delinquency, or for offences against morality.

73 The general provisions (Chapter XIII), although based on those of the 1933 Convention, differ from them in regard to the period for denunciation (Art. 23), etc. The principle of a convention applicable by stages has been adopted. The Convention was signed by Belgium, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain, France, Norway and The Netherlands.

74 League of Nations Official Journal, Minutes of the Sixth Committee, 1935.

75 The Council appointed Mr. Hansson as acting President of the Governing Body of the Nansen International Office as from Feb. 1, 1936, and the Assembly appointed him as President at its next session. Mr. Hansson is Norwegian and a former President of the Mixed Court of Appeal in Egypt. For the first time, the Nansen Office was given a president who could devote his full time to the service of the Office. He successfully initiated a new period of activity of the League of Nations for the refugees. The first president, Dr. Max Huber, resigned at the end of 1932; his successor, Dr. Max Werner, died at the beginning of 1935. (Both were members of the International Red Cross Committee.) The presidency was then vacant for a year.

76 Document C.2.M.2.1936.XII, Annex 4, p. 15. This expert Committee was appointed by the Council in order to examine the question of international assistance to refugees as a whole.

77 Official Journal, 1937, Spl. Supp., No. 175, pp. 70–80.

78 There are about 10,000 Italian political refugees whose legal status has not yet been solved, many of them being de facto stateless.

79 About 30,000 Christian Assyrians were transferred to Iraq after the war. When Iraq ceased to be a mandate, they desired to migrate. Those Assyrians did not enjoy the protection of the Nansen Office, although the latter was entrusted with responsibility for the “Assyrian, Assyro-Chaldean and Assimilated Refugees” in 1927.

80 The law of March 13, 1938. Cf. League of Nations Official Journal, March–April, 1938, p. 237. Document C.102.M.54.1938.VII.

81 Manchester Guardian Weekly, May 27, 1938, p. 403.

82 New York Times, March 25 and 26, 1938.

83 Thirty-two governments representing all countries of possible temporary or permanent asylum for refugees took part in the Conference. Italy refused the invitation. Germany, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey and Spain were not invited.

84 The London Times, Aug. 5, 1938.

85 The Evian Conference set up two sub-committees, one of which received the reports of 22 private refugee organizations, and the other of which, under the chairmanship of Mr. Hansson, dealt with the legislation of various countries concerning immigration, the documentation of refugees deprived of passports, and other technical questions, and with confidential statements made by governments concerning their capacity to receive refugees.

The second sub-committee was able to build on the work of a conference held in February under the sponsorship of the International Labor Office, at which representatives of South American and European immigration countries had given information as to their capacity to receive immigrants. The report of the sub-committee of the Evian Conference stated that governments in general held out prospects for an increased reception of refugees who would qualify under their immigration laws. Experienced agriculturists were needed by certain countries and others needed selected classes of workers. Still others were prepared to admit immigrants without occupational restrictions.

86 Germany’s quota of 25,000 set by the Immigration Act of 1924 has been less than half-filled in recent years. Since 1933 the excess of German immigration over emigration has been only 7,108. These figures were prepared from government records by the President of the Advisory Committee on Political Refugees, of which Mr. McDonald is Chairman. Cf. New York Times, June 26, 1938. The quota for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1938, for Germany and Austria together is 27,370. Since a quota is determined not by nationality but by the country of birth, it is noteworthy that about 70 or 80 per cent, of the Jews in what was formerly Austria, were born in territories now belonging to Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and Rumania.