The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily of the U.S. Government,
the U.S. Department of the Navy or the Naval War College.
International Law Studies—Volume 9
International Law Topics
BLOCKADE
INTIME
OF
WAR.
25
"The
goods
belonging to a limited liability or jointstock
company
are,however,
considered as neutralor
enemy
according as thecompany
has itshead-quarters in a neutral or
enemy
country."As
unanimity
could not be obtained, these provi-sionshave
had no
effect.We
now
come
to the explanation of the Declarationitself, of
which
we
shall try,by
summarizing
theReports
alreadyapproved
by
the Conference, to givean
exactcommentary
freefrom
all controversy; which,having
become
an
officialcommentary
by
the approval of the Conference,may
be
of a nature to guide the different authorities—
administrative, military,and
judicial—
who
may
have
toapply
it.PRELIMINARY
PROVISION.
The
SignatoryPowers
are agreed in declaring that the rules contained in thefollowing Chapters correspond in sub-stance with the generally recognized principles of interna-tional law.This provision
dominates
all the ruleswhich
follow. Its spirit hasbeen
indicated in the generalremarks
placedat the beginning of this Report.
The
Conference hashad
inview
above
all to declare, to define, and,where
needful,, tocomplete
what
might be
considered ascus-tomary
law.Chapter I.—
BLOCKADE
IN
TIME OF WAR.
Blockade
is here considered solely asan
operation ofwar,
and
there isno
intention of touching inany
way
on
what
is called pacific blockade.Article
1.A
blockademust
be limited to the portsand
coastsbelong-ing to or occupied by the enemy.
26
du
blocus
en
temps
du
guerre.
Article
2.Conformement a
la Declaration de Paris de 1856, le blocus,pour
etre obligatoire, doit etre effectif, c'est-a-diremaintenu par une
force suffisantepour
interdire reellementVacces
du
littoral ennemi.La
premiere
conditionpour qu'un
blocus soit obliga-toire est qu'il soit effectif.Ilya
longtemps que
tout lemonde
est d'accord a ce sujet.Quant
a la definitiondu
blocus effectif,
nous avons pense que nous
n'avions qu'anous
approprier celle qui se trouvedans
la Declarationde
Parisdu
16 avril 1856, qui lieconventionnellement
un
grand
nombre
d'Etats et qui est acceptee de fait par lesautres.
Article
3.La
question de savoir si le blocus est effectifestune
ques-tion defait.
On
comprend
que
souvent
des difficultes s'elevent surle point de savoir si
un
blocus estou
non
effectif; ily
aen
jeu des inter^ts opposes.Le
belligerantbloquant
veut
limiterson
effort, et les neutres desirentque
leurcommerce
soit lemoins
g&rie possible.Des
protesta-tions diplomatiques ont ete parfois formulees a ce sujet. L' appreciationpeut
6tre delicate, parce qu'iln
;y
a pas de regie absolue a poser sur lenombre
et la situation des navires de blocus.Tout depend
des circonstancesde fait, des conditions geographiques.
Suivant
les cas,un
navire suffirapour
bloquerun
port aussi efficacementque
possible, alorsqu'une
flottepourra
6tre insuffisantepour
emp^cher
reellement Faecesd'un
ou
de plusieurs ports declares bloques. C'estdone
essentiellementune
question de fait, a trancherdans
chaque
espece, etnon
d'apres
une
formule arretee aFavance.Qui
la tranchera? L'autorite judiciaire.Ce
sera d'abord le Tribunalna-tional appele a statuer sur la validite de la prise, et
auquel le navire capture
pour
violation de blocuspourra
effective
blockade.
27
Article
2.r
In accordance with the Declaration of Paris of 1856,
a
blockade, in order to he binding,
must
be effective—
that is tosay, it
must
be maintained bya
force sufficient really to pre-vent access to theenemy
coast.The
first condition necessary in order that ablockade
may
be
binding is that it shouldbe
effective.For
along
time
therehas
been
universalagreement
on
this subject.As
for the definition ofan
effective blockade,we
thought
thatwe
had
only toadopt
thatwhich
isfound
in the Declaration of Paris of the 16th April, 1856,which, conventionally, binds a great
number
of States,and
is in fact acceptedby
the.rest.Article
3.The
question whethera
blockade is effective is a question offactIt is
understood
that difficulties often ariseon
theques-tion
whether
ablockade
is or is not effective; there areopposing
interests at stake.The
blockading belligerentwishes to limit his efforts,
and
neutrals desire their tradeto
be
as littlehampered
as possible.Diplomatic
protestshave
sometimes
been
made
on
this subject.The
issuemay
be
a delicate one, because there isno
absolute rule to fix thenumber
and
position of the blockading ships. Alldepends
on
matters of factand
geographicalcondi-tions.
According
to the caseone
ship will suffice toblockade
aport as effectively as possible,then
again afleetmay
notbe
sufficientreallytoprevent access toone
ormore
ports declared blockaded. It is, therefore, essentially a
question offact, to
be
decidedineach
case,and
notaccord-ing to a
formula
settledupon
in advance.Who
shall decide it?The
judicial authority. This will be, in thefirst place, the national tribunal
appointed
topronounce
28
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
blocus, n'ayant pas ete effectif, n'6tait pas obligatoire.
Ce
recours a toujours existe; il pouvaitne
pasdonner
une
satisfaction suffisanteaux
Puissances interessees,parce qu'elles
pouvaient
estimerque
le Tribunal nationaletait assez naturellement porte a considerer
comme
effectif le blocus declare tel
par
son
Gouvernement.
Mais,
quand
laConvention
surlaCour
Internationale des Prises entreraen
vigueur, ily
auraune
juridictionabso-lument
impartiale a laquelle les neutrespourront
s'adres-ser et qui decidera si,dans
tel cas, le blocus etait effectifou
non.La
possibility de ce recours, outre qu'elleper-mettra
de reparer certaines injustices, auravraisembla-blement
un
effet preventif,en
cequ'un
Gouvernement
sepreoccupera
d'etablir ses blocus de telle faconque
l'effet
ne
puisse pasen
6treannule par
des decisionsque
lui causeraient
un
grand
prejudice. L'article 3 adone
toute sa portee, sion
Fentend en
ce sensque
la questionprevue
doit 6tre tranchee judiciairement. C'estpour
ecarter toute
equivoque
que
^explicationprecedente
est insereedans
leRapport
a lademande
de laCommission.
Article
4.Le
blocusn
'estpas
considerscomme
leve si,par
suitedu
mauvais
temps, les forces bloquantes se sontmomentane-ment
eloignees.II
ne
suffit pasque
le blocus soit etabli; il faut qu'il soitmaintenu.
S'il vient a ^tre leve, ilpourra
etrerepris,
mais
alors il exigera lesm6mes
formalitesque
s'il etait etabli
pour
la premiere fois.Traditionnelle-ment,
on
ne
considere pas le blocuscomme
leve, lorsquee'est
par
suitedu mauvais temps
que
les forcesblo-quantes
se sontmomentanement
eloignees. C'est ceque
dit Farticle 4. II doit &tre tenupour
limitatifen
ce sensque
lemauvais
temps
est le seul cas de forcemajeure
qui puisse 6tre allegue. Si les forces bloquantes s'eloi-gnaientpour
toute autre cause, le blocus serait consid6reMAINTENANCE
OF
A
BLOCKADE.
29
effective,
was
not binding. This resorthas
always
existed; it
may
notalways have
given sufficientsatisfac-tion to the
Powers
concerned, becausethey
may
have
considered that the national tribunal
would
be
somewhat
naturally led to regard as effective the
blockade
declaredto
be
soby
itsGovernment.
But,when
the InternationalPrize
Court
Convention
comes
into force, there willbe
an
absolutely impartial tribunal, to
which
neutrals willbe
able to apply,
and
which
willdecide whether, insuch
case, theblockade
was
orwas
not effective.The
possibility of this resort, besides furnishing aremedy
for certain injustices, willprobably
have
a preventive effect, in thata
Government
will take care to establish its blockades insuch
away
that their effectcannot
be annulledby
deci-sionswhich would
produce
aheavy
loss. Article 3 has its fullimport
then, if it isunderstood
in the sense that the questionwith
which
it dealsmust
be
settled judicially.The
foregoing explanation is inserted in theReport
at the request of theCommittee,
in order to avoid all ambi-guity.Article
4.A
blockade is not regarded as raised if the blockading forces are temporarily driven off by bad weather.It is not sufficient that the
blockade
be
established: it is necessary that itbe
maintained. If it is raised itmay
be
re-established,but then
it will require thesame
for-malities as
though
itwere
established for the first time.By
tradition, ablockade
is not regarded as raisedwhen
the blockading forces are temporarily driven off
because
of
bad
weather. This iswhat
Article 4 states. Itmust
be
considered as restrictive in the sense thatbad
weather
is the only
form
of force majeurewhich can be
alleged.If the blockading forces are
withdrawn
forany
other30
du
blocus
en
temps
du
guerre.
Article
5.Le
blocus doit etre impartialement appliqueaux
divers pavilions.Le
blocus, operation de guerre legitime, doit etreres-pecte par les neutres
en
tant qu'il restevraiment
une
operation de guerre
ay
antpour but
d'interrompre toutesles relations
commerciales
du
port bioque.Ce
ne peut
&tre
un
moyen
pour
un
belligerant de favoriser certains pavilionsen
les laissant passer. C'est ce qu'indiqueParticle 5.
Article
6.Le
commandant
de la force bloquante peut accordera
des navires de guerre la permission d'entrerdans
le port bloqueet
d
}en sortir ulterieurement.L'interdiction qui s'applique a tous les navires de
com-merce, s'applique-t-elle aussi
aux
navires de guerre?II n'y a pas de reponse absolue a faire.
Le
commandant
des forces de blocuspeut
estimer qu'il aavantage
ain-tercepter toute
communication
de la place bloquee, et refuserFaeces
aux
navires de guerre neutres; rienne
luiest impose. S'il accorde Fentree, c'est affaire de
cour-toisie. Si
on
a consacreune
regiepour
diresimplement
cela, c'estpour qu'on ne
puisse pas pretendreque
leblocus a cesse d'etre effectif
par
suite de la permission accordee a tels et tels navires de guerre neutres.Le
commandant
du
blocus doit agir impartialement,comme
il est ditdans
Farticle 5. Toutefois,par
cela seul qu'il a laisse entrerun
navire de guerre, ilne peut
etre oblige de laisser passer tous les navires
de
guerre neutres qui se presenteront. C'estune
question d'appre-ciation.
La
presenced'un
navire de guerre neutredans
un
portbloque peut ne
pas avoir lesmemes
consequences
permission"
to pass
a blockade.
31
Article
5.A
blockademust
be applied impartially to the ships ofallnations.
Blockade, as
an
operation of lawful warfare,must
be
respectedby
neutrals in so far as it reallyremains
an
op-eration of
war which
has for itsaim
to interrupt allcom-mercial relations
with
theblockaded
port. Itmay
notbe
themeans
for a belligerent to favour the vessels of certain nationsby
allowingthem
to pass. This is thepoint of Article 5.
Article
6.The commander
ofa
blockading forcemay
grant to awarship permission to enter,
and
subsequently to leave,a
blockaded port.
Does
the prohibitionwhich
applies to allmerchant
ves-sels apply also to warships? It is not possible to give definite reply.
The
commander
of the blockading forcesmay
think itadvantageous
to cut off allcommunication
with
theblockaded
place,and
refuse access to neutralwarships; nothing restrains him. If
he
permitsentrance,it is as a
matter
of courtesy. If a rule hasbeen
estab-lishedmerely
to state this, it is in order that itmay
notbe put forward
that ablockade
has ceased tobe
effectiveon
account of leave granted tosuch
and
such
neutral warships.The
commander
of theblockade
must
act impartially, as is stated in Article 5.Although
from
themere
fact thathe
has permittedone warship
to enterhe
is notobliged to permit all neutral warships
which
may
appear
to enter. It is a question of
judgment.
The
presence ofa neutral warship in a
blockaded
portmay
nothave
the32
du
blocus
en
temps
du
guerre.
Article
7.Un
navire neutre, en cas de detresse constateepar une
autorite des forces bloquantes, pent penetrer
dans
la localitebloquee et ensortirulterieurement a la condition de n'y avoir
laisse ni pris
aucun
chargement.La
detressepeut
expliquer F entree(Tun
navire neutredans
la localite bloquee. C'est,par
exemple,un
navire quimanque
de vivresou
d'eau, qui a besoin d'unerepara-tion
immediate.
Sa
detresseune
fois constateepar
une
autoritede
la force bioqu
ante, il peut franchir la ligne de blocus; ce n'est pasune
faveur qu'il aitasolliciterde
rhumanite
ou de
la courtoisie de Fautorite bioqu
ante. Celle-cipeut
contester Petat de detresse, mais, l'etatune
fois verifie, la
consequence
suit d'elle-meme.Le
navire qui aura ainsipenetre
dans
le portbloque ne
sera pasoblige d'y rester tout le
temps
que
durera le blocus; ilpourra
en
sortirquand
il seraen
etat de le faire,quand
ilse sera procure les vivres
ou Teau
qui lui sont necessaires,quand
ilaura
ete repare.Mais
la permission qui lui a ete accordee n'apu
servir de pretexte a des operationscommerciales
; c'estpour
celaqu'on
exige qu'iln
;
ait laisse
ou
prisaucun
chargement.
II
va
sans direque
Tescadre de blocus, qui voudraitabsolument
empecher
de passer, pourrait le faire, si ellemettait a la disposition
du
navireen
detresse les secoursdont
il a besoin.Article
8.Le
blocus,pour
etre obligatoire, doit etre declarecon-formement
a
Varticle9
et notifieconformement
aux
articles11 et 16.
Independamment
de la condition d'efFectiviteformulee
par
la Declaration de Paris,un
blocus,pour
§treobliga-toire, doit etre declare et notifie.
U
article 8 seborne
a poser le principe qui est applique par les articles suivants.II suffit,
pour
eviter toute Equivoque, d'indiquerfrequem-declaration
of
blockade.
33
Article
7.In circumstances ofdistress, acknowledged by
an
authority of the blockadingforces,a
neutral vesselmay
entera
placeunder
blockadeand
subsequently leave it, provided that shehas neither discharged nor shipped
any
cargo there.Distress
can
explain the entrance of a neutral vessel into ablockaded
place. Itmay
be, for example, a vesselwhich
is inwant
of food or water, orwhich
needsimme-diate repairs.
When
her distress is onceacknowledged
by
an
authority of the blockading force, shemay
passthe line of blockade; it is not a favour
which
shehas
to ' ask of thehumanity
or courtesy of theblockadingauthor-ity.
He
may
deny
the state of distress,but
when
oncethe state is proved, the
consequence
follows of itself.The
vesselwhich
has thus entered theblockaded
port will notbe
obliged toremain
there for thewhole
time theblockade
continues; shemay
leave therewhen
she is fit todo
so,when
she has obtained the food orwater
which
are necessary, orwhen
shehas
been
repaired.But
the.permission
which
hasbeen
granted to hermay
not serve asan
excuse forcommercial
transactions; it is for that reason that it is required that she neither dischargenor
take
any
cargo.It goes
without
saying that a blockadingsquadron
which
would
absolutely prohibit passing,might do
so, ifshe afforded the vessel in distress the help
which
she needed.Article
8.A
blockade, in order to be binding,must
be declared inaccordance with Article 9,
and
notified in accordance withArticles 11
and
16.Independently
of the condition in regard to effective-ness prescribedby
the Declaration of Paris, a blockade,to
be
binding,must
be
declaredand
notified. Article 8 confines itself to layingdown
the principlewhich
is ap-pliedby
the following Articles.It suffices to avoid all uncertainty to define clearly the
meaning
of thetwo
expressionswhich
will frequentlybe
34
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
ment
employees.La
declaration de blocus est Facte de Fautoritecompetente (Gouvernement
ou
chef d'escadre),constatant
qu'un
blocus est etabliou
va
Fetredans
desconditions qui doivent etre precisees (article 9).
La
notification est le fait de porter a la connaissance des
Puissances neutres
ou
de certaines autorites la declara-tion de blocus (article 11).Le
plus souvent, cesdeux
clioses—
la declaration et lanotification
—
auront
lieuprealablement
a F applicationdes regies
du
blocus, c'est-a-dire, a Finterdiction reelledu
passage. Toutefois,comme
on
le verra plus loin, ilest parfois possible
que
le passage soit interdit a raisondu
faitmeme
du
blocus qui est porte a la connaissanced'un
navireapprochant d'un
port bloque,au
moyen
d'unenotification qui est speciale, tandis
que
la notification qui vient d'etre definie, etdont
il est parle a Farticle 11, aun
caractere general.
Article
9.La
declaration de blocus estfaite, soitpar
la Puissancebloquante, soit
par
les autorites navales agissant en sonnom.
Elle precise:
1°
La
datedu commencement du
blocus;2°
Les
limites geographiquesdu
littoral bloque; 3°Le
delai de sortiea
accorderaux
navires neutres.La
declaration de blocusemane
le plussouvent
du
Gouvernement
belligerant lui-meme.Le
Gouvernement
peut
avoir laisse aucommandant
de ses forces navales lafaculte de declarer
lui-meme
un
blocus selon les circon-stances. Cette latitude aura peut-etre lieu de s'appliquermoins
souvent
qu' autrefois a raison de la facilite et de la rapidite descommunications.
Celaimporte
peu: ily
a laune
question d'ordre interieur.La
declaration de blocus doit preciser certains pointsque
les neutres ont interet a connaitrepour
se rendrecompte
deFetendue
de leurs obligations. II fautque
DECLARATION
OF BLOCKADE.
35
used.
The
declaration of blockade is the act of thecom-petent authority (a
Government
orcommander
of asquadron)
stating that ablockade
is, or isabout
to be, establishedunder
conditions tobe
specified (Article 9).The
notification is the fact of bringing to theknowledge
of the neutralPowers
or of certain authorities the decla-ration ofblockade
(Article 11).Most
frequently thesetwo
things—
the declarationand
the notification—
will take place previously to theenforce-ment
of the rules of blockade, that is to say, to the real prohibition of passage. Yet, as willbe
evident later, it is'
sometimes
possible that passagemay
be
forbiddenby
the
very
fact of theblockade
which,by means
of a notificationwhich
is special, isbrought
to theknowledge
of a vessel
approaching
ablockaded
portwhereas
thenotification
which
has justbeen
defined,and
which
isspoken
of in Article 11, has a general character.Article
9.A
declaration of blockade ismade
either by the blockadingPower
or by the naval authorities acting in itsname.
It specifies
—
(1.)
The
datewhen
the blockade begins;(2.)
The
geographical limits ofthe coast blockaded;(3.)
The
delay to be allowed to neutral vessels fordepar-ture.
The
declaration ofblockade
inmost
casesemanates
from
the belligerentGovernment
itself.That
Govern-ment
may
have
left to thecommander
of its naval forces thepower
to himself declare ablockade
according to the circumstances.There
will, perhaps,be
reason to exercise this discretion less oftenthan
formerly,because
of the ease
and
rapidity ofcommunication.
Thismakes
little difference: it is a
matter
of internal administration.The
declaration ofblockade
must
specify certain pointswhich
it isin the interest of the neutrals toknow,
in orderto
be
aware
of the extent of their obligations. It is36
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
communiquer
avec
la localite bloquee. II importe,pour
Fobligationdu
bloquant
comme
pour
Pobligation des neutres, qu'iln
;y
ait pas d'incertitude sur les pointsreellement bloques. Enfin, depuis longtemps, s'est
6tabli Tusage de laisser sortir les navires neutres qui sont
dans
le port bloque.On
connrme
ici cet usageen
ce sens
que
lebloquant
doit accorderun
delai de sortie;on
ne
fixe pas laduree
de ce delai, parceque
cetteduree
est
evidemment
subordonnee
aux
circonstances tres variables. II a eteseulement
entendu
qu'ily
auraitun
delai raisonnable.
Article
10.Si laPuissance oloquante
ou
les autorites navales agissanten son
nom
ne se conformentpas
aux
mentions que1en execu-tion de Varticle
9
—
1° et 2°, elles ontdu
inscriredans
ladeclaration de olocus, cette declaration est nulle, et
une
nou-velle declarationest necessaire
pour
que le olocusproduise seseffets.
Cet
article apour
but
d'assurerT observationde
Varticle9.
La
declarationde
blocus contient desmentions
quine
correspondent pas a la realite des faits; elle indiqueque
le blocus acommence
ou
commencera
tel jour, et,en
fait, il n'acommence
que
plusieurs jours apres.Les
limites
geographiques
sontinexactement
tracees; elles sont plus etenduesque
cellesdans
lesquelles operent les forcesde
blocus. Quelle sera la sanction?La
nullitede la declaration de blocus, ce qui fait
que
cette declara-tionne
produiraaucun
effet. Si, done,en
pareil cas,un
navire neutre est saisipour
violation de blocus, ilpourra
opposer la nullitede
la saisieen
sefondant
surla nullite
de
la declaration de blocus; sison
moyen
estrepousse par le
Tribunal
national, ilpourra
se pourvoirdevant
laCour
Internationale.II faut
remarquer
la porteede
la dispositionpour
qu'il n'y aitpas
de
surprise.La
declaration porteque
leblocus
commence
le ler fevrier;en
fait, il n'acommence
que
le 8. IIva
sans direque
la declaration n'a produitVOID
DECLARATION
OF
BLOCKADE.
37
communicate
with theblockaded
place begins. It isim-portant,
on
account of the obligations of the blockaderand on
account of the obligations of neutrals, that thereshould
be
no
uncertaintyas tothe places reallyblockaded.Finally, for a long time it has
been
established usage toallow neutral vessels
which
are in theblockaded
port to depart. Thiscustom
is here confirmed, in the sense that theblockadermust
allow aperiod for departure; thelengthof this period is not fixed, because its duration clearly
depends
on
circumstances varying greatly. It issimply
understood
that the period shouldbe
reasonable.Article
10.If the blockading Power, or the naval authorities acting in its
name,
do not establish the blockade in conformity withthe provisions, which, in accordance with Article
9
(1)and
(2),must
be inserted in the declaration of blockade, thedeclaration is void,
and
a
new
declaration is necessary inorder to
make
the blockade operative.The
aim
of this article is to insure the observance of Article 9. If the declaration ofblockade
containsstate-ments which
do
not correspondwith
the actual facts; if it states that theblockade
began, or will begin,on
such
aday, and, in fact, it only
began
severaldays
later. If the geographical limits are inaccurately laiddown;
ifthey
are
more
extended
than
thosewithinwhich
theblockadingforces are operating.
What
shallbe
the sanction?The
nullity of the declaration of blockade,
which
means
thatthe
blockade
would
have no
effect. If then, insuch
acase, a neutral vessel is captured for violation of block-ade, she
can
plead the nullity of the capture, basing the pleaon
the nullity of the declaration of blockade; if herplea is rejected
by
the national tribunal, shecan
appealto the International Court,
38
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
avait pas de blocus
du
tout; la declaration constateun
fait,
mais
n'en tient pas lieu.La
regieva
plus loin: ladeclaration
ne
produira pasmeme
effet a partirdu
8;elle est nulle definitivement, et il faut
en
faireune
autre.II n'est pas parle ici
du
casou
Yarticle 9 aurait etemeconnu,
en cequ'aucun
delai de sortie n'aurait eteaccorde
aux
navires neutres setrouvant dans
le portbloque.
La
sanctionne
saurait etre lameme.
II n'ya pas de raison d'annuler la declaration
en
ce quitouche
lesbatiments
neutresvoulant
penetrerdans
le portbloque. II faut
une
sanction speciale, qui est indiqueedans
Farticle 16, alinea 2.Article
11.La
declaration de blocus est notifiee:1°
Aux
Puissances neutres,par
la Puissance bloquante,au
moyen
d'unecommunication
adresseeaux
Gouverne-ments eux-memes ou
a leurs representants accredites aupresa" elle;
2°
Aux
autorites locales,par
lecommandant
de laforce bloquante. Ces autorites, de leur cote, en informeront,aus-sitot que possible, les consuls Strangers qui exercent leurs fonctions
dans
le portou
sur le littoral bloques.La
declaration de blocusne vaut
que
si elle est notifiee.On
ne peut
exiger Yobservation d'une regieque
deceux
qui ont eteen
mesure
de la connattre.II
y
adeux
notifications a faire:
1.
La
premiere
est adresseeaux
Puissances neutrespar
la Puissance belligerante, qui lacommunique
aux Gouvernements
eux-m&mes
ou
a leursrepre-sentants accredites aupres d'elle.
La
communica-tion
aux Gouvernements
se fera le plussouvent
au
moyen
des agents diplomatiques: il pourrait arriverqu'un
belligerantne
fut pasen
rapportsdiplo-matiques
avecun
pays
neutre; il s'adresseraNOTIFICATION OF BLOCKADE.
39
8th, because at that time there
was no
blockade
at all;the declaration states a fact,
but
doesnot
take the place of one.The
rule goes further: the declaration shallnot
even
have
effectfrom
the 8thonward;
it is absolutelyvoid,
and
anothermust
bemade.
No
mention
isheremade
of the casewhere
Article 9has
been
disregarded in thatno
period for departure hasbeen
accorded to neutral vesselswhich
are in theblockaded
port.
The
sanctionwould
not
be
the same.There
isno
reason to
annul
the declaration in thatwhich
relates to neutral vessels wishing to enter theblockaded
port.That
requires a special sanctionwhich
is pointed out in Article 16,paragraph
2.Article
11.A
declaration of blockade is notified—
(1)
To
the neutral Powers, by the blockadingPower
bymeans
of acommunication
addressed to theGovernments
themselves, or to their representatives accredited to it;
(2)
To
the local authorities, by the officercommanding
the blockadingforce. These authorities will,on
theirpart, inform, as soon as possible, theforeign consulswho
exercise theirfunctions in the port oron
the coast blockaded.A
declaration ofblockade
is not valid unless notified.The
observance ofarulecan
be required onlyof thosewho
have been
in position toknow
of it.Two
notifications are to bemade:
1.
The
first is addressed to neutralPowers
by
thebelligerent
Power,
which
communicates
it to theGovernments
themselves or to their representatives accredited to it.The communication
to theGovern-ments
will inmost
cases bemade
through
the40
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
neutres avises
de
la declarationde
blocus aprendre
lesmesures
necessairespour en
faire parvenir lanouvelle sur les divers points
de
leur territoire, specialementdans
leurs ports.2.
La
seconde
notification est faitepar
lecom-mandant
de
la forcebloquante
aux
autorites locales.Celles-ci doivent informer, aussitot
que
possible, les Consuls etrangers qui residentdans
la placeou
surle littoral bloques.
Ces
autorites engageraient leur responsabiliteen
ne
s'acquittant pasde
cette obliga-tion.Les
neutres pourraienteprouver
un
prejudicedu
faitde
n'avoirpas
eteprevenus
du
blocusen
temps
utile.Article
12.Les
regies relativesa
la declaration et a la notification deHocus
sont applicablesdans
le cas oil le blocus serait etenduou
viendraita
etre repris apres avoir ete leve.Un
blocus estetendu
au-delade
ses limites primitives;c'est,
pour
la partie nouvelle,un
blocusnouveau
et,par
suite, les regiesde
la declaration etde
la notificationdoivent s'y appliquer. II
en
est dem§me
dans
le cas ou,apres avoir ete leve,
un
blocus est repris; il n'y a pas atenir
compte du
faitqu'un
blocus a deja existepour
lam&me
localite.Article
13.La
levee volontairedu
blocus, ainsi que toute restrictionqui
y
serait apportee, doit etre notifieedans
laforme
pre-scrite
par
Varticle 11.S'il est indispensable de connattre Fetablissement
d'un
blocus, il serait utile
que
le public fut renseigne sur lalevee
du
blocus, puisqu'elle fait cesserFentrave apportee
aux
relations des neutresavec
le port bloque. Aussia-t-on juge a
propos de
demander
a la Puissance- quileve
un
blocusde
le faire savoirdans
laforme
ou
elle aCHANGE
INLIMITS
OF
BLOCKADE.
41
blockade
to take the necessarymeasures
tosend
thenews
to the different parts of their territory,espe-cially to their ports.
2.
The
second
notification ismade
by
thecom-mander
of the blockading force to the localauthori-ties.
These
must
inform, assoon
as possible, the foreign Consuls residing at the place oron
the coast blockaded.These
authoritiesassume
the liability ifthey
do
not
discharge this obligation. Neutralsmight
suffer lossfrom
the fact ofnot having been
informed
of theblockade
in sufficient time.Article
12.The
rules relative to the declarationand
to the notificationofblockade are applicable in the case in
which
the blockademay
have beenextended, ormay
have beenre-established afterhaving been raised.
If a
blockade
isextended
beyond
its original limits: asregards the
new
part, it is anew
blockade
and, in con-sequence, the rules as to the declarationand
as to the notificationmust
be applied to it. It is thesame
in the casewhere
ablockade
is re-established afterhaving been
raised;
no
account
istaken
of the fact that ablockade has
already existed in the
same
locality.Article
13.The
voluntary raising ofa blockade, asalsoany
limitationwhich
may
be introduced,must
be notified in themanner
prescribed by Article 11
.
If it is indispensable to
know
of the establishment of a blockade, itwould
be
useful that the public shouldbe
informed
of the raising of a blockade, since it putsan
end
to the restraint
imposed on
the relations of neutralswith
the
blockaded
port. It has thereforebeen judged proper
establish-42
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
il
y
a lieu deremarquer
que
la sanctionne
saurait 6trela
m6me
dans
lesdeux
cas.Pour
la notificationde
la declarationde
blocus, ily
aune
sanction directe, ade-quate: le blocusnon
notifie n'estpas
obligatoire.Pour
la levee, il
ne
sauraity
avoir rien d'analogue.Le
public profitera,en
fait, de cette levee,quand
meme
on
ne
la lui aurait pas fait connattre omciellement.La
Puissancebloquante
qui n'aurait pas notifie la levee s'exposerait a des reclamations diplomatiquesmotivees par
Finaccom-plissementd'un
devoir international.Cet
inaccomplisse-ment
aura
desconsequences
plusou
moins
graves suivant les circonstances. Parfois, la leveedu
blocusaura
ete,en
fait,immediatement
connue, et la notification officiellen'ajouterait rien a cette publicite effective.
II
va
sans dire qu'ilne
s'agitque
de la levee volontairedu
blocus; si lebloquant
a ete chasse par Farrivee deforces ennemies, il
ne peut
6tre tenu de faire connaitresa defaite,
que
son adversaire se chargerad'annoncer
sansretard.
Au
lieu de leverun
blocus,un
belligerantpeut
se contenter de le restreindre; il
ne bloque
plusqu'un
port
au
lieu de deux.Pour
le port qui cesse d'etre com-prisdans
le blocus, c'estcomme
s'ily
avait leveevolontaire;
en
consequence, lameme
regie s'applique.Article
14.La
saisissabilited'un
navire neutreyour
violation deblocus est subordonnee a la connaissance reelle
ou presumee
du
blocus.Pour
qu'un
navire soit saisissablepour
violation deblocus, la
premiere
condition est qu'il ait eu connaissancedu
blocus, parce qu'il n'est pas juste de punirquelqu'un
pour
inobservation d'une regie qu'il aurait ignoree. Toutefois, il est des circonstances ou,meme
en
Fabsenced'une connaissance reelle prouvee,
on
peut
presumer
cette connaissance, sauf a reserver a Finteresse la faculteLIABILITY
FOR
BREACH
OF BLOCKADE.
43
ment
of theblockade
(Article 11).Only
itmust
beobserved
that the sanctionwould
not
be
thesame
in thetwo
cases.For
the notification of the declaration ofblockade there is a direct
and
adequate
sanction:an
un-notified blockade is
not
binding.For
the raising therewould
not beanything
analogous.The
public will,infact, gainby
theraising,even
when
ithasnot
been
made
known
officially.
The
bloqkadingPower
which
has not notified the raisingwould
expose itself to diplomaticremons-trances actuated
by
the nonfulfilment ofan
internationalduty. This nonfulfilment will
have
more
or less seriousconsequences, according to circumstances.
Sometimes
the raising of theblockade
will, in fact,have
become
known
immediately,and
the official notificationwould
add
nothing
to this real publicity.It goes
without
saying that this relates only to the voluntary raising of a blockade; if the blockading forcehas
been
driven offby
the arrival ofenemy
forces, itcan-not
be
heldbound
tomake known
its defeat,which
itsadversary will
undertake
toannounce
without
delay.Instead of raising a blockade, a belligerent
may
confine himself to restricting it; he blockadesone
port only in-stead of two.For
the portwhich
ceases to be includedin the blockade, it is as if there
had
been
avoluntary
raising; consequently the
same
rule applies.Article
14.The
liability of a neutral vessel to capturefor breach of blockade is contingenton
her knowledge, actual or pre-sumptive, ofthe blockade.In order that a vessel
may
be
liable to capturefor viola-tion of blockade, the first condition is that sheHas
had
knowledge
of the blockade, becauseit isnot
just topunish
anyone
fornot
observing arule ofwhich
he
was
ignorant.Yet, there are circumstancesin which,
even
in the absenceof
knowledge
actually proved,knowledge
may
be44
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
Article
15.La
connaissancedu
blocus est,sauf
preuve contraire,pre-sumee, lorsque le navire a quitte
un
port neutreposterieure-ment a
la notification, entemps
utile,du
hlocusa
laPuis-sance dont releve ce port.
Un
navire a quitteun
port neutre posterieurement a la notificationdu
blocus faite a la Puissancedont
releve leport. Cette notification avait-elle ete faite
en
temps
utile, c'est-a-dire de
maniere
a parvenirdans
le portmeme
ou
elle adu
etre divulgueepar
les autoritesdu
port? C'estune
question de fait a examiner. Si elleest resolue affirmativement, il est naturel
de supposer
que
le navire avait eu, lorsde son
depart, connaissancedu
blocus. Cettepresomption
n'estpourtant
pas absolueet la
preuve
contraire est reservee.Ce
seraau
navire inculpe a la fournir,en
justifiant de Yexistence de circon-stances qui expliquentson
ignorance.Article
16.Si le navire qui approche
du
port bloque n'apas
connu
ou
ne peutetrepresume
avoirconnu
Vexistencedu
blocus, lanotification doit etre faite
au
navirememe
par
un
officierde
Vun
des bdtiments de laforce bloquante. Cettenotifica-tion doit etre portee sur le livre de bord avec indication de la
date et de Vheure, ainsi que de la position geographique
du
navirea
cemoment.
Le
navire neutre qui sortdu
port bloque, alors que,par
la negligence
du
commandant
de laforce bloquante,aucune
declaration de blocus n'a ete notifiee
aux
autorites locales ouqybun
delai n'apas
ete indiquedans
la declarationnotifiee, doit etre laisse libre de passer.
On
suppose
un
navireapprochant
du
portbloque
sansqu'on
puisse dire qu'il connaitou
qu'il estpresume
con-naitre ^existence
du
blocus; il n'a ete touclie paraucune
notification
dans
le sens de Particle 11.Dans
ce cas,une
notification speciale est necessairepour
faire connaitre regulierement le faitdu
blocusau
navire. Cetteknowledge
of blockade.
45
Article
15.Failing proofto thecontrary, knowledge of the blockade is
presumed
ifthe vessel lefta
neutral port subsequently to thenotification of the blockade
made
in sufficient time to thePower
towhich
such fort belongs.«
A
vesselhas
left a neutral port subsequently to the notification of theblockade
made
to thePowers
towhich
theportbelongs.
Was
this notificationmade
in sufficientJime, that is to say, in a
manner
to reach the port in question,where
ithad
to be publishedby
the portauthorities?
That
is a question of fact tobe
examined.
If it is settled affirmatively, it is natural tosuppose
thatthe vessel
had
knowledge
of theblockade
at the time ofher departure. This
presumption
is not,however,
absolute,
and
the rightof proofto the contrary isreserved. It is for the accused vessel to furnish it,proving
itby
the existence of circumstanceswhich
explain her ignorance.Article
16.If
a
vesselwhich
approachesa
blockaded port does notknow
or cannot bepresumed
toknow
of the blockade, thenotification
must
bemade
to the vessel itselfbyan
officer of one of the ships of the blockadingforce. This notificationmust
be entered in the vessel's logbook, with entry oftheday
and
hour, as also ofthe geographical position ofthevessel atthe time.
A
neutral vesselwhich
leaves a blockaded portmust
be allowed to passfree if, through the negligence of the officercommanding
the blockadingforce,no
declaration of blockadehas beennotified to the local authorities, or, if, inthe
declara-tion, as notified,
no
delay has been indicated.A
vessel issupposed
to beapproaching
ablockaded
portwithout
its being possible to saywhether
sheknows
or ispresumed
toknow
of the existence of the blockade; she hasreceivedno
notification in the sense of Article 11. Inthat case, a special notification is necessary in order to
46
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
des
batiments
de la forcebloquante
et portee sur le livre de bord; elle peut etre faiteaux
navires d'une flotteconvoyee
par
un
vaisseau de guerre neutre, grace a l'intermediairedu
commandant
du
convoi
quien
donne
recu et qui
prend
lesmesures
necessairespour
1'inscriptionde la notification sur le livre de
bord
dechaque
navire. Ellementionne
les circonstances detemps
et de lieudans
lesquelles elle est faite, ainsique
les lieux bloques.Le
navire estempeche
de
passer, ce qui faitque
leblocus est obligatoire
pour
lui, bienque
n'ay
ant pas eteprealablement notifie; c'est
pour
celaque
cetadverbe
a ete
omis dans
Particle 8. II n'est pas admissiblequ'un
navire decommerce
ait la pretention dene
pas tenircompte
d'un
blocus reel et de forcer le blocus,par
cette seule raison qu'il n'en avait pas personellementconnais-sance. Seulement, s'il peut etre
empeche
de
passer, ilne
peut etre saisique
lorsqu'il essaie de forcer le blocus apres avoir recu la notification.Comme
on
le voit, cette notification speciale joueun
role tres restreint etne
doitpas 6tre
confondue
avec la notification speciale exigee d'unemaniere
absoluedans
la pratique de certainesmarines.
Ce
qui vient d'etre dit se refereau
navirevenant
du
large. II faut aussi s'occuperdu
navire sortantdu
port bloque. Siune
notification regulieredu
blocus a etefaite
aux
autorites locales (article 11—
2°), la situation est simple: le navire connait,ou
estpresume
connaitre,le blocus, et s'expose
done
a la saisiedans
le casou
il n'apas observe le delai
donne
par le bloquant.Mais
il peutarriver
qu'aucune
declaration de blocus n'ait ete notifieeaux
autorites localesou
que
cette declaration ait etemuette au
sujetdu
delai de sortie,malgre
la prescriptionde Tarticle 9
—
3°.La
sanction de la fautedu
bloquant
est
que
le navire doit &tre laisse libre de passer. C'estune
sanction energique qui correspondexactement
aKNOWLEDGE
OF
BLOCKADE.
47
of
one
of the ships of the blockading force,and
is enteredon
the vessel'slogbook
; itmay
bemade
to thevessels of afleet
convoyed
by
a neutral ship ofwar
through
themedium
of thecommander
of the convoy,who
givesacknowledgment
of itand
takes themeasures
necessary for the entry of the notificationon
thelogbook
ofeach
vessel. It
mentions
the timeand
placewhere
it ismade,
as also the places blockaded.The
vessel is pro-hibitedfrom
passing, theblockade
is thusmade
bindingfor her,
though not
previouslynotified; it is for thisreasonthat this
adverb
hasbeen
omitted in Article 8. It isnot
admissible that a
merchant
vessel should claim to dis-regard a real blockade,and
tobreak
theblockade
for the sole reason that shewas
not personallyaware
ofit.Even
though
shemay
beprevented
from
passing, shemay
only becaptured
when
she tries tobreak blockade
afterre-ceiving the notification.
As
is evident this specialnotifi-cation plays a very small part,
and
shouldnot
be confusedwith
the special notification absolutely requiredby
the practice of certain navies.What
has justbeen
said refers to the vesselcoming
infrom
sea.The
vessel leaving theblockaded
portmust
also be considered. If a regular notification of the blockade hasbeen
made
to the local authorities (Article 11 (2)), the position is simple: the vesselknows,
or ispresumed
toknow
of the blockade,and
is therefore liable to capture in case she has not observed the period fordeparture allowed
by
the blockadingPower.
But
itmay
happen
thatno
declaration ofblockade
hasbeen
notified to the local authorities, or that that declaration hasnot
mentioned
the period allowed for departure, in spite of the provision of Article 9 (3).The
sanction of theblockading
Power's
fault is that the vesselmust
be
allowed to pass free. It is a strong sanction,which
cor-responds exactly
with
the nature of the offence com-mitted,and
willbe
the bestmeans
of preventing its48
DU BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
II
va
sans direque
cette dispositionne
concerneque
les naviresauxquels
le delaide
sortie avait du. profiter—
c'est-a-dire, les navires neutres qui etaient
dans
le portau
moment
de Tetablissementdu
blocus; elle estabsolu-ment
etrangereaux
navires qui seraientdans
le portapres avoir force le blocus.
Le
commandant
de l'escadrede
blocus est toujours amerne
de reparerson
omissionou son
erreur, de faireune
notificationdu
blocusaux
autorites localesou de
completer
celle qu'il aurait deja faite.Comme
on
le voit par ces explications,on suppose
lecas le plus ordinaire, celui
ou
Yabsence de notificationimplique
une
negligencedu
commandant
des forcesde
blocus.
La
situation se trouveevidemment
tout a fait changee, si lecommandant
a fait tout ce quidependait
de
luipour
faire la notification et s'ilen
a eteemp^che
par
lemauvais
vouloir des autorites locales qui ontintercepte toute
communication
avec le dehors.Dans
ce cas, il
ne
peut etre force de laisser passer les naviresqui veulent sortir et qui,
en
Yabsence de la notification exigee, et de la connaissancepresumee
du
blocus, sontdans
une
situationanalogue
a celle qui estprevue par
Particle 16, alinea ler.
Article
17.La
saisie des navires neutrespour
violation de blocus ne peut etre effectuee quedans
lerayon d
'action des batiments de guerre charges d'assurer Veffectivitedu
blocus.L' autre condition de la saisissabilite
du
navire estque
celui-ci se trouve
dans
lerayon
d'action desbatiments
de guerre charges d'assurer Teffectivitedu
blocus: ilne
suffit pas qu'il soit
en
routepour
le port bloque.Quant
a ce qui constitue lerayon
d'action, il a etefourni
une
explication qui a eteuniversellement acceptee, et qui est reproduite icicomme
le meilleurcommentaire
de la regie de Particle 17:
SEIZURE
FOR
VIOLATION OF
BLOCKADE.
49
Itgoes
without
saying that this provision concerns onlyvessels to
which
the period for departurewould have
been
of use—
that is to say, neutral vesselswhich were
in the port at the timewhen
theblockade
was
established;it has absolutely
nothing
todo with
vesselswhich
are inthe port after
having
broken
blockade.The
commander
of the blockadingsquadron
isalways
able to repair his omission or mistake, to
make
anotifi-cation of the
blockade
to the local authorities, or to com-plete thatwhich
he
has alreadymade.
As
is seenfrom
these explanations, themost
ordinarycase is
assumed
—
that inwhich
the absence of notification implies negligenceon
the part of thecommander
of the blockading forces.The
situation is clearly altogetherchanged
if thecommander
hasdone
all thatdepends
on
him
tomake
the notification,and
ifhe
hasbeen prevented
from
doing soby
the ill will of the local authorities,who
have
intercepted allcommunications
from
outside.In
that case
he
cannot
be forced to let pass vesselswhich
wish
to depart,and
which, in the absence of the pre-scribed notificationand
ofpresumptive
knowledge
of theblockade, are in a position similar to that
contemplated
in Article 16,
paragraph
1.Article
17.The
seizure of neutral vessels for violation of blockademay
bemade
only within the radius of action of the shipsof
war
assigned tomaintain
an
effective blockade.The
other condition of the liability of a vessel tocap-ture is that she be
found
within the radius of action of the warships assigned tomaintain
theblockade
effective; itis not
enough
that she should beon
herway
to theblockaded
port.As
forwhat
constitutes the radius ofaction,an
expla-nation has
been
givenwhich
hasbeen
universally accepted,and which
isreproduced
here as furnishing thebest
commentary
on
the rule of Article 17:—
"When
aGovernment
decides toundertake
50
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
de
cote ennemie, il designeun
certainnombre
de
navires
de
guerre quidevront
participerau
blocus, et ilen
confie lecommandement
aun
officier quiaura
pour
mission d'assurerpar
leurmoyen
Feffectivitedu
blocus.Le
commandant
de la forcenavale
ainsiconstitute repartit les navires
mis
a sa dispositionsuivant la configuration
de
la cote et la situationgeographique
des points bloques, etdonne
achacun
d'eux des instructions sur le role qu'ilaura a remplir, et
en
particulier sur lazone
confiee a sa surveillance. C'estF
ensemble
de ces zones de surveillance, organi-sees de tellemaniere
que
le blocus soit effectif, quiforme
lerayon
d'action de la force navale bloquante."Le
rayon
d'action ainsicompris
est etroitementlie a Feffectivite
du
blocus et aussiau
nombre
desbatiments
quiy
sont affectes."II peut se presenter des cas
ou un
seul navire suffirapour
maintenirun
blocus effectif—
par
exem-ple, a Fentree
d'un
portou
a Fembouchure
d'un
fleuve
dont
l'estuaire estpeu 6tendu
—
a la conditionque
les circonstancespermettent au bloqueur de
setenir
suffisamment rapproche de
1'entree.Dans
cecas, le
rayon
d'action estlui-m6me
rapproche
de lac6te. Mais, si les circonstances le forcent,
au
contraire, a se tenir eloigne, il
pourra
se faireque
le navire soit insufnsantpour
assurer Feffectivite, et il deviendra alors necessaire de lui adjoindred'autres navires
pour
la maintenir.De
ce fait lerayon
d'action devient plusetendu
et plus eloignede
la c6te. IIpourra
done
varier suivant les circon-stances et suivant lenombre
des navires bloqueurs,mais
sera toujourslimit e par la conditionque
l'effec-tivite* soit assuree."II
ne semble
pas possible d'assignerau
rayon
d'action des limit esen
chiffres fixes et invariables,pas plus qu'il n'est possible de fixer a l'avance et
invariablement le
nombre
desbatiments
n^cessairescircon-RADIUS OF
ACTION
OF
BLOCKADING
FORCE.51
enemy
coast it assigns a certainnumber
ofwarships
to take part in the blockade,and
intrusts thecom-mand
of these toan
officerwhose
duty
is to insureby
this
means
the effectiveness of the blockade.The
commander
of the naval forcethusformed
distributesthe ships placed at his disposal according to the
con-figuration of the coast
and
the geographical position of theblockaded
places,and
giveseach
ship instruc-tions as to the partwhich
she has to play,and
espe-cially as to thezone
intrusted to her surveillance. It is all of the zones of surveillance together,organ-ized in
such
manner
that theblockade
is effective, thatform
the radius of action of the blockadingnaval
force."The
radius of action *sounderstood
is closelyconnected with
the effectiveness of the blockade,and
alsowith
thenumber
of shipsemployed on
it."Cases
may
occur inwhich
a single ship willbe
enough
tomaintain
ablockade
effective,—
forin-stance, at the entrance of a port, or at the
mouth
of a riverwith
asmall estuary—
on
condition ascircum-stances allow the blockading ship to staynear
enough
to the entrance.In
that case the radius of action is itself nearthecoast. But,on
the contrary,ifcircum-stances force her to
remain
far off, itmay
be
thatone
shipwould
notbe
enough
to secure effective-ness,and
tomaintain
this it willthen
be
necessaryto
add
other ships.From
this cause the radius of actionbecomes
wider,and
more
remote
from
thecoast. It
may
thereforevary with
circumstances,and
with
thenumber
of blockading ships,but
it willalways be
limitedby
the condition that effectivenessmust
be
assured."It does not
seem
possible to assign limits to theradius of action in definite
and
unvarying
figures,any more
than
it is possible to fixbeforehand
and
invariably the
number
of ships necessary to assurethe effectiveness of
any
blockade.These
points52
DU
BLOCUS
EN
TEMPS
DU
GUERRE.
stances,
pour
chaque
cas particulier de blocus;peut-§tre pourrait-on le faire
au
moment
de la declaration."II est evident
qu'un
blocusne
sera pas etabli dela
m&me
faconpour
une
cotesans defense etpour
une
cotepossedant
tous lesmoyens
modernes
de defense.II
ne
saurait 6tre questiondans
ce derniercasd'appli-quer
une
regie telleque
celle qui exigeait autrefois des vaisseaux arr&tes etsufnsamment
proches des points bloques; la situation serait tropdangereuse
pour
lesnavires de laforcebloquante
qui,par
ailleurs, possedent aujourd'hui desmoyens
plus puissants, leurpermettant de
surveiller d'une facon effectiveune
zone
beaucoup
plusetendue
que
jadis."Le
rayon
d'action d'une force navalebloquante
pourra
s'etendre assez loin, mais,comme
ildepend
du
nombre
desbatiments
concourant
a 1'effecthate*du
blocus, etcomme
il reste toujours limit epar
la condition d'effectivite, il n'atteindra jamais desmers
eloignees sur lesquelles
naviguent
des navires decommerce,
peut-6tre destinesaux
ports bloques,mais dont
la destination estsubordonnee
aux
modi-fications
que
les circonstances sont susceptiblesd'apporter
au
blocusau
coursdu
voyage.En
resume,
Fidee derayon
d'action liee a celled'effecti-vite telle
que nous avons
essaye de la definir,c'est-a-dire,
comprenant
lazone
d'operations des forcesbloquantes,
permet au
belligerant d'exercer d'unemaniere
efficace le droit de blocus quilui est reconnu,et, d'un autre cote, elle evite
aux
neutres d'etreexposes a
grande
distanceaux
inconvenientsdu
blocus, touten
leur laissant courir les dangers auxquels ils s'exposentsciemment
en
s'approchantdes points