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153-571: The region was detached from East Prussia by the Treaty of Versailles and placed under League of Nations administration with a provisional French garrison. During the staged Klaipėda Revolt in January 1923, the Lithuanians seized control of the region and attached it to Lithuania. The Conference of Ambassadors accepted the fait accompli and set out to formalise the territorial changes. The inhabitants of

306-528: A League of Nations mandate since 1920, was occupied by the Lithuanian Armed Forces in 1923 and annexed without giving the inhabitants a choice by ballot. After Adolf Hitler's rise to power , opposition politicians were persecuted and newspapers banned. Erich Koch , who headed the East Prussian Nazi party from 1928, led the district from 1932. The Otto-Braun-House was requisitioned to become

459-642: A municipal corporation , economic freedom as well as emancipation of the serfs and Jews . In the course of the Prussian restoration by the 1815 Congress of Vienna , the East Prussian territories were re-arranged in the Regierungsbezirke of Gumbinnen and Königsberg . From 1905, the southern districts of East Prussia formed the separate Regierungsbezirk of Allenstein . East and West Prussia were first united in personal union in 1824 and then merged in

612-565: A real union in 1829 to form the Province of Prussia . The united province was again split into separate East and West Prussian provinces in 1878. From 1824 to 1878, East Prussia was combined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia , after which they were reestablished as separate provinces. Along with the rest of the Kingdom of Prussia, East Prussia became part of the German Empire during

765-480: A republic . Most of the former Prussian provinces of West Prussia and Posen , territories annexed by Prussia in the 18th century Partitions of Poland , were ceded to the Second Polish Republic according to the Treaty of Versailles . East Prussia became an exclave , being separated from mainland Germany. The Klaipėda Region was also separated from the province. Because most of West Prussia became part of

918-480: A binding one. Manley Ottmer Hudson (who sat as a judge) said that an advisory opinion "was what it purported to be. It is advisory. It is not in any sense a judgement... hence it is not in any way binding on any state", but Charles De Visscher argued that in certain situations, an advisory opinion could be binding on the League of Nations Council and, under certain circumstances, some states; M. Politis agreed, saying that

1071-856: A continuation of the Mavrommatis Jerusalem Concessions Case . 3 of the advisory opinions were on the Competence of the European Commission on the Danube , and the 4th was on the Jurisdiction of Danzig Courts . The 4 orders were on the German Interests in Polish Upper Silesia . This year saw another set of elections; on 6 December, with Dionisio Anzilotti elected president and André Weiss elected vice-president. Weiss died

1224-406: A final judgment was set, it was given to the public and the press. Every judgment contained the reasons behind the decision and the judges assenting; dissenting judges were allowed to deliver their own judgment, with all judgments read in open court before the agents of the parties to the dispute. Judgments could not be revised except on the discovery of some fact unknown when the court sat but not if

1377-417: A judge belonging to one member state on the panel and the other member state was not "represented", they had the ability to select an ad hoc judge of their own nationality to hear the case. In a full court hearing, that increased the number to 12; in one of the 5-man chambers, the new judge took the place of one of the original 5. That did not apply to summary procedure cases. The ad hoc judge, selected by

1530-399: A judgment containing a summary of those submitted by individual judges. The court would then agree on the decision that they wished to reach, along with the main points of argument they wished to use. Once this was done, a committee of four, including the president, the registrar and two judges elected by secret ballot, drafted a final judgment, which was then voted on by the entire court. Once

1683-711: A judgment rather than an advisory opinion, and an advisory opinion on the International Labour Organization . Despite the reduction of work in 1926, 1927 was another busy year, the court sitting continuously from 15 June to 16 December, handing down 4 orders, 4 judgments and 1 advisory opinion. The judgments were in the Belgium-China Case , the Case Concerning the Factory at Chorzow , the Lotus Case and

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1836-551: A major sea port in the Baltic Sea , was the only viable access to the sea for Lithuania. However, such Lithuanian aspirations gained little local or international support. It seemed that the region would be turned into a free city , similar to the Free City of Danzig . Rather than waiting for an unfavourable decision by the Allies , Lithuanian activists decided to organise a revolt, capture

1989-495: A majority on the second. The full court was Urrutia, Mineichiro Adachi , Rafael Altamira y Crevea , Dionisio Anzilotti , Bustamante, Willem van Eysinga , Henri Fromageot , José Gustavo Guerrero , Cecil Hurst , Edouard Rolin-Jaequemyns , Frank B. Kellogg , Negulesco, Michał Jan Rostworowski , Walther Schücking and Wang Ch'ung-hui . Judges were paid 15,000 Dutch florins a year, with daily expenses of 50 florins to pay for living expenses, and an additional 45,000 florins for

2142-553: A much smaller homonymous Olsztyn Voivodeship, the bulk of Elbląg Voivodeship and a significant part of the Suwałki Voivodeship . The remaining pre-war population was treated as Germanized Poles and a policy of re- Polonization was pursued throughout the country Most of these " Autochthons " chose to emigrate to West Germany from the 1950s through 1980s (between 1970 and 1988 55,227 persons from Warmia and Masuria moved to Western Germany). Local toponyms were Polonised by

2295-401: A peace treaty such as the Treaty of Versailles (which was done by a special chamber of 5 judges, appointed every 3 years), when reviewing cases on communications or transport arising from a peace treaty (which used a similar procedure) and when hearing summary procedure cases, which were reviewed by a panel of 3 judges. To prevent the appearance of any bias in the court's makeup, if there was

2448-441: A plan to create an efficient secretariat, using the smallest number of staff possible and costing as little as possible. As a result, he decided to have each member of the secretariat as the head of a particular department, so the numbers of actual employees could be increased or decreased as necessary without impacting on the actual registry. In 1927, the post of deputy-registrar was created, tasked with dealing with legal research for

2601-624: A procedure to select the judges. The outbreak of the First World War , and, in particular, its conclusion made it clear to many academics that some kind of world court was needed, and it was widely expected that one would be established. Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations , created after the Treaty of Versailles , allowed the league to investigate setting up an international court. In June 1920, an Advisory Committee of jurists appointed by

2754-480: A second extraordinary session from 12 November to 6 December 1923 ( Jaworznia Question ). A replacement for Ruy Barbosa (who had died on 1 March 1923 without hearing any cases) was also found, with the election of Epitácio Pessoa on 10 September 1923. The workload the following year was reduced, containing two judgments and one advisory opinion; the Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions Case ,

2907-479: A straight majority vote, held independently in the Council and Assembly. The judges served for a period of nine years, with their term limits all expiring at the same time, necessitating a completely new set of elections. The judges were independent and rid themselves of their nationality for the purposes of hearing cases, owing allegiance to no individual member state, but it was forbidden to have more than one judge from

3060-634: A strong isolationist element in the US Senate, arguing that the ineffectiveness shown by US nonparticipation in the court and other international institutions could be linked to the start of the Second World War. 1933 was a busy year for the court, which cleared its 20th case (and "greatest triumph"); the Eastern Greenland Case . This period was marked by growing international tension, however, with Japan and Germany announcing their withdrawal from

3213-452: A two-thirds vote of approval was needed in the Senate. A barrage of telegrams flooded Congress, inspired by attacks made by Charles Coughlin and others. The treaty failed by seven votes on January 29, 1935. The United States finally accepted the court's jurisdiction on 28 December 1935, but the treaty was never ratified, and the U.S. never joined. Francis Boyle attributes the failure to

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3366-419: A vote in altering court procedure or contributing at other times. As such, they were allowed to act as counsel in international cases where they were not sitting as judges. In 1930, the number of judges was increased to 15, and a new set of elections were held. The election was held on 25 September 1930, with 14 candidates receiving a majority on the first ballot and a 15th, Francisco José Urrutia , receiving

3519-528: Is possible to reconstruct the pre-war geographical origin of the post-war population. The same area corresponding to pre-war southern parts of East Prussia (which became Polish in 1945) was inhabited in December 1950 by: Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice , often called the World Court , existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to

3672-401: The 13th century , the native Prussians were conquered by the crusading Teutonic Knights . After the conquest the indigenous Balts were gradually converted to Christianity . Because of Germanization and colonisation over the following centuries, Germans became the dominant ethnic group, while Poles and Lithuanians formed sizeable minorities. From the 13th century, the region of Prussia

3825-736: The Curonian Spit to Memel . The French Grande Armée troops immediately took up pursuit but were delayed in the Battle of Eylau on 9 February 1807 by an East Prussian contingent under General Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq . Napoleon had to stay at the Finckenstein Palace , but in May, after a siege of 75 days, his troops led by Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre were able to capture the city of Danzig , which had been tenaciously defended by General Count Friedrich Adolf von Kalkreuth . On 14 June, Napoleon ended

3978-846: The Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations Case , the second (by the Court of Summary Procedure) was on the interpretation of the Interpretation of the Treaty of Neuilly Case , and the third in the Mavrommatis Palestine Concessions Case . The 4 advisory opinions issued by the court were in the Polish Postal Service in Danzig Question , the Expulsion of the Ecumenical Patriarch Question ,

4131-758: The German People's Party politician Max von Bahrfeldt were all severely injured. Members of the Reichsbanner were assaulted while the local Reichsbanner Chairman of Lötzen , Kurt Kotzan , was murdered on 6 August 1932. In the March 1933 German federal election , the last contested pre-war German election, the local population of East Prussia voted overwhelmingly for the Adolf Hitler 's Nazi Party . Through publicly funded emergency relief programs concentrating on agricultural land-improvement projects and road construction,

4284-546: The Holocaust . In 1939 the Regierungsbezirk Zichenau was annexed by Germany and incorporated into East Prussia. Parts of it were transferred to other regions, e.g. Suwałki Region to Regierungsbezirk Gumbinnen and Soldau (Działdowo) to Regierungsbezirk Allenstein . Despite Nazi propaganda presenting all of the regions annexed as possessing significant German populations that wanted reunification with Germany,

4437-473: The Interpretation of the Treaty of Neuilly Case (the first case of the court's Chamber of Summary Procedure) and the Monastery of Saint-Naoum Question . During the same year, a new president and vice-president were elected, since they were mandated to serve for a term of three years. At the elections on 4 September 1924, André Weiss was again elected vice-president and Max Huber became the second president of

4590-544: The Kingdom of Prussia . The designation " Kingdom of Prussia " was gradually applied to the various lands of Brandenburg-Prussia. To differentiate it from the larger entity, the former Duchy of Prussia became known as Altpreußen ("Old Prussia"), the province of Prussia, or "East Prussia". Approximately one-third of East Prussia's population died in the Great Northern War plague outbreak and famine of 1709–1711, including

4743-497: The League of Nations to the Secretary general of the League of Nations , who would put them before the Council and Assembly for election. The Council and Assembly were to bear in mind that the elected panel of judges was to represent every major legal tradition in the league, along with "every major civilisation". Each member state was allowed to recommend 4 potential judges, with a maximum of 2 from its own nation. Judges were elected by

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4896-523: The League of Nations , to come into effect in 1935. That did not directly affect the court, since the protocol accepting court jurisdiction was separately ratified, but it influenced whether a nation would be willing to bring a case before it, as evidenced by Germany's withdrawal from two pending cases. There were few cases in 1934 since the world's governments were more concerned with the growing international tension. The court's business continued to be small in 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939 although 1937

5049-412: The League of Nations . It was also foreseen that there would be clauses inserted in bipartite international treaties, which would allow the referral of disputes to the court; that occurred, with such provisions found in treaties between Czechoslovakia and Austria, and between Czechoslovakia and Poland. Throughout its existence, the court widened its jurisdiction as much as possible. Strictly speaking,

5202-402: The League of Nations . Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several centuries old), the court was initially well-received from states and academics alike, with many cases submitted to it for its first decade of operation. Between 1922 and 1940 the court heard a total of 29 cases and delivered 27 separate advisory opinions. With the heightened international tension in

5355-645: The Lithuanian SSR ) and the People's Republic of Poland (the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship ). The capital city Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. The German and the Masurian population of the province was largely evacuated during the war or expelled shortly afterwards in the expulsion of Germans after World War II . An estimated 300,000 died either in wartime bombing raids, in the battles to defend

5508-638: The Nazi German government, which wanted to erase all aspects of Polish culture and Polish language in Warmia and Masuria . The Jews who remained in East Prussia in 1942 were shipped to concentration camps, including Theresienstadt in occupied Czechoslovakia , Kaiserwald in occupied Latvia , and camps in Minsk in occupied Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic . Those who remained were later deported and killed in

5661-600: The Nazis changed about one-third of the toponyms of the area , eliminating, Germanizing, or simplifying a number of Old Prussian , as well as those Polish or Lithuanian names originating from colonists and refugees to Prussia during and after the Protestant Reformation . More than 1,500 places were ordered to be renamed by 16 July 1938 following a decree issued by Gauleiter and Oberpräsident Erich Koch and initiated by Adolf Hitler . Many who would not cooperate with

5814-623: The Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War , whereby the united armies of Poland and Lithuania , defeated the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. In 1440 the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation was founded, and various cities and nobles of the region joined it. In 1454 upon the Confederation's request King Casimir IV of Poland signed the act of incorporation of the entire region to Poland. The Teutonic Knights' defeat

5967-649: The Potsdam Conference , pending a final peace conference with Germany. Since a peace conference never took place, the region was effectively ceded by Germany. Southern East Prussia was placed under Polish administration, while northern East Prussia was divided between the Soviet republics of Russia (the Kaliningrad Oblast ) and Lithuania (the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region ). The city of Königsberg

6120-585: The Prussian Crusade in the 13th century. According to Article 28 of the Treaty of Versailles , the region was detached from the German Empire , and according to Article 99, it was placed under a League of Nations mandate effective January 10, 1920. The French became temporary administrators of the Klaipėda Region , or Memel Territory. The Lithuanians believed that the region should be attached to Lithuania because of its significant Lithuanian-speaking population of Prussian Lithuanians . Also Klaipėda (Memel),

6273-460: The Ruhr Area and Berlin (see Ostflucht ). The population of the province in 1900 was 1,996,626 people, with a religious makeup of 1,698,465 Protestants , 269,196 Roman Catholics , and 13,877 Jews . The Low Prussian dialect predominated in East Prussia, although High Prussian was spoken in Warmia . The numbers of Masurians , Kursenieki and Prussian Lithuanians decreased over time due to

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6426-683: The Second Polish Republic as the Polish Corridor , the formerly West Prussian Marienwerder region became part of East Prussia as the administrative district ( Regierungsbezirk ) of West Prussia. Also, the Działdowo district in the Allenstein region became part of the Second Polish Republic. The Seedienst Ostpreußen (Sea Service East Prussia) was established to provide an independent transport service to East Prussia. On 11 July 1920, amidst

6579-651: The Seven Years' War before withdrawing in 1762 and did not make Poland an offer of territorial exchange. In the 1772 First Partition of Poland , the Prussian king Frederick the Great annexed neighboring Royal Prussia , i.e., the Polish voivodeships of Pomerania ( Gdańsk Pomerania or Pomerelia ), Malbork , Chełmno and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia , thereby connecting his Prussian and Farther Pomeranian lands and cutting

6732-491: The Treaty of Lausanne Question and the German Interests in Polish Upper Silesia Question . 1926 saw reduced business, with only one ordinary session and one extraordinary session; it was, however, the first year that all 11 judges had been present to hear cases. The court heard two cases, providing one judgment and one advisory opinion; a second question on German Interests in Polish Upper Silesia , this time

6885-541: The War of the Fourth Coalition with his victory at the Battle of Friedland . Frederick William and Queen Louise met with Napoleon for peace negotiations, and on 9 July the Prussian king signed the Treaty of Tilsit . The succeeding Prussian reforms instigated by Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein and Karl August von Hardenberg included the implementation of an Oberlandesgericht appellation court at Königsberg,

7038-794: The Western Front according to the Schlieffen Plan . Despite early success and the capture of the towns of Rastenburg and Gumbinnen , in the Battle of Tannenberg in 1914 and the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in 1915, the Russians were decisively defeated and forced to retreat. The Russians were followed by the German Army advancing into Russian territory. After the Russian army's first invasion

7191-465: The unification of Germany in 1871. From 1885 to 1890 Berlin 's population grew by 20%, Brandenburg and the Rhineland gained 8.5%, Westphalia 10%, while East Prussia lost 0.07% and West Prussia 0.86%. This stagnancy in population despite a high birth surplus in eastern Germany was because many people from the East Prussian countryside moved westward to seek work in the expanding industrial centres of

7344-425: The "Erich Koch Plan" for East Prussia allegedly made the province free of unemployment : on 16 August 1933 Koch reported to Hitler that unemployment had been banished entirely from the province, a feat that gained admiration throughout the Reich . In actuality, the Erich Koch Plan had been a staged propaganda event organized by Walther Funk and the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda to promote

7497-400: The 13th century and created a monastic state to administer the conquered Old Prussians . Local Old-Prussian (north) and Polish (south) toponyms were gradually Germanised. The Knights' expansionist policies, including occupation of Polish Pomerania with Gdańsk/Danzig and western Lithuania, brought them into conflict with the Kingdom of Poland and embroiled them in several wars, culminating in

7650-704: The 1930s, the court became less used. By a resolution from the League of Nations on 18 April 1946, both the court and the league ceased to exist and were replaced by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations . The court's mandatory jurisdiction came from three sources: the Optional Clause of the League of Nations, general international conventions and special bipartite international treaties. Cases could also be submitted directly by states, but they were not bound to submit material unless it fell into those three categories. The court could issue either judgments or advisory opinions. Judgments were directly binding but not advisory opinions. In practice, member states of

7803-468: The 4 deputies being elected on the 16th. On the first vote, Rafael Altamira y Crevea of Spain, Dionisio Anzilotti of Italy, Bernard Loder of the Netherlands, Ruy Barbosa of Brazil, Yorozu Oda of Japan, André Weiss of France, Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirven of Cuba and Lord Finlay of the United Kingdom were elected by a majority vote of both the Council and Assembly on the first ballot taken. The second ballot elected John Bassett Moore of

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7956-487: The German civilian population until the Eastern Front approached the East Prussian border in 1944. The population had been systematically misinformed by Endsieg Nazi propaganda about the real state of military affairs. As a result, many civilians fleeing westward were overtaken by retreating Wehrmacht units and the rapidly advancing Red Army . Reports of Soviet atrocities in the Nemmersdorf massacre of October 1944 and organized rape spread fear and desperation among

8109-424: The German inhabitants, which then consisted primarily of women, children and old men, did manage to escape the Red Army as part of the largest exodus of people in human history: "A population which had stood at 2.2 million in 1940 was reduced to 193,000 at the end of May 1945." Following Nazi Germany 's defeat in World War II in 1945, East Prussia was partitioned between Poland and the Soviet Union according to

8262-432: The Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic 's Free State of Prussia , until 1945. Its capital city was Königsberg (present-day Kaliningrad ). East Prussia was the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast . The bulk of the ancestral lands of the Baltic Old Prussians were enclosed within East Prussia. During

8415-437: The League of Nations finally established a working guideline for the appointment of judges, and the committee was then authorised to draft a constitution for a permanent court not of arbitration but of justice. The Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice was accepted in Geneva on December 13, 1920. The court first sat on 30 January 1922, at the Peace Palace , The Hague , covering preliminary business during

8568-437: The League of Nations followed advisory opinions anyway for fear of possibly undermining the moral and legal authority of the court and the league. An international court had long been proposed; Pierre Dubois suggested it in 1305 and Émeric Crucé in 1623. An idea of an international court of justice arose in the political world at the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899, where it was declared that arbitration between states

8721-515: The Nazi Party's work creation policies, with East Prussia chosen because it already had relatively low unemployment due to its agrarian economy. Koch's industrialization plans provoked conflict with Richard Walther Darré , who held the office of the Reich Peasant Leader ( Reichsbauernführer ) and Minister of Agriculture. Darré, a neopaganist rural romantic, wanted to enforce his vision of an agricultural East Prussia. When his "Land" representatives challenged Koch's plans, Koch arrested them. In 1938

8874-426: The Permanent Court of International Justice", meeting from 20 March to 10 February 1944. The panel agreed that the name and functioning of the court should be preserved but for some future court rather than a continuation of the current one. Between 21 August and 7 October 1944, the Dumbarton Oaks Conference was held, which, among other things, created an international court attached to the United Nations , to succeed

9027-480: The Permanent Court of International Justice. As a result of these conferences and others, the judges of the Permanent Court of International Justice officially resigned in October 1945 and, via a resolution by the League of Nations on 18 April 1946, the court and the league both ceased to exist, being replaced by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations . The court initially consisted of 11 judges and 4 deputy judges, recommended by member states of

9180-454: The Polish Commission for the Determination of Place Names , though in most cases it was a restoration of historic Polish names. During the Polish post-war census of December 1950, data about the pre-war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected. In case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950, their origin was reported based on the pre-war places of residence of their mothers. Thanks to this data it

9333-443: The Polish Kingdom, by joining forces with the Swedes and subsequent treaties of Wehlau , Labiau , and Oliva , Elector and Duke Frederick William succeeded in revoking the king of Poland's sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia in 1660. There was strong opposition to the separation of the region from Poland, especially in Königsberg (Polish: Królewiec ). A confederation was formed in the city to maintain Poland's sovereignty over

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9486-517: The Province of East Prussia was joined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia . The Polish and Lithuanian populations were subjected to Germanisation policies, and later to outright persecution. The Kingdom of Prussia became the leading state of the German Empire after its creation in 1871. However, the Treaty of Versailles following World War I granted West Prussia to Poland and made East Prussia an exclave of Weimar Germany (the so-called Polish Corridor separated East Prussia from

9639-561: The Reich's statistics of late 1939 show that only 31,000 out of 994,092 people in this territory were ethnic Germans. In the annexed pre-war Polish territory, the Polish population was subjected to various crimes , including mass arrests, roundups , deportations to forced labour and concentration camps (including teenagers), executions, massacres (also as part of the Intelligenzaktion and Aktion T4 ) and expulsions . The Jews were confined in ghettos and afterwards deported either deported to extermination camps or massacred in

9792-406: The Teutonic Knights. 1466 and 1525 arrangements by kings of Poland were not verified by the Holy Roman Empire , as well as the previous gains of the Teutonic Knights , were not verified. The Teutonic Order lost eastern Prussia when Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach converted to Lutheranism and secularized the Prussian branch of the Teutonic Order in 1525. Albert established himself as

9945-421: The Treaty of Versailles as they related to the region and to the protect rights of minorities and foreign businesses. Any member of the Council of the League of Nations could draw attention of the League to any infractions of the convention, and such disputes would be referred to the Permanent Court of International Justice . That provision was used by Nazi Germany when it supported anti-Lithuanian activities in

10098-426: The United States, and the sixth Didrik Nyholm of Denmark and Max Huber of Switzerland. As the deputy judges, Wang Ch'ung-hui of China, Demetre Negulesco of Romania and Mihailo Jovanović of Yugoslavia were elected. The Assembly and Council disagreed on the fourth deputy judge, but Frederik Beichmann of Norway was eventually appointed. Deputy judges were only substitutes for absent judges and were not afforded

10251-436: The area were not given a choice on the ballot on whether they wanted join Lithuania or Germany . After difficult negotiations, the convention was agreed upon in spring 1924. The region was granted extensive legislative, judicial, administrative and financial autonomy. It had its own democratically-elected parliament ( Klaipėda Diet ) and appointed executive branch (the Klaipėda Directorate ). The administration and operation of

10404-419: The area, initially organised as the Masurian District , later replaced by the Olsztyn Voivodeship in 1947, with a few counties incorporated into Białystok Voivodeship and to Gdańsk Voivodeship . The latter counted in 1950 689,000 inhabitants, 22.6% of them coming from areas annexed by the Soviet Union, 10% Ukrainians, and 18.5% of them pre-war inhabitants. It was dissolved in 1975 to form three smaller units:

10557-478: The backdrop of the Polish-Soviet War in which the Second Polish Republic appeared to be on the brink of defeat, the East Prussian plebiscite in eastern West Prussia and southern East Prussia was held under Allied supervision to determine if the areas should join Poland or remain in the Weimar Germany Province of East Prussia. 96.7% of the people voted to remain within Germany (97.89% in the East Prussian plebiscite district). The Klaipėda Territory (Memelland),

10710-441: The border between Kaliningrad Oblast and Lithuania . The Klaipėda Region ( German : Memelland ) was a portion of the province to the north of the Neman river. Adjacent to the Curonian Lagoon and the lower reaches of the Neman river could be found the Elchniederung  [ de ] , a vast partially-drained bog , much of it below sea-level. Further south, the region becomes more hilly, with fewer bogs and more lakes. To

10863-401: The case. In the Loan Cases, it asserted jurisdiction despite the fact that there was no alleged breach of international law, and it could not be shown that there was any international element to the claim. The court justified itself by saying that the Covenant of the League of Nations allowed it to have jurisdiction in cases over "the existence of any fact which, if established, would constitute

11016-535: The central portion of the province. In the southernmost regions, the rivers flow to the south, emptying into the Narew and Vistula rivers. The highest elevation of East Prussia at 312 meters above sea level was Dylewska Góra ( German : Kernsdorfer Höhe ), found in the southwest near the border with West Prussia. At the instigation of Duke Konrad I of Masovia , the Teutonic Knights took possession of Prussia in

11169-659: The cession on 30 September 1772, whereafter Frederick officially went on to call himself a King "of" Prussia. The former Ducal Prussian districts of Eylau (Iława), Marienwerder, Riesenburg (Prabuty) and Schönberg (Szymbark) passed to West Prussia. Until the Prussian reforms of 1808, the administration in East Prussia was transferred to the General War and Finance Directorate in Berlin , represented by two local chamber departments: On 31 January 1773, King Frederick II announced that

11322-634: The cities of Ciechanów , Ostrołęka , Płock and Suwałki . Hitler's top-secret Eastern front headquarters during the war, the Wolf's Lair , was located in the village of Gierłoż . The Polish resistance was active in the province, both in the annexed pre-war territory of Poland, and in the pre-war territory of East Prussia, with activities in the latter including distribution of Polish underground press , sabotage actions, executions of Nazis, theft of German weapons, ammunition and equipment, and organization of transports of POWs who escaped German POW camps via

11475-451: The city and region. The Brandenburg Elector and his army, however, entered the city and abducted and imprisoned the leader of the city's anti-Elector opposition Hieronymus Roth . In 1663, the city burghers, forced by Elector Frederick William, swore an oath of allegiance to him, however, in the same ceremony they still also pledged allegiance to Poland. The absolutist elector also subdued the noble estates of Prussia. Although Brandenburg

11628-609: The civilians. Thousands lost their lives during the sinkings (by Soviet submarine) of the evacuation ships Wilhelm Gustloff , the Goya , and the General von Steuben . Königsberg surrendered on 9 April 1945, following the desperate four-day Battle of Königsberg . An estimated 300,000 died either in wartime bombing raids, in the battles to defend the province, or through mistreatment by the Red Army or from hunger, cold and disease. However, most of

11781-549: The condition that a formal international treaty would be signed later. Lithuania accepted the transfer, and negotiations over the treaty began on March 24, 1923. A special commission of the Conference, chaired by the French diplomat Jules Laroche, presented a 50-paragraph project, which reserved extensive rights of the Second Polish Republic to access, use and govern the Port of Klaipėda . That

11934-428: The court and answering all diplomatic correspondence received by the registry. The first deputy-registrar was Paul Ruegger ; after his resignation on 17 August 1928, Julio Lopez Olivan was selected to succeed him. Olivan resigned in 1931 to take over from Hammarskjöld as registrar, and was replaced by M. L. J. H. Jorstad. The three principal officers of the registry, after the registrar and deputy-registrar, were

12087-447: The court sat for longer. The deputy judges received no salary but, when called up for service, were provided with travel expenses, 50 florins a day for living expenses and 150 florins a day as a duty allowance. Under the Covenant of the League of Nations, all League members agreed that if there was a dispute between states they "recognize to be suitable for submission to arbitration and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy",

12240-467: The court was officially opened, and rules of procedure were established on 24 March, when the court ended its first session. The court first sat to decide cases on 15 June. During its first year of business, the court issued three advisory opinions, all related to the International Labour Organization created by the Treaty of Versailles. The initial reaction to the court was good, from politicians, practising lawyers and academics alike. Ernest Pollock ,

12393-430: The court's advisory opinions were equivalent to a binding judgment. In 1927, the court appointed a committee to look at this issue, and it reported that "where there are in fact contending parties, the difference between contentious cases and advisory cases is only nominal... so the view that advisory opinions are not binding is more theoretical than real". In practice, advisory opinions were usually followed, mostly due to

12546-510: The court's jurisdiction was only for disputes between states, but it regularly accepted disputes that were between a state and an individual if a second state brought the individual's case to the court. It argued that the second state assertsled its rights, and the cases therefore became one between two states. The proviso that the court was for disputes that could not "be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy" never made it require evidence that diplomatic discussions had been attempted before bringing

12699-405: The court's jurisdiction, following a long and drawn out process. President Warren G. Harding had first suggested US involvement in 1923, and on 9 December 1929, three court protocols were signed. The U.S. demanded a veto over cases involving the U.S. but other nations rejected the idea. President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not risk his political capital and gave only passive support even though

12852-511: The court's yearly budget, which was drawn up by the registrar, approved by the court and submitted to the League of Nations. The Printing Department, run from a single printing plant in Leiden , was created to allow the circulation of the court's publishings. The Copying Department comprised shorthand, typing and copying services, and included secretaries for the registrar and judges, emergency reporters capable of taking notes down verbatim and copyists;

13005-400: The court. Judicial pensions were created at the same time, with a judge being given 1/30th of his annual pay for every year he had served once he had both retired and turned 65. 1925 was an exceedingly busy year for the court, which sat for 210 days, with four extraordinary sessions as well as the ordinary session, producing 3 judgments and 4 advisory opinions. The first judgment was given in

13158-404: The court. The third secretary, known as the written secretary, was tasked with the written translations of the court's business, which were "both numerous and voluminous". He was assisted in this by the other secretaries and by translators for languages not his own; all secretaries were expected to speak English and French fluently and to have working knowledge of German and Spanish. The registry

13311-464: The duchy was outside of the core Holy Roman Empire , the prince-electors of Brandenburg were able to proclaim themselves King beginning in 1701. After the annexation of most of western Royal Prussia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772, eastern (ducal) Prussia was connected by land with the rest of the Prussian state and was reorganized as a province the following year. Between 1829 and 1878,

13464-614: The east, near the modern Polish-Russian border, was the Romincka Forest ( German : Rominter Heide ), a famous hunting-ground for Prussian nobility. On the eastern end of the forest is Lake Vištytis ( German : Wystiter See ), and to the south are the Szeskie Hills  [ pl ] ( German : Seesker Höhen ). The Angrapa river ( German : Angerapp ), a tributary of the Pregel, flows out Lake Mamry ( German : Mauersee ) on

13617-520: The establishment of procedure and the appointment of court officials, the secretary-general of the League of Nations passed an emergency resolution through the Assembly, which designated an official of the league and his staff as the registrar and registry respectively, with the first registrar being Åke Hammarskjöld . The registrar, required to reside within The Hague , was initially tasked with drawing up

13770-405: The fact was known but not discussed because of negligence. The court also issued " advisory opinions ", which arose from Article 14 of the covenant creating the court, which provided, "The Court may also give an advisory opinion upon any dispute referred to it by the Council or Assembly". Goodrich interprets that as indicating that the drafters intended a purely advisory capacity for the court, not

13923-402: The fear that if this "revolutionary" international court's decisions were not followed, it would undermine its authority. The court retained the discretion to avoid giving an advisory opinion, which it used on occasion. Other than the judges, the court also included a registrar and his secretariat, the registry. When the court met for its initial session, opened on 30 January 1922 to allow for

14076-647: The feeble-minded Albert Frederick . The Administrator of Prussia, the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order Maximilian III , son of emperor Maximilian II died in 1618. When Maximilian died, Albert's line died out, and the Duchy of Prussia passed to the Electors of Brandenburg, forming Brandenburg-Prussia . Taking advantage of the Swedish invasion of Poland in 1655 , and instead of fulfilling his vassal's duties towards

14229-708: The first duke of the Duchy of Prussia and a vassal of the Polish crown by the Prussian Homage . Walter von Cronberg , the next Grand Master, was enfeoffed with the title to Prussia after the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, but the Order never regained possession of the territory. In 1569 the Hohenzollern prince-electors of the Margraviate of Brandenburg became co-regents with Albert's son,

14382-497: The first session (such as establishing procedure and appointing officers) Nine judges sat, along with three deputies, since Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirven , Ruy Barbosa and Wang Ch'ung-hui were unable to attend, the last being at the Washington Naval Conference . The court elected Bernard Loder as president and Max Huber as vice-president; Huber was replaced by André Weiss a month later. On 14 February

14535-452: The following year, and John Bassett Moore resigned; Max Huber was elected vice-president on 12 September 1928 to succeed Weiss, while a second death ( Lord Finlay ) left the court increasingly understaffed. Replacements for Moore and Finlay were elected on 19 September 1929; Henri Fromageot and Cecil Hurst respectively. After the second round of elections in September 1930, the court

14688-415: The former Attorney General for England and Wales said, "May we not as lawyers regard the establishment of an International Court of Justice as an advance in the science that we pursue?" John Henry Wigmore said that the creation of the court "should have given every lawyer a thrill of cosmic vibration", and James Brown Scott wrote that "the one dream of our ages has been realised in our time". Much praise

14841-615: The headquarters of the SA, which used the house to imprison and torture its opponents. Walter Schütz , a communist member of the Reichstag , was murdered here. This period was characterized by efforts to collectivize the local agriculture and ruthlessness in dealing with his critics inside and outside the Nazi Party . He also had long-term plans for mass-scale industrialization of the largely agricultural province. These actions made him unpopular among

14994-500: The last speakers of Old Prussian . The plague, probably brought by foreign troops during the Great Northern War , killed 250,000 East Prussians, especially in the province's eastern regions. Crown Prince Frederick William I led the rebuilding of East Prussia, founding numerous towns. In 1724, Frederick William I prohibited Poles , Samogitians and Jews from settling in Lithuania Minor, and initiated German colonization to change

15147-515: The local parliament and could be submitted for approval to a local referendum. The agreement on port of Klaipėda specified that it was a port of international concern and that the Barcelona Convention and Statute on the Regime of Navigable Waterways of International Concern applied. The agreement established a three-member Harbor Board charged with administration, operation, and development of

15300-643: The local peasants. In 1932 the local paramilitary SA had already started to terrorise their political opponents. On the night of 31 July 1932 there was a bomb attack on the headquarters of the Social Democrats in Königsberg, the Otto-Braun-House . The Communist politician Gustav Sauf was killed; the executive editor of the Social Democratic newspaper "Königsberger Volkszeitung" , Otto Wyrgatsch ; and

15453-555: The majority of the civilian population fled westwards, while several thousand remaining civilians were deported to Russia. Treatment of civilians by both armies was mostly disciplined, although 74 civilians were killed by Russian troops in the Abschwangen massacre . The region had to be rebuilt because of damage caused by the war. With the forced abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , Germany became

15606-501: The matter would be submitted to the court for arbitration, with suitable disputes being over the interpretation of an international treaty, a question on international law, the validity of facts, which, if true, would breach international obligations and the nature of any reparations to be made for breaching international obligations. The original statutes of the court provided that all 11 judges were required to sit in every case. There were three exceptions: when reviewing Labour Clauses from

15759-543: The member state, was expected to fulfil all the requirements of a normal judge; the president of the court had ultimate discretion over whether to authorise him to sit. The court was mandated to open on 15 June each year and continue until all cases were finished, with extraordinary sessions if required; by 1927, there were more extraordinary sessions than ordinary ones. The court's business being conducted in English and French as official languages, and hearings were public unless it

15912-679: The newly annexed lands were to be known as the Province of West Prussia , while the former Duchy of Prussia and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia became the Province of East Prussia . After the disastrous defeat of the Royal Prussian Army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806, Napoleon occupied Berlin and had the officials of the Prussian General Directorate swear an oath of allegiance to him, while King Frederick William III and his consort Louise fled via Königsberg and

16065-658: The northeast in ( Lithuania Minor ). The Old Prussian ethnic group became completely Germanized over time and the Old Prussian language died out in the 18th century. At the German entry into World War I , East Prussia became a theatre of war when the Russian Empire invaded the country. The Imperial Russian Army encountered at first little resistance because the bulk of the Imperial German Army had been directed towards

16218-434: The northeast. Most German East Prussians, Masurians, Kursieniki, and Lietuvininkai were Lutheran, while the population of Warmia was mainly Roman Catholic due to the history of its bishopric. The East Prussian Jewish Congregation declined from about 9,000 in 1933 to 3,000 in 1939, as most fled from Nazi rule. During World War II , the Polish ethnic minorities of Catholic Warmians and Lutheran Masurians were persecuted by

16371-491: The northern end of the Masurian Lake District . The largest lake in the province was Śniardwy ( German : Spirdingsee ), at 113.8 square kilometers in area. The headwaters of the Pregel's numerous tributaries were found in southern East Prussia, with the longest, the Łyna ( German : Alle ), extending almost to the southern border with Congress Poland , winding its course northward through southern Warmia and

16524-570: The northwesternmost coastal parts approached an oceanic climate . In the northwest, the province bordered the Baltic Sea , with the Vistula Spit and Curonian Spit separating the sea itself from the Vistula Lagoon and Curonian Lagoon , respectively. The Sambia Peninsula ( German : Samland ) juts into the Baltic Sea between these two lagoons. Most of the rivers of East Prussia emptied into

16677-467: The oral secretary, was mainly responsible for the oral interpretation and translation of the court's discussions. For public hearings, he was assisted by interpreters, but for private meetings, only he, the registrar and the deputy-registrar were admitted. As a result of this duty, the oral secretary was also tasked with writing Section C of the official journal, which comprised the oral interpretations of court minutes, along with cases and questions put before

16830-485: The petition and thus formalised the incorporation of the Klaipėda Region into Lithuania. The Conference of Ambassadors decided to dispatch a special commission to the region, reject a military intervention and agree to open negotiations with Lithuania. On February 16, 1923, the Conference of Ambassadors relinquished its rights that granted by the Treaty of Versailles and transferred the district over to Lithuania under

16983-469: The port of Klaipėda was entrusted to a three-member Harbor Board. The Neman River , particularly its timber traffic, was internationalised, which granted freedom of transit to all nations. The convention became obsolete when the Klaipėda Region was attached to Nazi Germany as a result of the ultimatum of 1939 . The lands north of the Neman River had been part of a German state since their conquest during

17136-536: The port. The convention had 18 articles. The region was transferred to Lithuania without conditional provisions and granted legislative, judicial, administrative and financial autonomy to preserve "traditional rights and culture of the inhabitants". The residents were automatically granted Lithuanian citizenship but were given a window of 18 months to opt out and choose German citizenship . The new Lithuanian citizens were exempt from military service until January 1930. Lithuania agreed to pay war reparations according to

17289-527: The port. One member was appointed by the Lithuanian government, another by the Directorate and the last by the League of Nations. The transit agreement had four articles, guaranteed freedom of transit and concerned particularly the export and the import of timber via the Neman River . East Prussia East Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with

17442-540: The ports of Gdańsk and Gdynia to neutral Sweden . East Prussia was only slightly affected by the war until January 1945, when it was devastated during the East Prussian Offensive . Most of its inhabitants became refugees in bitterly cold weather during the Evacuation of East Prussia . In 1944 the medieval city of Königsberg , which had never been severely damaged by warfare in its 700 years of existence,

17595-403: The president, who was required to live at The Hague. Travelling expenses were also provided, and a "duty allowance" of 100 florins was provided when the court was sitting, with 150 for the vice-president. This duty allowance was limited to 20,000 florins a year for the judges and 30,000 florins for the vice-president; as such, it provided for 200 days of court hearings, with no allowance provided if

17748-478: The process of Germanization . The Polish-speaking population concentrated in the south of the province ( Masuria and Warmia) and all German geographic atlases at the start of 20th century showed the southern part of East Prussia as Polish with the number of Polish-speakers estimated at the time to be 300,000. Kursenieki inhabited the areas around the Curonian lagoon, while Lithuanian-speaking Prussians concentrated in

17901-456: The province, through mistreatment by the Red Army, or from hunger, cold and disease. The landscape of East Prussia consisted of gently rolling plains and small hills, with flatter terrain in the north and more hills in the south. The province had a humid continental climate which was most pronounced in Lithuania Minor and at higher elevations in the south in the region of Masuria , while

18054-471: The province. Pre-war Polish citizens made up the majority of forced laborers in the province, with their numbers gradually increasing, but due to the influx of forced laborers of other nationalities, their overall percentage declined from 90% in 1940 to 62% in 1944. Most Polish forced laborers in the province were deported from the pre-war Polish territories annexed into the province by Germany, with German labor offices recruiting forced laborers established in

18207-465: The region and accused Lithuania of violating minority rights. The region could not be transferred to other countries without the consent of the contracting parties. That article became relevant in 1939 when Lithuania was presented an ultimatum , which demanded the transfer of the region to Germany. The convention included the statute of region and an agreement on port of Klaipėda and transit as an addendum. The statute of Klaipėda Region had 38 articles and

18360-652: The region and present a fait accompli . The revolt, organised by the Lithuanian government and the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union , began on January 9, 1923. The rebels met little resistance and controlled the region by January 15. They organised a new pro-Lithuanian Directorate, the main governing institution, and petitioned to join Lithuania. On January 24, the First Seimas , the Lithuanian Parliament, accepted

18513-466: The region's ethnic composition. Thousands of Protestants expelled from the Archbishopric of Salzburg were allowed to settle in depleted East Prussia. In 1756 Russia decided to go to war with the Kingdom of Prussia and annex the territory, which was then to be offered to Poland as part of a territorial exchange desired by Russia, however, ultimately Russia only occupied the region for four years during

18666-656: The region. Germany operated the Soldau and Hohenbruch  [ de ] concentration camps, mostly for Poles, multiple subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp and several prisoner-of-war camps , including Stalag I-A , Stalag I-B , Stalag I-C, Stalag I-D, Stalag I-E, Stalag I-F , Stalag Luft VI , Oflag 52, Oflag 53, Oflag 60, Oflag 63 and Oflag 68 with multiple subcamps, for Polish, Belgian, French , British, Serbian, Soviet, Italian , American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, South African, Czech and other Allied POWs in

18819-627: The rest of Germany), while the Memel Territory , part of the Lithuania Minor region, was detached and annexed by Lithuania in 1923. Following Nazi Germany 's defeat in World War II in 1945, war-torn East Prussia was divided at Joseph Stalin 's insistence between the Soviet Union (the Kaliningrad Oblast became part of the Russian SFSR , and the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region in

18972-537: The rest of Poland from the Baltic coast. The territory of Warmia was incorporated into the lands of former Ducal Prussia, which, by administrative deed of 31 January 1772 were named East Prussia . The former Polish Pomerelian lands beyond the Vistula River together with Malbork and Chełmno Land formed the Province of West Prussia with its capital at Marienwerder (Kwidzyn) in 1773. The Polish Partition Sejm ratified

19125-523: The rulers of Nazi Germany were sent to concentration camps and held prisoner there until their death or liberation. After the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania , the Klaipėda region was integrated again into East Prussia. After the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany opening World War II, the borders of East Prussia were revised. Regierungsbezirk Westpreußen became part of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia , while Regierungsbezirk Zichenau ( Ciechanów )

19278-432: The same state. As a sign of their independence from national ties, judges were given full diplomatic immunity when engaged in court business. The only requirements for judges were "high moral character" and "the qualifications required in their respective countries [for] the highest judicial offices" or to be "jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law". The first panel was elected on 14 September 1921, with

19431-521: The situation had become deadlocked, Lithuanians suggested to turn over the case to the Permanent Court of International Justice , but Laroche preferred the League of Nations . The Conference decided to appeal to the League on the basis of Article 11 of the League Covenant . On December 17, 1923, the League authorized a three-man commission to analyze the situation and prepare a report. The commission

19584-486: The situation would not be tolerated after diplomatic missions from other nations left The Hague on 16 July, the president and registrar left the Netherlands and moved to Switzerland, accompanied by their staff. The court was unable to meet between 1941 and 1944, but the framework remained intact, and it soon became apparent that the court would be dissolved. In 1943, an international panel met to consider "the question of

19737-523: The smallest of the departments, it comprised between 12 and 40 staff depending on the business of the court. The court's jurisdiction was largely optional, but there were some situations in which they had "compulsory jurisdiction", and states were required to refer cases to them. That came from three sources: the Optional Clause of the League of Nations, general international conventions and "special bipartite international treaties". The Optional Clause

19890-568: The summer of 1945. Many more were prevented from returning, and the German population of East Prussia was almost completely expelled by the communist regimes. During the war and for some time thereafter 45 camps were established for about 200,000-250,000 forced labourers, the vast majority of whom were deported to the Soviet Union, including the Gulag camp system. The largest camp with about 48,000 inmates

20043-489: The three editing secretaries. The first editing secretary, known as the drafting secretary, was tasked with drafting the court's publications (including the Confidential Bulletin, a document exclusively received by judges of the court) and Sections D and E of the official journal, comprising the legislative clauses conferring jurisdiction on the court and the court's Annual Report. The second editing secretary, known as

20196-696: The two lagoons; the Pregolya ( German : Pregel ), Pasłęka ( German : Passarge ), and Prokhladnaya ( German : Frisching ) into the Vistula Lagoon, and the Neman ( German : Memel ) and Minija ( German : Minge ) into the Curonian Lagoon. In the northeast of the province, the river Šešupė ( German : Scheschuppe ), a left-tributary of the Neman, formed the border with the Russian Empire , and today forms

20349-471: Was a clause attached to the protocol establishing the court and required all signatories to refer certain classes of dispute to the court, with compulsory judgments resulting. There were approximately 30 international conventions under which the court had similar jurisdiction, including the Treaty of Versailles , the Air Navigation Convention , the Treaty of St. Germain and all mandates signed by

20502-713: Was a part of the Holy Roman Empire , the Prussian lands were not within the Holy Roman Empire and were with the administration by the Teutonic Order grandmasters under jurisdiction of the Emperor. In return for supporting Emperor Leopold I in the War of the Spanish Succession , Elector Frederick III was allowed to crown himself " King in Prussia " in 1701. The new kingdom ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty became known as

20655-695: Was added to East Prussia. Originally part of the Zichenau region, the Sudauen ( Suwałki ) district in Sudovia was later transferred to the Gumbinnen region. In 1939 East Prussia had 2.49 million inhabitants, 85% of them ethnic Germans, the others Poles in the south who, according to Polish estimates numbered in the interwar period around 300,000-350,000, the Latvian speaking Kursenieki , and Lietuvininkai who spoke Lithuanian in

20808-655: Was akin to a constitution. It dealt primarily with detailing the level of legislative, judicial, administrative and financial autonomy granted to the region. The autonomy was given in the name of Lithuania, which was a significant Lithuanian diplomatic achievement, and the four international signatories only confirmed it. Matters specifically placed under local authority included public worship and education; local administrative divisions; health and social welfare; roads and public works; civil, criminal, and commercial legislation; local police and taxes (except custom duties). The region had its own legislative body ( Memel Landtag ), which

20961-399: Was almost completely destroyed by two RAF Bomber Command raids – the first on the night of 26/27 August 1944, with the second one three nights later, overnight on 29/30 August 1944. Winston Churchill ( The Second World War , Book XII) had erroneously believed it to be "a modernized heavily defended fortress " and ordered its destruction. Gauleiter Erich Koch delayed the evacuation of

21114-403: Was appointed by the governor and served as the executive institution as long as it had confidence of the parliament. The governor, in agreement with the Directorate, could dissolve the parliament. The Directorate appointed tribunal judges for life. The Lithuanian and German languages were given equal status as official languages of the region. Amending the statute required a three-fifths majority in

21267-415: Was completely unacceptable to Lithuania, which terminated all diplomatic ties with Poland over a bitter dispute over Vilnius Region . The Lithuanian delegation, led by Ernestas Galvanauskas , responded by presenting its own project, which reserved no rights to Poland, in April 1923. The negotiations resumed in July, when Laroche presented two other projects, which were very similar to the first. Seeing that

21420-406: Was elected for a three-year term in free democratic elections. The President of Lithuania appointed a governor of the region. The governor could not veto laws passed the local parliament unless they violated the statute, the Constitution of Lithuania or international agreements. The reasons for a veto did not include laws that were contrary to the interest of Lithuania. The five-member Directorate

21573-498: Was established at Deutsch Eylau (Iława). Orphaned children who were left behind in the zone occupied by the Soviet Union were referred to as Wolf children . Representatives of the Polish government officially took over the civilian administration of the southern part of East Prussia on 23 May 1945. Subsequently, Polish expatriates from Polish lands annexed by the Soviet Union as well as Ukrainians and Lemkos from southern Poland, expelled in Operation Vistula , were settled in

21726-427: Was formalised in the Second Peace of Toruń in 1466 ending the Thirteen Years' War . The restoration of Pomerania/ Pomerelia to Poland was confirmed, and Warmia also was confirmed part of Poland, with both co-forming the larger Polish provinces of Royal Prussia and Greater Poland . The remainder of historic Prussia also became a part of "one and indivisible" Kingdom of Poland as a fief and protectorate held by

21879-521: Was given nine cases during 1922, however, with judgments called "cases" and advisory opinions called "questions". Three cases were disposed of during the court's first session, one during an extraordinary sitting between 8 January and 7 February 1923 (the Tunis-Morocco Nationality Question ), four during the second ordinary sitting between 15 June 1923 and 15 September 1923 ( Eastern Carelia Question , S.S. "Wimbledon" case , German Settlers Question , Acquisition of Polish Nationality Question ) and one during

22032-401: Was headed by the American diplomat Norman Davis and included the Dutch technical expert on transportation A. G. Kröller and the Swedish professor M. Hoernell. The commission visited Klaipėda, Kaunas and Warsaw and presented a draft treaty on February 18, 1924. After negotiations with the Lithuanians, the League adopted the convention on March 14, 1924, despite Polish protests. The document

22185-439: Was heaped upon the appointment of an American judge despite the fact that the United States had not become a signatory to the court's protocol, and it was thought that it would soon do so. The court faced increasing work as it went on, allaying the fears of those commentators who had believed the court would become like the Supreme Court of the United States , which was not presented with a case for its first six terms. The court

22338-467: Was marked by Monaco 's acceptance of the court protocol. The court's judicial output in 1940 consisted entirely of a set of orders, completed in a meeting between 19 and 26 February, caused by the beginning of World War II , which left the court with "uncertain prospects for the future". Following the German invasion of the Netherlands , the court was unable to meet although the registrar and president were afforded full diplomatic immunity . Informed that

22491-414: Was otherwise specified. After receiving files in a case calculated to lead to a judgment , the judges would exchange their views informally on the salient legal points of the case, and a time limit for producing a judgment would then be set. Then, each judge would write an anonymous summary containing his opinion; the opinions would be circulated among the court for 2 or 3 days before the president drafted

22644-399: Was part of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights . After the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466 it became a part of the Kingdom of Poland , either directly ( Warmia ) or as a fief (remainder). In 1525, with the Prussian Homage , the territory became the Duchy of Prussia , a vassal duchy of Poland. The Old Prussian language had become extinct by the 17th or early 18th century. Because

22797-494: Was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. Most of the German population of the province had left during the evacuation at the end of the war, but several hundreds of thousands died during the years 1944–46 and the remainder were subsequently expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . Shortly after the end of the war in May 1945, Germans who had fled in early 1945 tried to return to their homes in East Prussia. An estimated number of 800,000 Germans were living in East Prussia during

22950-416: Was reorganised. On 16 January 1931 Mineichirō Adachi was appointed president, and Gustavo Guerrero vice-president. The United States never joined the World Court, primarily because enemies of the League of Nations in the Senate argued that the court was too closely linked to the League of Nations. The leading opponent was Senator William Borah , Republican of Idaho. The United States finally recognised

23103-422: Was signed by Robert Crewe-Milnes , Raymond Poincaré , Camillo Romano Avezzana , Ishii Kikujirō and Ernestas Galvanauskas on May 8. It was registered with the League of Nations Treaty Series on October 3. The convention was ratified by the Entente Powers and took full effect on August 25, 1925. The Lithuanians hailed the final version as their major diplomatic victory since Poland received no special rights in

23256-410: Was split into several departments: the Archives, the Accounting and Establishment, the Printing Service and the Copying Department. The Archives included a distribution service for the court's documents and the legal texts used by the court itself and was described as one of the most difficult departments to organise. The Accounting and Establishment Department dealt with the requests for and allocation of

23409-404: Was the easiest solution to disputes, providing a temporary panel of judges to arbitrate in such cases, the Permanent Court of Arbitration . At the Second Hague Peace Conference in 1907, a draft convention for a permanent Court of Arbitral Justice was written although disputes and other pressing business at the Conference meant that such a body was never established, owing to difficulties agreeing on

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