Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

The International Treaty for the Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy, more commonly known after its two main creators as the Kellogg–Briand Pact but also as the Treaty of Paris and the Paris Peace Pact, was signed in the French capital on August 27, 1928. Its mere three articles were dramatic in their brevity and simplicity. Article 1 consisted of a solemn declaration that the signatory states “condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies, and renounce it as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another.” Under Article 2 they agreed that “the settlement or solution of all disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them, shall never be sought except by pacific means.” Under Article 3 the treaty was to remain open “as long as may be necessary for adherence by all the other Powers of the world” (Friedman 1972: 468–469). War was no longer to be a legitimate means for states to settle disputes or to advance their own national interests