Page 96 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

l NTE]{N ATl ONA I. LAW AND THE SEA 101

Such immunities do not me;1I1 the ship can act in a lawless General Rules of War on L and and Sea
manner. Responsibility and leadership are again the key to such
Navy Regula/io/ls states, "In the event of war between nations with
privileges. By accepting the hospitality of the port, the warship
which the United States is at peace, a cOlllmander sh'lll observe,
collsents to comply with harbor regulations concerning speed
and require his command to observe, the principles of interna-
and traffic contro\, sewage disposal, health and quaralltine restric-
tionallaw." This statement makes it clear that n.wal officers must
tiolls, and so forth. If the ship does not meet such standards, valid
be thoroughl), knowledgeable of the rules of wariare.
grounds exist for complaint through diplomatic channels.
J\'lilny definitions of "",ar" exist, but for this particular discus-
The officers and crew of a warship arc completely immune
sion the simple definition of war as "a legal condition of arllled
from 10«11 jurisdiction (authorit)') while on board the ship in a for-
hostility between states" is applicable. It generally implies armed,
eign port. Sirnilariy, it is customary for local authorities to waive all
physical conflict between nations, but in the legal sense, a state of
jurisdiction over officers or crew members ashore on official busi-
war may exist before or after the use of force. The violence of W,1r
ness. However, the situation is diA-erent when officers and enlisted
existed from 7 December 1941 until the Congress I<gall)' declared
personnel go ashore unofficially for leave or liberty. III most COUIl-
war on Japan the next day. The treaty of peace with Japan did not
tries, local law and jurisdiction will apply to the visitors. In the case
come into force until 1952, even though all fighting had ceased
of u.s. Navy visits to allied nations, there often exists an arrange-
on 15 August 1945 and the surrender document was signed all 2
ment, the Status of forces Agreement, which specifies in detail how
September. It would seem that such legal details would be unim-
any problems ilre to be handled. All personnel on leave or liberty in
portant, but such is not the case. \Var clauses in insurance poli-
a foreign country should be well advised on the local law and what
cies, certain provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,
to do should they get in trouble there.
and certain presidential powers, among others, are hinged on the
There is a diA-erence in the case of merchant ships visiting a
legal state of war, not necessarily the violence of conflict.
foreign port. International law states that a merchant ship is sub-
liecause of the events of the Cold \Var, it is now generally rec-
ject to the jurisdiction of the nation being visited. This illustrates
ognized that the rules of war apply in all armed conflicts of an
the fact that a merchant ship is not considered an extension of the
international nature, regardless of whether or not war is formally
"territory" of the nation of registry, as is a warship. This diA-er-
declared. In other words, military and naval actions between war-
enee is probably best exemplified in the matter of asylum (zone
ring nations should follow the rules of war, whether the det'1i1s of
of absolute safety). In the case of a warship, local authorities Illay
legality are present or not. It should be pointed out that the 1907
110t come aboard to arrest or remove an individual seeking asyluill
Hague Peace Conventions, in their attempts to broadly codify the
for political or personal safety reasons. In the case of a merchant
laws of war, first recognized that the avoidance of war should be
ship, however, local police may come aboard, arrest, and remove
attempted as <In ultimate goal in all cases. Second, they recog-
an accllsed offender. The doctrine of C1sylum, then, is not applica-
nized that war is sometimes unavoidable and has to be accepted
ble to merchant ships.
as a regrettable but legitimate means of settling disputes between
nations. Because of this, it was agreed that the best th'1t could be
The amphibious command
ship Blue Ridge (LCC 191
en route to a port visit at
Shimizu, Japan. In a foreign
port, a warship is not
subject to any interference
by local authorities, but the
ship must abide by normal
harbor regulations and laws
of the country being visited.
(Heidi McCormickl