Hague Conventions

The 1899 and 1907 treaties codifying the laws of war on land

Overview

The Hague conferences of 1899 and 1907 codified means and methods of warfare, from permissible weapons to treatment of surrendering enemies, alongside conventions on peaceful dispute settlement that created the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The 1899 declaration banned asphyxiating gas projectiles, ignored in 1915 to the world's horror. Together with Geneva law protecting victims, Hague law on conduct forms the twin pillars of international humanitarian law. Their clauses fed directly into postwar prosecutions. A clause protecting undefended towns foreshadowed the cultural property regime added after the Second World War.