The Reality of International Law

"The law had been broken by a sea Power but was still the law; it was necessary that this should be brought before the public mind. The law was not like a teacup or a pitcher which, once broken, was irretrievably ruined." -- Elihu Root at the Washington Disarmament Conference of 1921.

THE City of Flint, flying the American flag, sailing from New York to England, was captured in October 1939 by a German warship and taken by a German prize crew to a neutral port. The case raised serious questions involving the interests of Great Powers. As this article is written,