THE CASE OF THE S. S. "LOTUS"

Authors

George Wendell Berge, University of Michigan Law School

Abstract

A momentous judgment was rendered by the Permanent Court of International Justice, sitting at the Hague, on September 7, 1927, in the Case of the S.S. Lotus. Interest in the case is especially manifest among students of international and maritime law, as well as others, because it is perhaps the first case to come before the Permanent Court in which the question for decision was a point of general international law. Thorough analysis and comment on the questions involved would fill a good-sized volume. Only a few observations can be made in this article on the merits of the decision. The chief purpose here is simply to present the case, its problems, and to point out the wide field for speculation which it offers. It is also desired to show how the procedure of the Permanent Court is applied to an actual case, and to trace some of the steps that brought the Lotus dispute up for adjudication.

Recommended Citation

George W. Berge, THE CASE OF THE S. S. "LOTUS", 26 Mich. L. Rev. 361 (1928).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol26/iss4/3