Organisation of the League of Nations

Summary

The main meeting of the League was the Assembly of all the member states once a year, but it could only make decisions only by a unanimous vote (so it never decided anything).   For times of crisis, the League also had a Council.   This had 5 permanent members – Britain, France, Italy, Japan and (after 1926) Germany.  

 The League also had a number of Agencies, which tried improve people’s lives and jobs.   The Court of International Justice gave decisions on things like shipping.   The Health Committee worked to improve health (e.g. malaria).   The International Labour Organisation tried to bring in a 48-hour week.   The Mandates Commission ran the mandates, and League-controlled areas such as Danzig.   The Refugees Committee and the Slavery Commission also tried to help people.

   Behind all this, worked the Secretariat, although it was always in a muddle. Because of this, the ‘Conference of Ambassadors’ – a meeting of the important countries in the League – often made the decisions (e.g. the Corfu crisis of 1923).

Assembly:

The main section…