League of Nations (Obligations of Membership) Act, 1935

What is this act about?

This law empowers the Executive Council to implement measures to fulfill Saorstát Éireann's obligations as a member of the League of Nations, specifically concerning international sanctions. It allows the government to enforce proposals related to arms, financial transactions, and trade.

Who it applies to: The Executive Council of Saorstát Éireann; Any person who contravenes an order made under this Act.

At a glance

Country: Ireland
Area of law: Civil law
Articles: 7
Source: irishstatutebook.ie
Text retrieved: 2026-06-17
Explanation updated: 2026-07-07

What does this act regulate?

The Executive Council's power to take measures, impose prohibitions and restrictions, and do things necessary to carry out the Scheduled Proposals.
The ability of the Executive Council to amend or revoke orders made under this Act.
Exemptions for religious and humanitarian bodies from certain financial restrictions.
Penalties for individuals and corporate officers who contravene orders made under this Act.

Who does this act apply to?

The Executive Council of Saorstát Éireann.
Any person who contravenes an order made under this Act.
Directors, managers, and other officers of companies or corporate bodies that commit an offence under this Act.

What are the key points?

The Executive Council can make orders to implement the "Scheduled Proposals," which include measures regarding the export of arms, financial transactions, and the import of Italian goods.
Orders prohibiting or restricting transactions will not apply to religious or humanitarian bodies.
Offences can lead to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or imprisonment up to six months on summary conviction, or a fine of any amount, imprisonment up to two years, or penal servitude up to seven years on indictment.
Every order made by the Executive Council must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and can be annulled by a resolution within twenty-one sitting days.

Civil law

Geneva Conventions Act, 1962

Hotel Proprietors Act, 1963

Contractual Obligations (Applicable Law) Act, 1991

Defence Forces (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1941

Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Act, 1926

Land Act, 1946

Superannuation Act, 1942

Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956

Civil law

Legal text

Contents (7)

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7

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LEAGUE OF NATIONS (OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP) ACT, 1935.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section

Section 1

Definitions.

Section 2

Powers of the Executive Council.

Section 3

Amendment and revocation of orders.

Section 4

Saving for religious and humanitarian bodies.

Section 5

Offences and penalties.

Section 6

Laying of Orders before the Oireachtas.

Section 7

Short title.

SCHEDULE.

Number 40 of 1935.

LEAGUE OF NATIONS (OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP) ACT, 1935.

AN ACT TO EMPOWER THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL TO TAKE MEASURES FOR THE PURPOSE OF CARRYING OUT CERTAIN OF THE OBLIGATIONS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS A MEMBER OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. [15th November, 1935.] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS of SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:— Definitions.

1.—In this Act— the expression “the Co-ordination Committee” means the Committee set up by Members of the League of Nations to consider and facilitate the co-ordination of measures to be taken by such Members in execution of their obligations under Article 16 of the Covenant of the League of Nations; the expression “the Scheduled Proposals” means the Proposals (set out in the Schedule to this Act) adopted by the Co-ordination Committee.

Powers of the Executive Council.

2.—(1) For the purpose of giving effect to the Scheduled Proposals, so far as the same are to be carried out by the Government of Saorstát Eireann, the Executive Council may by order take all such measures, impose all such prohibitions and restrictions, and do all such things as shall, in the opinion of the Executive Council, be necessary in order to carry into effective execution all or any of the measures mentioned in the Scheduled Proposals.

(2)Whenever the Executive Council makes an order under the foregoing sub-section of this section the Executive Council may, by the same or any subsequent order, provide for all such matters and do all such things as shall, in the opinion of the Executive Council, be ancillary or incidental to or necessary for the enforcement of all or any of the provisions of the said order so made under the said sub-section.

Amendment and revocation of orders.

3.—The Executive Council may by order at any time amend or revoke as they shall think proper any order previously made by the Executive Council, under this Act, including an order made under this section.

Saving for religious and humanitarian bodies.

4.—No order made by the Executive Council under this Act prohibiting or restricting any of the transactions mentioned in Proposal II of the Scheduled Proposals shall apply to or affect any transaction with or for the benefit of any religious or humanitarian body or organisation.

Offences and penalties.

5.—(1) Every person who shall do any act (whether of commission or omission) which is a contravention of an order made by the Executive Council under this Act shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable— (a) on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or (b) on conviction thereof on indictment, to a fine of such amount as the Court shall think proper or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years, or to penal servitude for any term not exceeding seven years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment or penal servitude.

(2)If a company or other body corporate commits an offence under this section, every director, manager, and other officer of such body corporate who knowingly and wilfully authorised or permitted such default shall also be guilty of an offence under this section and shall, on conviction thereof, be punishable accordingly.

Laying of Orders before the Oireachtas.

6.—Every order made by the Executive Council under this Act shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, and if a resolution is passed by either such House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat annulling such order, such order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under such order.

Short title.

7.—This Act may be cited as the League of Nations (Obligations of Membership) Act, 1935.

SCHEDULE.

Proposals Adopted by the Co-ordination Committee.

PROPOSAL I.

Adopted by the Co-ordination Committee on October 11th, 1935 (and amended on October 16th, 1935).

EXPORT OF ARMS, AMMUNITION AND IMPLEMENTS OF WAR.

With a view to facilitating for the Governments of the Members of the League of Nations the execution of their obligations under Article 16 of the Covenant, the following measures should be taken forthwith:

(1)The Governments of the Members of the League of Nations which are enforcing at the moment measures to prohibit or restrict the exportation, re-exportation or transit of arms, munitions and implements of war to Ethiopia will annul these measures immediately;

(2)The Governments of the Members of the League of Nations will prohibit immediately the exportation, re-exportation or transit to Italy or Italian possessions of arms, munitions and implements of war enumerated in the attached list;

(3)The Governments of the Members of the League of Nations will take such steps as may be necessary to secure that arms, munitions and implements of war, enumerated in the attached list, exported to countries other than Italy will not be re-exported directly or indirectly to Italy or to Italian possessions;

(4)The measures provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 are to apply to contracts in process of execution.

Annex.

ARTICLES GONSIDEEED AS ARMS, AMMUNITION AND IMPLEMENTS OF WAR.

Category I.

1.Rifles and carbines and their barrels.

2.Machine-guns, automatic rifles and machine pistols of all calibres and their barrels.

3.Guns, howitzers and mortars of all calibres, their mountings, barrels and recoil mechanisms.

4.Ammunition for the arms enumerated under 1 and 2 above; filled and unfilled projectiles for the arms enumerated under 3 above, and prepared propellant charges for these arms.

5.Grenades, bombs, torpedoes and mines, filled or unfilled, and apparatus for their use or discharge.

6.Tanks, armoured vehicles and armoured trains. Armour-plate of all kinds.

Category II.

Vessels of war of all kinds, including aircraft-carriers and submarines.

Category III.

1.Aircraft, assembled or dismantled, both heavier and lighter than air, and their propellers or air-screws, fuselages, aerial gun-mounts and frames, hulls, tail units and under-carriage units.

2.Aircraft-engines.

Category IV.

Revolvers and automatic pistols of a weight in excess of 1lb 6ozs. (630 grammes) and ammunition therefor.

Category V.

1.Flame-throwers and all other projectors used for chemical or incendiary warfare.

2.Mustard gas, Lewisite, ethyldichlorarsine, methyldichlorarsine, and all other products destined for chemical or incendiary warfare.

3.Powder for war purposes, and explosives.

PROPOSAL II.

Adopted by the Co-ordination Committee on October 14th, 1935.

FINANCIAL MEASURES.

The Governments of the Members of the League of Nations will forthwith take all measures necessary to render impossible the following operations:

(1)All loans to or for the Italian Government and all subscriptions to loans issued in Italy or elsewhere by or for the Italian Government;

(2)All banking or other credits to or for the Italian Government and any further execution by advance, overdraft or otherwise of existing contracts to lend directly or indirectly to the Italian Government;

(3)All loans to or for any public authority, person or corporation in Italian territory and all subscriptions to such loans issued in Italy or elsewhere;

(4)All banking or other credits to or for any public authority, person or corporation in Italian territory and any further execution by advance, overdraft or otherwise of existing contracts to lend directly or indirectly to such authority, person or corporation;

(5)All issues of shares or other capital flotations for any public authority, person or corporation in Italian territory and all subscriptions to such issues of shares or capital flotations in Italy or elsewhere;

(6)The Governments will take all measures necessary to render impossible the transactions mentioned in paragraphs (1) to (5), whether effected directly or through intermediaries of whatsoever nationality.

PROPOSAL III.

Adopted by the Co-ordination Committee on October 19th, 1935.

PROHIBITION OF IMPORTATION OF ITALIAN GOODS.

With a view to facilitating for the Governments of the Members of the League of Nations the execution of their obligations under Article 16 of the Covenant, the following measures should be taken:

(1)The Governments of the Members of the League of Nations will prohibit the importation into their territories of all goods (other than gold or silver bullion and coin) consigned from or grown, produced or manufactured in Italy or Italian possessions, from whatever place arriving;

(2)Goods grown or produced in Italy or Italian possessions which have been subjected to some process in another country, and goods manufactured partly in Italy or Italian possessions and partly in another country will be considered as falling within the scope of the prohibition unless 25 per cent. or more of the value of the goods at the time when they left the place from which they were last consigned is attributable to processes undergone since the goods last left Italy or Italian possessions;

(3)Goods the subject of existing contracts will not be excepted from the prohibition;

(4)Goods en route at the time of imposition of the prohibition will be excepted from its operation. In giving effect to this provision, Governments may, for convenience of administration, fix an appropriate date, having regard to the normal time necessary for transport from Italy, after which goods will become subject to the prohibition;

(5)Personal belongings of travellers from Italy or Italian possessions may also be excepted from its operation.

PROPOSAL IV.

Adopted by the Co-ordination Committee on October 19th, 1935.

EMBARGO ON CERTAIN EXPORTS TO ITALY.

With a view to facilitating for the Governments of the Members of the League of Nations the execution of their obligations under Article 16 of the Covenant, the following measures should be taken:

(1)The Governments of the Members of the League of Nations will extend the application of paragraph (2) of Proposal I of the Co-ordination Committee to the following articles as regards their exportation and re-exportation to Italy and Italian possessions, which will accordingly be prohibited: (a) Horses, mules, donkeys, camels and all other transport animals; (b) Rubber; (c) Bauxite, aluminium and alumina (aluminium-oxide) iron-ore and scrap-iron;

Chromium, manganese, nickel, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, their ores and ferro-alloys (and also ferro-molybdenum, ferro-silicon, ferro-silico-manganese and ferro-silico-manganese-aluminium);

Tin and Tin-ore.

List (c) above includes all crude forms of the minerals and metals mentioned and their ores, scrap and alloys;

(2)The Governments of the Members of the League of Nations will take such steps as may be necessary to secure that the articles mentioned in paragraph (1) above exported to countries other than Italy or Italian possessions will not be re-exported directly or indirectly to Italy or to Italian possessions;

(3)The measures provided for in paragraphs (1) and (2) above are to apply to contracts in course of execution;

(4)Goods en route at the time of imposition of the prohibition will be excepted from its operation. In giving effect to this provision, Governments may, for convenience of administration, fix an appropriate date, having regard to the normal time necessary for transport to Italy or Italian possessions, after which goods will become subject to the prohibition.

PROPOSAL V.

Adopted by the Co-ordination Committee on October 19th, 1935.

ORGANISATION OF MUTUAL SUPPORT.

The Co-ordination Committee draws the special attention of all Governments to their obligations under paragraph 3 of Article 16 of the Covenant, according to which the Members of the League undertake mutually to support one another in the application of the economic and financial measures taken under this article.

With a view to carrying these obligations into effect, the Governments of the Members of the League of Nations will: (a) Adopt immediately measures to assure that no action taken as a result of Article 16 will deprive any country applying sanctions of such advantages as the commercial agreements concluded by the participating States with Italy afforded it through the operation of the most-favoured-nation clause; (b) Take appropriate steps with a view to replacing, within the limits of the requirements of their respective countries, imports from Italy by the import of similar products from the participating States; (c) Be willing, after the application of economic sanctions, to enter into negotiations with any participating country which has sustained a loss with a view to increasing the sale of goods so as to offset any loss of Italian markets which the application of sanctions may have involved; (d) In cases in which they have suffered no loss in respect of any given commodity, abstain from demanding the application of any most-favoured-nation clause in the case of any privileges granted under paragraphs (b) and (c) in respect of that commodity.

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