The ''Lotus'' case was an international legal case involving

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in front of the

Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...

. The case is known for establishing the so-called "''Lotus'' principle" in international law.

The case

Background

On 2 August 1926 the S.S. ''Lotus'', a French steamer, collided with the S.S. ''Bozkourt'', a Turkish steamer, in a region just north of

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

(

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

). As a result of the accident, eight Turkish nationals aboard the ''Bozkourt'' drowned when the vessel was torn apart by the ''Lotus''. Turkey proceeded to arrest the ''Lotus'''s captain, Mr. Demons; he was subsequently charged and condemned by the Turkish Courts for the damage and the deaths caused by the accident.

Appeal to the PCIJ

France protested against Turkish actions, claiming that, since the crime was committed in

high seas The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regiona ...

, any charge against Mr. Demons belonged to the

flag State The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is Ship registration, registered or licensed, and is deemed the nationality of the vessel. A merchant vessel must be registered and can only be registered in one j ...

jurisdiction, i.e. to the French judiciary. On 7 September 1927, the case was presented before the

, the judicial branch of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, the predecessor of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. France accused Turkey of illegally arresting Mr. Demons in violation of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

. France proffered case law, through which it attempted to show at least state practice in support of its position. However, those cases involved ships that both flew the flag of the same state. The Court, therefore, by a bare majority, rejected France's position, stating that there was no rule to that effect in

''Lotus'' principle

The ''Lotus'' principle or ''Lotus'' approach, usually considered a foundation of

, says that

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

s may act in any way they wish so long as they do not contravene an explicit prohibition. The application of this principle – an outgrowth of the ''Lotus'' case – to future incidents raising the issue of jurisdiction over people on the high seas was changed by article 11 of the

Convention on the High Seas The Convention on the High Seas is an international treaty which codifies the rules of international law relating to the high seas, otherwise known as international waters. The convention was one of four treaties created at the United Nations C ...

. The convention, held in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1958, laid emphasis on the fact that only the flag state or the state of which the alleged offender was a national had jurisdiction over sailors regarding incidents occurring on the high seas.

Subsequent evolution of international law

This " flag state principle" has since also been implemented in

United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 169 sov ...

(UNCLOS), e.g. in article 92 and, in regards to enforcement of environmental legislation, article 217(1). The principle has also been used in arguments against the reasons of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

for opposing the existence of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

(ICC).

Mahmut Esat Bozkurt

In the court the Turkish side was represented by

Mahmut Esat Bozkurt Mahmut Esat Bozkurt (1892 – 21 December 1943) was a Turkish jurist, politician, government minister and academic. His birth name was Mahmut Esat. But after the adaptation of the Turkish Surname Law in 1934, he chose the surname ''Bozkurt'' ...

, the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. In 1934, when Turkey adopted the formal surname system, Mahmut Esat chose the surname ''Bozkurt'' as a reminiscence of the case.{{Cite web, url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/30377/3/Chinkin%20ozkurt%20Case%20aka%20the%20Lotus%20Case.pdf, title=Bozkurt Case, aka the Lotus Case (France v Turkey):Two Ships that Go Bump in the Night, last=, first=, date=, website=, page=1, archive-url=, archive-date=, access-date=19 April 2020

References

Resources

The Case of The S.S. Lotus
- full text of the judgment
The Case of The S.S. Lotus
- combined French and English version
The Case of The S.S. Lotus
- Spanish version / Versi´çon en español 1927 in case law 1927 in international relations International criminal law

Lotus Case The ''Lotus'' case was an international legal case involving French Third Republic, France and Turkey in front of the Permanent Court of International Justice. The case is known for establishing the so-called "''Lotus'' principle" in internatio ...

France–Turkey relations Mytilene