High Treason (Treaty of Versailles in Germany) Case
| Date | 14 Marzo 1928 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 5 |
| Court | Obsolete Court (Germany) |
International Law — Relation to Municipal Law — German Law and the Treaty of Versailles — Article 4 of the German Constitution — Effect of Treaties upon Individuals — Alleged Violation of the Treaty of Versailles by Germany — Publication by German Subject — High Treason — The State's Right of Self-Defence — How far Limited by International Treaties.
The Facts.—This was a prosecution for attempted high treason. The accused was charged with publishing details as to certain alleged plans of the Reichswehr which, if true, would have constituted a violation of the Treaty of Versailles. The information published by the accused was not accurate, but the accused believed it to be true. The prosecution was based on section 92 of the Criminal Code, which lays down, inter alia, that a person shall be liable to punishment who publishes information as to facts of which he knows that it is in the interest of Germany that they should not be revealed to a foreign Power. The accused contended that the Treaty of Versailles, which had become part of German law,1 had rendered Article 92 of the Criminal Code inoperative also in respect of individual German subjects. He also relied on Article 4 of the German Constitution, which lays down that generally recognised rules of international law shall be regarded as binding constituent parts of German Federal law.
Held: That that contention must be rejected. It was true that according to Article 178 of the German Constitution the operation of such of its provisions as are inconsistent with the Treaty of Versailles shall be suspended so long as the Treaty is in force. But there was no provision of the Treaty of Versailles which was contrary to the continued validity of Article 92 of the Criminal Code. There was nothing in it to deprive Germany of the right to protect her State secrets. The natural right of defending such State interests cannot be renounced. The renunciation of such a right would be tantamount to renouncing the right of self-defence, a right expressly recognised in the Treaty of Locarno of 6 October, 1925. The Reichsgericht itself had in numerous judgments adopted the view that the Espionage Law of 3 June, 1914, had remained intact.
Neither could the Reichsgericht admit the relevance of Article 4 of the Constitution. There is no generally recognised rule of international law to the effect that a national is entitled to communicate to...
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