International Conciliation

A method by which the differences between nations may be settled by means of a commission employed to consider and report upon such differences.

When conciliation is used, a commission of inquiry is introduced to investigate and report on the facts surrounding a particular dispute. The report need not be in the form of an award, and the parties involved may freely decide whether or not they will give it any effect. Conciliation is distinguishable from ARBITRATION in that the terms of a conciliation settlement constitute mere proposals to the disputing powers, whereas an arbitration settlement is binding.