Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-102
§261 Policy as to Settlement of Disputes and Disarmament
Title 22 › CHAPTER 7 — INTERNATIONAL BUREAUS, CONGRESSES, ETC. › § 261
Summary
The United States must try to resolve international disagreements through talks or neutral arbitration to prevent war. It is concerned about a worldwide arms build-up but accepts that no single country can disarm alone, so major powers must keep comparable military strength without a common agreement.
Full Legal Text
Title 22, §261
Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
It is declared to be the policy of the United States to adjust and settle its international disputes through mediation or arbitration, to the end that war may be honorably avoided. It looks with apprehension and disfavor upon a general increase of armament throughout the world, but it realizes that no single nation can disarm, and that without a common agreement upon the subject every considerable power must maintain a relative standing in military strength.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Short Title
of 2010 Amendment Pub. L. 111–158, § 1, Apr. 26, 2010, 124 Stat. 1121, provided that: “This Act [enacting section 262p–12 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Haiti Debt Relief and Earthquake Recovery Act of 2010’.”
Short Title
of 1977 Amendment Pub. L. 95–118, § 1, as added by Pub. L. 97–35, title XIII, § 1361(a), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 745, provided that: “This Act [enacting section 262c, 262d, 262e to 262g–3, 282i, 284n, 285s, 285t, 286e–1f, and 290g–10 of this title, repealing section 283y, 284m, and 290g–9 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under 262c and 282i of this title] may be cited as the ‘International Financial Institutions Act’.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
22 U.S.C. § 261
Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102