Hague Convention monitoring/arbitration

[phylo_roadking]

I was told some time ago that after the conquest of Holland in 1940, the Dutch Government's role as monitor/arbiter of the Hague Conventions devolved onto the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva - who of course were ALREADY the monitor/arbiter of the Geneva Conventions.

Is anyone aware of the existence of a mechanism/telegram/letter/form of words by which this function was OFFICALLY transferred? or when it was done...or rperhaps REGARDED as done? For example - when Vichy Fance declared itself Neutral, and a number of countries around the world recognised it as Neutral...were they actually really doing anything in terms of the Hague Convention???

The Convention stipulated its own triggering mechanisms - that within a fixed time from one signatory declaring war on another, and the belligerent Combatant notifying the Dutch Government at the Hague that they had declared war or set a Conditional Declaration....all other signatories had to declare their their status facing the war I.E. send a telegram to the Hague saying if they were "Neutral" or a "Combatant" in the new war.

So...who/when/where announced to the world that the ICRC at Geneva was going to fulfill this "referee" function from what date onward? WAS it officially in place when Vichy declared its Neutrality to the world???