place

Permanent Court of International Justice

Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1946Courts and tribunals established in 1922Defunct courtsInternational courts and tribunalsOrganisations based in The Hague
Permanent Court of International Justice
Seal of the Permanent Court of International Justice
Seal 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 centuries old), the Court was initially well-received from states and academics alike, with many cases submitted to it for its first decade of operation. Between 1922 and 1940 the Court heard a total of 29 cases and delivered 27 separate advisory opinions. With the heightened international tension in the 1930s, the Court became less used. By a resolution from the League of Nations on 18 April 1946, both the Court and the League ceased to exist and were replaced by the International Court of Justice and the United Nations. The Court's mandatory jurisdiction came from three sources: the Optional Clause of the League of Nations, general international conventions and special bipartite international treaties. Cases could also be submitted directly by states, but they were not bound to submit material unless it fell into those three categories. The Court could issue either judgments or advisory opinions. Judgments were directly binding but not advisory opinions. In practice, member states of the League of Nations followed advisory opinions anyway for fear of possibly undermining the moral and legal authority of the Court and the League.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Permanent Court of International Justice (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Permanent Court of International Justice
Carnegieplein, The Hague Centrum

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Website Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Permanent Court of International JusticeContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 52.0866 ° E 4.2955 °
placeShow on map

Address

Vredespaleis

Carnegieplein 2
2517 KJ The Hague, Centrum
South Holland, Netherlands
mapOpen on Google Maps

Website
vredespaleis.nl

linkVisit website

Seal of the Permanent Court of International Justice
Seal of the Permanent Court of International Justice
Share experience

Nearby Places

International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ; French: Cour internationale de justice; CIJ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. The ICJ is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between countries, with its rulings and opinions serving as primary sources of international law. The ICJ is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was established in 1920 by the League of Nations. After the Second World War, both the league and the PCIJ were replaced by the United Nations and ICJ, respectively. The Statute of the ICJ, which sets forth its purpose and structure, draws heavily from that of its predecessor, whose decisions remain valid. All member states of the UN are party to the ICJ Statute and may initiate contentious cases; however, advisory proceedings may only be submitted by certain UN organs and agencies. The ICJ consists of a panel of 15 judges elected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms. No more than one judge of each nationality may be represented on court at the same time, and judges collectively must reflect the principal civilizations and legal systems of the world. Seated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICJ is the only principal UN organ not located in New York City. Its official working languages are English and French. Since the entry of its first case on 22 May 1947, the ICJ has entertained 181 cases through September 2021.

Permanent Court of Arbitration
Permanent Court of Arbitration

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, which was built to house the PCA. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international arbitrations involving various combinations of states, state entities, international organizations and private parties. The cases span a wide range of legal issues involving territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international investment, and international and regional trade. The PCA is constituted through two separate multilateral conventions with a combined membership of 128 Contracting Parties. The PCA is not a United Nations agency, but has been a United Nations observer since 1993. The PCA was established by the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, which concluded at The Hague in 1899 during the first Hague Peace Conference of 1899. The Conference had been convened at the initiative of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia "with the object of seeking the most objective means of ensuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and lasting peace, and above all, of limiting the progressive development of existing armaments". In the first three decades of its existence, the PCA was a major forum for resolving inter-state disputes. Subsequently, the organization registered a decrease in activity due to the creation of the Permanent Court of International Justice. In the 21st century, the PCA has resurged as a venue for inter-state arbitrations and resolving investor-state disputes and is currently administering over 210 dispute resolution proceedings, making it the most active international court in The Hague. In June 2026, the Court was acting as registry in 7 inter-state arbitrations, 1 other inter-state proceeding, 90 arbitrations arising under bilateral or multilateral investment treaties or national investment laws, 101 arbitrations arising under contracts involving a State or other public entity, and 11 other proceedings.