THE HAGUE COURT

Northern Advocate, 7 April 1931, Page 4

THE HAGUE COURT

There is sometimes a tendency, even on the part of well-meaning people who are imbued with the best of feelings towards the : League of Nations, to imagine that that body is not accomplishing any worth-while purpose. Tlie same idea is often entertain- . od in regard to the Permanent I Court of International Justice which sits at The Hague. It con-1 'sishs of fifteen Judges and fonrj. Deputy-Judges, chosen for their high legal and moral authority, and it deals by means of opinions and judgments Avith all disputes referred to it regarding International Luav, treaties of intemallional obligations and the interpretation of treaties. The reason! l for erroneous deductions as to!' |the value of the League and the I Permanent Court is that these I institutions Avork silently, and, ‘ Lso far as the groat body of the

public are concerned, unobtrusively. From time to time, boweve]*, tliere are published statistics which prove very conclusively that the Permanent Court, like the great institution which has its headfiuarters in Geneva, is doing much valuable work in the direction of removing the causes of discord between nations. For instance, there has just come to hand the Monthly Summary of the League of Nations for December. It enumerates no less than fifteen treaties which were filed between October and December 30 of last year. They include a Treaty of Friendship between Persia and Sweden, a 1 Treaty of Conciliation, Judicial Settlement and Arbitration between Luxembourg and Switzerland, and a Treaty of Conciliation and Arbitration between, Estonia ■and Hungary. Treaties of Conciliation and Arbitration were arranged between Czecho-Slovakia and a number of countries, including Poland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The treaties were of different descriptions and for different purposes, but in every case there was removed a source of trouble which at any moment might have caused enmity, if not actual warfare, between the countries concerned. The fact that the parties agreed to submit to arbitration any dispute that might arise is sufficient guarantee that no warlike action will be taken during the heat of passion—the time when wars and the causes of wars are born. The existence of the League of Nations and the great tribunal associated with.it, is indeed something for which the people of the world have good cause to be thankful.