The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1921. THE WORLD COURT OF PEACE.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 2678, 14 January 1921, Page 4

The Pahiatua Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1921. THE WORLD COURT OF PEACE.

A groat idea is that of a Court of i International Justice. It has been in | the minds of men for over a century, j and since the war the thought has : become more insistent that one of j the first tftcps towards the brotlier- ! hood of mankind must be such a j court, which will adjudicate lxtwecn I nations as the national courts judgt- ! between man and man. Now when ! tlio people of the world are sick of ! war, when every nation as lie-king its ] wounds and praying for a respite from the ancient madness that has afflicted . mankind since he lived dn caves and I in dwellings thrust out on- piles into , a lake—now or never is the time to | establish such a Court, and the I League of Nations, having ap|x>intecf ja, committee of eminent jurists to ! draft a scheme presents -its draft to I the Council. It is an interesting i scheme, and may yet prove of vital ! importance to the human race. There, fore an examination of dt. the court to end war, should not prove inoppor- ’ tune when Christmas thoughts of ; peace and goodwill arc- stili in | our minds. T'ic Sydney ‘‘Sun” j states that the court- is to ho composed of 11 judges and 4 deputy judges, chosen independent of nationality from amongst ‘‘persons of the highest moral character,” or “jurisconsults of recognised competence.” The suggestion that jurisi consults may lack moral character is, ! in all probability, a icsult of careless drafting of the clause. The National I Groups will nominate the members,

i and tin* Assembly and Council will ! elect them. No group shall nominate more than. two. National groups are I advised, before nominating their oanI didates, to consult its highest Courts of Justice, its Ix-gal Faculties and Academies of Law. Probably that is for the purpose of discouraging the nomination of politicians. It is to lie hoped that the nations act on xho advice.' Members of the court will be elected for nine years. Another clause directly bars the politician. ‘‘The exercise of any function which belongs to the. political direction, national or international, of States by tho members of the court during their terms of office is declared incompatible with their judicial duties.” It seem* a pity that exercise of those functions before appointment is not deemed equally incompatible. The court will sit at The Hague where the President and Registrar shall leside, and a session shall be held each year, Beginning on June 15, but the President may summon a meeting whenever necessary. A quorum- w-ill lx* nine judges. An important provision and one which panders too much, perhaps, to nationality, is that which declares that if tho court includes upon the bench a judge of the nationality of one of tho parties the other party may choose a judge of its nationnlit> from among the deputy judges, or if there be not one, from the candidates nominated by the national group. If j tlie court includes upon the lxuich no judge of the nationality of either contesting party tho parties may each choose one. That is each party can chooso one partisan on the bench. Why? The jurisdiction of the court v.fll include the hearing and determination of sui'ts between States. It will bo open to all members of the League of Nations, and other States may have access to it in tho hearing of any ease aga.ins't one of the States of the League. Its jurisdiction will cover tho interpretation of a treaty, any question of international law, reparation assessment for breaches of agreement, or interpretation of a sentence passed by tho court. Tb will apply international conventi'ons and customs, tho general principles of law recognLed hi civclisod nation*, uud

judicial decisions of the varous nations in its jurisdiction. It* decisions will thus, where possible, follow tho established laws. It' will make its own laws, so much as interpret the equities of the world. A provision which might be applied to national courts and would save a good deal of time and trouble if it were, is that which gives the court give an advisory opinion an actual dispute before it. Special commissions of from throe to five members will sit on these points, la tho case of an opinion upon a dispute which lias actually arisen .tlie whole court will sit. The official language shall be French. Tlie choice of tongue, of course, is due to the fact thaw French is the language of diplomacy. The court may. however, authorise pleadings and addresses in other languages bv 'the advocates of the |>nrtios. An im-portant point in that .the hearing of a case may bo public, ‘ unless the court, at the written request, of one of the parties, accompanied by .v statement of his reason*, shall otherwise decide.” ft is to be hoped ia tlyo interests of tlie human race, apart from those of national groups, and politicians, and statesmen and diplomatists, and princes, tliat the court never does otherwise decide. A (star* Chamber of Nations would hp a disaster. It is a good draft, in tho main, although tlie hand of the diplomatist, as well as that of the jurist, is visible at times. If a court can bo established on these lines and can call upon tho power of a united league of Nations to back its decisions, it may go a long way to help the peace of tho world.