DRAFT-SCHEME FOR THE INSTITUTION OF THE PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 1 Mentioned in Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, presented to the Council of the League by the Advisory Committee of Jurists, July 23, 1920. (Translation) ARTICLE 1 A Permanent Court of International Justice, to which parties shall have direct access, is hereby established, in accordance with Article 14 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. This Court shall be in addition to the Court of Arbitration organised by The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, and to the special tribunals of arbitration to which states are always at liberty to submit their disputes for settlement. CHAPTER I Organisation of the Court ARTICLE 2 The Permanent Court of International Justice shall be composed of a body of independent judges, elected regardless of their nationality, from amongst persons of high moral character, who possess the qualifications required, in their respective countries, for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or are jurisconsults of recognised competence in international law. ARTICLE 3 The Court shall consist of 15 members: 11 judges and 4 deputyjudges. The number of judges and deputy-judges may be hereafter increased by the Assembly, upon the proposal of the Council of the League of Nations, to a total of 15 judges and 6 deputy-judges. 1 Official Journal, League of Nations, Spl. Supp., No. 2 (Sept., 1920). ARTICLE 4 The members of the Court shall be elected by the Assembly and the Council from a list of persons nominated by the national groups in the Court of Arbitration, in accordance with the following provisions: ARTICLE 5 At least three months before the date of the election, the SecretaryGeneral of the League of Nations shall address a written request to the members of the Court of Arbitration, belonging to the states mentioned in the Annex to the Covenant or to the states which shall have joined the League subsequently, inviting them to undertake, by national groups, the nomination of persons in a position to accept the duties of a member of the Court. No group may nominate more than two persons; the nominees may be of any nationality. ARTICLE 6 Before making these nominations, each national group is hereby recommended to consult its highest court of justice, its legal faculties and schools of law, and its national academies and national sections of international academies devoted to the study of law. ARTICLE 7. The Secretary-General of the League of Nations shall prepare a list, in alphabetical order, of all the persons thus nominated. These persons only shall be eligible for appointment, except as provided in Article 12, paragraph 2. The Secretary-General shall submit this list to the Assembly and to the Council. ARTICLE 8 The Assembly and the Council shall proceed to elect by independent voting first the judges and then the deputy-judges. ARTICLE 9 At every election, the electors shall bear in mind that not only should all the persons appointed as members of the Court possess the qualifications required, but the whole body also should represent the main forms of civilisation and the principal legal systems of the world. ARTICLE 10 Those candidates who obtain an absolute majority of votes in the Assembly and the Council shall be considered as elected. In the event of more than one candidate of the same nationality being elected by the votes of both the Assembly and the Council, the eldest of these only shall be considered as elected. ARTICLE 11 If, after the first sitting held for the purpose of the election, one or more seats remain to be filled, a second and, if necessary, a third sitting shall take place. ARTICLE 12 If after the third sitting one or more seats still remain unfilled, a joint conference, consisting of six members, three appointed by the Assembly and three by the Council, may be formed, at any time, at the request of either the Assembly or the Council, for the purpose of choosing one name for each seat still vacant, to submit to the Assembly and the Council for their respective acceptance. If the committee is unanimously agreed upon any person who fulfils. the required conditions he may be included in its list, even though he was not included in the list of nominations made by the Court of Arbitration. If the joint conference is not successful in procuring an election those members of the Court who have already been appointed shall, within a time limit to be arranged by the Council, proceed to fill the vacant seats by selection from amongst those candidates who have obtained votes either in the Assembly or in the Council. In the event of an equality of votes amongst the judges, the eldest judge shall have a casting vote. ARTICLE 13 The members of the Court shall be elected for nine years. They may be re-elected. They shall continue to discharge their duties until their places have been filled. Though replaced, they shall complete any cases which they may have begun. ARTICLE 14 Vacancies which may occur shall be filled by the same method as that laid down for the first election. A member of the Court elected to replace a member the period of whose appointment has not expired will hold the appointment for the remainder of his predecessor's term. ARTICLE 15 Deputy-judges shall be called upon to sit in the order laid down in a list. This list shall be prepared by the Court, having regard first to the order in time of each election and secondly to age. ARTICLE 16 The exercise of any function which belongs to the political direction, national or international, of states, by the members of the court, during their terms of office is declared incompatible with their judicial duties. Any doubt upon this point is settled by the decision of the Court. ARTICLE 17 No member of the Court can act as agent, counsel or advocate in any case of an international nature. No member may participate in the decision of any case in which he has previously taken an active part, as agent, counsel, or advocate for one of the contesting parties, or as a member of a national or international court, or of a commission of inquiry, or in any other capacity. Any doubt upon this point is settled by the decision of the Court. ARTICLE 18 A member of the Court cannot be dismissed unless, in the unanimous opinion of the other members, he has ceased to fulfil the required. conditions. When this happens a formal notification shall be given to the Secretary-General. This notification makes the place vacant. ARTICLE 19 The members of the Court, when outside their own country, shall enjoy the privileges and immunities of diplomatic representatives. ARTICLE 20 Every member of the Court shall, before taking up his duties, make a solemn declaration in open court that he will exercise his powers impartially and conscientiously. ARTICLE 21 The Court shall elect its President and Vice-President for three years: they may be re-elected. It shall appoint its Registrar. The duties of the Registrar of the Court shall not be considered incompatible with those of Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. ARTICLE 22 The seat of the Court shall be established at The Hague. The President and Registrar shall reside at the seat of the Court. ARTICLE 23 A session shall be held every year. Unless otherwise provided by rules of Court this session shall begin on the 15th June, and shall continue for so long as may be necessary to complete the cases on the list. The President may summon an extraordinary meeting of the Court whenever necessary. |