difficulty in agreeing upon details. The necessity of Chapter V such a tribunal and the advantages which it confers, as well as the encouragement and in fact the prestige which it will give to the cause of arbitration, have been demonstrated with as much eloquence as force and clearness by our distinguished colleague, M. Descamps, in his interesting essay on arbitration, of which an extract will be found among the Acts and Documents so graciously furnished to the Conference by the Netherlands Government. I have no more to say upon this subject, but I would be very grateful to you, Mr. President, if before proceeding any further you would consent to elicit the ideas and sentiments of the Committee upon the proposition which I have the honor of submitting to you, touching the establishment of a permanent international tribunal of arbitration."

While this speech called forth no immediate reply, it nevertheless struck the keynote, as it were, of the subsequent discussions. It was immediately followed by the production of the Russian proposal for a permanent court, and it prevented a waste of time in desultory discussions of preliminaries. It was the right word, said at the right time, and marked a turningpoint in the history of the Conference.

There can be no doubt that the establishment of a permanent court of arbitration satisfies one of the most profound aspirations of civilized peoples. In view of the progress hitherto attained in the mutual relations of States this great institution can and ought to be a mighty power making for the cause of

Chapter V

The British proposal.

right and justice throughout the world. The organization of such a court was soon found to present no insurmountable obstacles-upon the one condition, however, that it must be founded upon the principle that the community of nations is one of coördination and not of subordination, and that this new organ of international justice must always retain, as M. Descamps expressed it, the character of "a free tribunal in the midst of independent States."

In the elaboration of the plans for the Court by the Comité d'Examen the project submitted by Lord Pauncefote on behalf of Great Britain was, by common consent, accepted as the basis of the discussion. Besides this the delegations from Russia and from the United States presented plans of which the more valuable features were incorporated in the final report of the Committee. The distinctive features of the British proposal were as follows:

1. The appointment by each Signatory Power of an equal number of arbitrators, to be placed upon a general list entitled Members of the Court; 2. The free choice from this list of arbitrators, called to form a tribunal for the particular cases submitted to arbitration by the various Powers; 3. The establishment at The Hague of an international Bureau acting as chancellery of the Court; 4. The establishment of a council of administration and control, composed of the diplomatic representatives of the Powers accredited to The Hague; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands being added as President upon the suggestion of Ambassador White.

proposal.

The Russian project had for its fundamental ideas Chapter V the following: 1. The designation, by the present The Russian Conference, for a period which should last until the meeting of another similar Conference, of five Powers, to the end that each of these in case of an agreement for arbitration, should nominate one judge either from among its own citizens or from without; 2. The establishment at The Hague of a permanent Bureau with the duty of communicating to the five Powers appointed the request for the appointment of arbitrators by the contending parties.

plan.

The American plan differed from the others chiefly The American in the following features: 1. The appointment by the highest court of each State of one member of the international tribunal; 2. The organization of the tribunal as soon as nine Powers should adhere to the Convention; 3. The appointment of a particular bench, to sit for each case submitted, according to the agreement between the contending States. This agreement might call for the sitting of all the members of the tribunal, or for a smaller given number, not less, however, than three. Whenever the Court consisted of not more than three judges none of the latter should be a native, subject, or citizen of either of the litigating States. 4. The right of the litigating States, in particular cases and within certain limits. of time, to have a second hearing of the question involved before the same judges.

The preliminary discussion upon the subject of the permanent Court of Arbitration in the Comité d'Er

Chapter V

The discus

sion in the Comité

d' Examen.

tion of the

French

amen was one of particular importance and interest, and took place on the 9th of June in the Salle de Trèves in the Palace of the Binnenhof at The Hague, where most of the sessions of the Committee were held. At the opening of the session, M. Bourgeois, The declara- the Chairman, on behalf of the French Delegation, read a statement to the effect that the French DeleDelegation. gation, recognizing that a common purpose animated the different projects submitted to the Committee, and that the principles involved were sufficiently stated in one or the other of these projects, had come to the conclusion that it was not necessary on their part to submit a separate project, but, under the double guaranty of entire liberty in having recourse to the tribunal, and the liberty of choosing arbitrators, the delegation did not hesitate to give from the start its cordial adhesion to the proposed new institution. "Under this double guaranty," said M. Bourgeois, "we do not hesitate to support the idea of the permanent institution, always accessible and charged with applying rules and following the procedure established between the Powers represented at the Conference at The Hague. We also accept the establishment. of the international Bureau, which should be established to give, as it were, continuity, and serving as a chancellery, clerk's office, and archives of the arbitral tribunal. We believe that it is particularly useful that it should be continuous in its service, not only for the purpose of preserving at one common point the judicial intercourse between the Nations, and for the purpose of rendering more certain the

unity of procedure, but also for the purpose of Chapter V reminding incessantly the spirit of all peoples by a conspicuous and respected sign, of the superior idea of right and of humanity, which the invitation of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia calls upon all civilized States to follow in common up to the point of realization. The French Delegation at the same Proposed time believes that it is possible to invest this perma- the Bureau. nent institution with an even more efficacious rôle. It is of the opinion that the Bureau might be invested with an international mandate, strictly limited, giving it the power of initiative, and facilitating in most cases the recourse of Powers to arbitration.

"In case there should develop between two or more of the Signatory States one of the differences recognized as being a proper subject for arbitration, the permanent Bureau should have the duty of reminding the litigating parties of the Articles of this Convention, having for its object the right or the obligation to have recourse, by consent in such a case, to arbitration.

"It would therefore offer its services to act as an intermediary between them, in putting into motion the procedure of arbitration, and opening unto them. access to its jurisdiction. It is often a legitimate prejudice and an elevated sentiment which may prevent two nations from coming to a pacific arrangement in an excited state of public opinion, -whichever of the two Governments first requested arbitration might fear having its initiative considered in its

R

mandate to