PCA
Established 1899
o oldest institution for international dispute resolutions
o established by 1st Hague Peace Conference under Articles 20 to 29 of the 1899 Hague
Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes
Authorized by The Hague Peace Conference
Judge term length: 6 years (renewable)
Number of positions: maximum 4 per member state
PCA
o not a court in the traditional sense
o provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise out of international
agreements between member states, IOs or private parties
o is constituted through two separate multilateral conventions with a combined
membership of 122 states
o is not a United Nations agency, but is an official United Nations Observer
cases span a range of legal issues
o involving territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international
I, and international and regional trade
The judges or arbitrators that hear cases are called Members of the Court
Each member state may appoint up to four "of known competency in questions of IL, of
the highest moral reputation and disposed to accept the duties of arbitrators" for a
renewable 6-year term
Members of each member state together form a "national group"
o Members may be selected in arbitration cases in which the PCA provides support
o National Groups may propose candidates for International Court of Justice members
PCA sometimes gets confused with ICJ, which has its seat in the same building
o PCA is not part of UN system, although it does have observer status in UNGA since 1993
PCA tribunals have jurisdiction for disputes based on the PCA founding documents (the
Conventions on Pacific Settlement of International Disputes), or based on bilateral and
multilateral treaties. Its Secretary General furthermore acts as an appointing authority
for arbitration.
It is interstate arbitration
, Interstate arbitration based on the Hague Convention
Arbitration between two states takes place when two member states of the PCA decide
to submit a dispute for arbitration to a PCA Tribunal
The Tribunal consists of 5 arbitrators, two of which are selected by each party to the
arbitration (and one of whom may be a national of the party concerned)
The four arbitrators choose the fifth and presiding arbitrator
Cases
1) Savarkar
Decided 24 February 1911
Backstory
o In India, Ganesh Savarkar had organised an armed revolt against Morley-Minto
reforms of 1909
o British police implicated Savarkar in the investigation for allegedly plotting the crime
o Hoping to evade arrest, Savarkar moved to Madame Cama's home in Paris, but was
nevertheless arrested by police on 13 March 1910
o In the final days of freedom, Savarkar wrote letters to a close friend planning his
escape. Knowing that he would most likely be shipped to India, Savarkar asked his
friend to keep track of which ship and route he would be taken through
o When the ship SS Morea reached the port of Marseille on 8 July 1910, Savarkar escaped
from his cell in the hope that his friend would be there to receive him in a car
o But friend was late in arriving, and alarm having been raised, Savarkar was re-arrested
Savarkar's arrest at Marseilles caused the French G to protest to the British, arguing that
the British could not recover Savarkar unless they took appropriate legal proceedings for
his rendition
o The dispute came before the Permanent Court of International Arbitration in 1910, and
it gave its decision in 1911
Decision
o 1. Court held, firstly, that since there was pattern of collaboration btwn the two
countries regarding the possibility of Savarkar's escape in Marseilles and there was
neither force nor fraud in inducing French authorities to return Savarkar to them, the
British authorities did not have to hand him back to the French for the latter to hold
rendition proceedings
o 2. tribunal also observed that there had been an "irregularity" in Savarkar's arrest and
delivery over to the Indian Army Military Police guard
2) Island of Palmas
Established 1899
o oldest institution for international dispute resolutions
o established by 1st Hague Peace Conference under Articles 20 to 29 of the 1899 Hague
Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes
Authorized by The Hague Peace Conference
Judge term length: 6 years (renewable)
Number of positions: maximum 4 per member state
PCA
o not a court in the traditional sense
o provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise out of international
agreements between member states, IOs or private parties
o is constituted through two separate multilateral conventions with a combined
membership of 122 states
o is not a United Nations agency, but is an official United Nations Observer
cases span a range of legal issues
o involving territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international
I, and international and regional trade
The judges or arbitrators that hear cases are called Members of the Court
Each member state may appoint up to four "of known competency in questions of IL, of
the highest moral reputation and disposed to accept the duties of arbitrators" for a
renewable 6-year term
Members of each member state together form a "national group"
o Members may be selected in arbitration cases in which the PCA provides support
o National Groups may propose candidates for International Court of Justice members
PCA sometimes gets confused with ICJ, which has its seat in the same building
o PCA is not part of UN system, although it does have observer status in UNGA since 1993
PCA tribunals have jurisdiction for disputes based on the PCA founding documents (the
Conventions on Pacific Settlement of International Disputes), or based on bilateral and
multilateral treaties. Its Secretary General furthermore acts as an appointing authority
for arbitration.
It is interstate arbitration
, Interstate arbitration based on the Hague Convention
Arbitration between two states takes place when two member states of the PCA decide
to submit a dispute for arbitration to a PCA Tribunal
The Tribunal consists of 5 arbitrators, two of which are selected by each party to the
arbitration (and one of whom may be a national of the party concerned)
The four arbitrators choose the fifth and presiding arbitrator
Cases
1) Savarkar
Decided 24 February 1911
Backstory
o In India, Ganesh Savarkar had organised an armed revolt against Morley-Minto
reforms of 1909
o British police implicated Savarkar in the investigation for allegedly plotting the crime
o Hoping to evade arrest, Savarkar moved to Madame Cama's home in Paris, but was
nevertheless arrested by police on 13 March 1910
o In the final days of freedom, Savarkar wrote letters to a close friend planning his
escape. Knowing that he would most likely be shipped to India, Savarkar asked his
friend to keep track of which ship and route he would be taken through
o When the ship SS Morea reached the port of Marseille on 8 July 1910, Savarkar escaped
from his cell in the hope that his friend would be there to receive him in a car
o But friend was late in arriving, and alarm having been raised, Savarkar was re-arrested
Savarkar's arrest at Marseilles caused the French G to protest to the British, arguing that
the British could not recover Savarkar unless they took appropriate legal proceedings for
his rendition
o The dispute came before the Permanent Court of International Arbitration in 1910, and
it gave its decision in 1911
Decision
o 1. Court held, firstly, that since there was pattern of collaboration btwn the two
countries regarding the possibility of Savarkar's escape in Marseilles and there was
neither force nor fraud in inducing French authorities to return Savarkar to them, the
British authorities did not have to hand him back to the French for the latter to hold
rendition proceedings
o 2. tribunal also observed that there had been an "irregularity" in Savarkar's arrest and
delivery over to the Indian Army Military Police guard
2) Island of Palmas
