- Permanent Court of Arbitration
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Permanent Court of Arbitration Cour permanente d'arbitrage 
Seal of the courtEstablished 1899 Jurisdiction Worldwide, 109 state parties Location The Hague, Netherlands Authorized by Hague Peace Conference Website www.pca-cpa.org The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.
Contents
History
The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.
The creation of the PCA is set out under Articles 20 to 29 of the 1899 Hague Convention for the specific settlement of international disputes, which was a result of the first Hague Peace Conference. At the second Hague Peace Conference, the earlier Convention was revised by the 1907 Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.
State parties
Parties of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
according to the convention of 1907according to convention of 1899not partyAs of June 2011, 112 countries are party to one or both of these founding Conventions of the PCA.[1]
State party1899 convention1907 convention15-06-190701-04-196021-02-199704-09-190026-01-191030-06-200804-06-196204-04-196204-09-190007-10-191021-01-200316-09-200515-06-190726-10-191015-06-190706-03-191404-09-190010-06-200030-08-196130-08-196104-01-195604-01-195601-08-196101-08-196119-08-196009-07-199415-06-190718-01-199821-11-190426-01-191015-06-190717-03-199725-03-196125-03-196120-07-199908-10-199115-06-190722-04-191212-11-199301-01-199304-09-190026-01-191015-06-190707-09-195803-07-190704-11-196820-06-190726-01-191004-10-199701-09-200328-09-200302-04-197309-06-192204-09-190006-12-191004-09-190026-01-191004-04-190115-06-190714-05-191125-01-199815-06-190703-04-191001-12-196130-01-196204-09-190026-01-191008-12-195508-12-195529-07-195004-09-190031-08-197030-10-197006-07-200217-06-196204-09-190006-10-190011-02-191227-01-199211-06-200621-02-200014-09-200304-06-199204-06-199218-07-195518-07-195512-08-200114-02-196814-04-196802-09-199623-09-199409-01-200512-07-190104-11-191217-11-199117-02-200107-10-200906-05-200207-09-196803-08-197017-04-190126-01-191003-06-200604-06-200104-09-190026-01-191010-02-195913-04-201015-06-190714-02-191016-02-198704-09-190018-11-191005-08-195015-06-190710-11-191115-06-190724-06-193315-06-190726-05-192214-07-201004-09-190012-06-191102-12-200504-09-190030-04-191207-03-195507-03-195519-04-201120-01-200201-08-197730-09-197705-06-200605-06-200611-09-199301-01-199301-10-199629-03-200421-12-199804-09-190017-05-191309-02-195502-12-196627-12-199225-12-197004-09-190026-01-191029-12-190011-07-191004-09-190011-05-191017-12-200412-06-190730-04-196604-04-196204-04-196206-11-200804-09-190026-01-191004-09-190012-10-197017-06-190715-06-190731-12-199919-09-1984Unlike the ICJ, the PCA is not just open to states but also to other parties. The PCA provides services for the resolution of disputes involving various combinations of states, state entities, intergovernmental organizations, and private parties.
Organization
Seat of the PCA: The Peace Palace ("Vredespaleis"), The Hague.
PCA courtroom.The PCA is not a “court in the conventional understanding of that term, but an administrative organization with the object of having permanent and readily available means to serve as the registry for purposes of international arbitration and other related procedures, including commissions of enquiry and conciliation.”[2] It is a permanent framework available to assist temporary arbitral tribunals or commissions.
The PCA is housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, which was built specially for the Court in 1913 with an endowment from Andrew Carnegie. From 1922 on, the building also housed the distinctly separate Permanent Court of International Justice, which was replaced by the International Court of Justice in 1946.
In the early 1980s, the PCA helped in setting up the administrative services of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal.[3]
The public at large is usually more familiar with the International Court of Justice than with the Permanent Court of Arbitration, partly because of the closed nature of cases handled by the PCA and to the low number of cases dealt with between 1946 and 1990. The PCA's caseload has, however, increased since then.[4]
The PCA administers cases arising out of international treaties (including bilateral and multilateral investment treaties), and other agreements to arbitrate. The cases conducted by the PCA span a wide range of legal issues, including disputes over territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international investment (investor-state arbitrations), and matters concerning international and regional trade.
Hearings are rarely open to the public and sometimes even the decision itself is kept confidential at the request of the parties. Many decisions and related documents are available on the PCA website.
Cases
- Barbados v. Trinidad and Tobago
- Hanish Islands conflict
- Island of Palmas Case
- Abyei Arbitration
- Savarkar Case
See also
References
- ^ Member States
- ^ Shabtai Rosenne, “The Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907 and International Arbitration: Reports and Documents”, T.M.C. Asser Press (2001), page xxi.
- ^ Judge George H. Aldrich, "The Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal" in P. Hamilton et al., ed., The Permanent Court of Arbitration: International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, Kluwer Law International (1999), p. 208.
- ^ Sir Kenneth Keith ONZ QBE QC, "Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration" in Timothy L.H. McCormack & Cheryl Saunders, ed., Sir Ninian Stephen: A Tribute, Miegunnyah Press (2007), p. 174. See also Permanent Court of Arbitration 106th Annual Report, p.1, available at http://www.pca-cpa.org/upload/files/03%202006%20Summary%20Report%20FINAL%20en.pdf
External links
Categories:- International arbitration courts and tribunals
- Organizations established in 1899
- Organisations based in The Hague
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