TftE WORLD 395

a list of four persons, and, from these lists, States which *had a
dispute could choose Arbitrators. The Peace Treaties included
a Statute creating and providing rules for a Permanent Court at
The Hague. There are fifteen Judges chosen for a term of nine
years by a majority vote in both Council and Assembly. No
State is obliged to submit disputes to the Court, but any State
which agrees to accept the Court's decision may do so. More
than forty States, including Britain, have signed the "Optional
Clause" of the Court's Statute—that is to say, have bound them-
selves to submit to the Court any legal disputes they have with
States which have also signed the Clause. Britain and the
Dominions, however, reserve the right not to submit inter-
Commonwealth disputes.

More than thirty cases have been settled by the Court.
Frequently States can settle lesser disputes by discussion among
themselves; but where this fails, recourse to the Court is cheaper
and more honourable than the continuance of ill-feeling or
attempts by either side to make its will prevail by injuring the
trade of the other. The League Council has often asked tHe
Court to give advisory opinions. For example, the question was
once raised, whether the I.L.O. had power to consider agriculture
as well as industry. The Court's opinion was that the I.L.O. had
the power, and this is now accepted.

The Court is a judicial body; in interpreting the meaning of
Treaties, or deciding the merits of a dispute, it does not consider
what might be best from a political point of view, but simply
what the position is in international law. Thus, the German
annexation of Austria was certainly a breach of more than one
Treaty, and therefore contrary to international law. Whether it
is not desirable that the two countries should be united is another
matter, international Law itself is hard to define, since there is
no International Legislature to make it. The wording of Treaties,
the practice of civilised nations, and the record of earlier decisions,
must guide the Court.

BB