Permanent Court of Arbitration
| Permanent Court of Arbitration | |
|---|---|
| Cour permanente d'arbitrage | |
Seal of PCA
|
|
| Established | 1899 |
| Country | Worldwide, 121 parties |
| Location | The Hague, Netherlands |
| Coordinates | 52°05′12″N 4°17′44″E / 52.0866°N 4.2955°E |
| Authorized by | Hague Peace Conference |
| Judge term length | 6 years (renewable) |
| Number of positions | maximum 4 per member state |
| Website | pca-cpa.org |
| Secretary-General | |
| Currently | Hugo Hans Siblesz |
| Since | 2012 |
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization located at The Hague in the Netherlands. The PCA is not a court "in the traditional sense", but provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes between member states, international organizations, or private parties arising out of international agreements. The cases span a range of legal issues involving territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international investment, and international and regional trade. The PCA is constituted through two separate multilateral conventions with a combined membership of 121 states. The organization is not a United Nations agency.
The Peace Palace was built from 1907 until 1913 for PCA in The Hague. In addition the building houses the Hague Academy of International Law, Peace Palace Library and the International Court of Justice.
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.
The Administrative Council (formally the Permanent Administrative Council) is a body composed of all diplomatic representatives of Member States accredited to the Netherlands. It is presided by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, who is also a member. It is responsible for "direction and control" of the International Bureau, directs the organisation's budget and reports on its activities.
The International Bureau is the Secretariat of the PCA and is headed by the Secretary-General. It provides linguistic, research, administrative support to PCA arbitration tribunals.
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 international law, 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". Members may be selected in arbitration cases in which the PCA provides support. National Groups may propose candidates for International Court of Justice members.
...
Wikipedia