IDRB

UNIT-2, THE PERMANENT COURT OF ARBITRATION

SYNOPSIS
 Introduction
 Origin
 Structure
 Panel of members
 Administrative council
 Cases before the tribunal

INTRODUCTION
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental
organization located in The Hague, Netherlands.
The PCA is constituted through two separate multilateral conventions with a
combined membership of 122 states.

ORIGIN
The PCA was the first permanent intergovernmental organization to provide a
forum for the resolution of international disputes through arbitration and other
peaceful means.
The PCA was established by the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of
International Disputes, concluded at The Hague in 1899 during the first Hague
Peace Conference.
This movement toward arbitration as a means of international dispute resolution
was continued in 1899, and the most concrete achievement of the 1899
Conference was the establishment of the PCA as the first global mechanism for
the settlement of disputes between states.
Today the PCA provides services for the resolution of disputes involving
various combinations of states, state entities, intergovernmental organizations,
and private parties.

STRUCTURE
The PCA has a three-part organizational structure consisting of an
Administrative Council, a panel of independent potential arbitrators known as
the Members of the Court, and its Secretariat, known as the International
Bureau, headed by the Secretary-General.
The Administrative Council entrusts the financial supervision of the
International Bureau to a Financial Committee composed of three independent
experts elected by the Administrative Council for three-year terms.
The PCA’s Secretariat - the International Bureau - consists of an experienced
team of legal and administrative staff of various nationalities.
The Court is not ‘permanent’ in nature; rather it is a Court selected from among
a permanent panel of arbitrators.

PANEL OF MEMBERS
In addition to the Members of the Court, the PCA also maintains various
specialized panels of arbitrators and experts in connection with its specialized
rules of procedure for environmental and outer space disputes.
There are 225 arbitrators, appointed for a six-year term.
The Administrative Council is composed of diplomatic representatives of the
contracting parties accredited to The Hague.
The President of the Council is the foreign minister of the Netherlands.
The administrative organ of the Court is the International Bureau which
channels communication regarding meetings of the Court.
It serves as a registry and maintains archives.
Each member is eligible to nominate four persons who have competency in
International law and who are of the highest moral reputation and have the
ability to accept the duties of an arbitrator.
Members of the Court are appointed for a term of six years, and their
appointments can be renewed.

ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
This body, in consultation with the Secretary-General, shapes the policy of the
organization.
It provides general guidance on the work of the PCA, and supervises its
administration, budget and expenditure.
The Council operates under the Rules of Procedure of the Administrative
Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The Secretary-General reports annually to the Administrative Council on the
activities of the PCA and its expenditure.
CASES RELATED TO INDIA
1. Enrica Lexie's case involves a controversy over a gunshot fired by two
Italian marines off the coast of India. The Tribunal ordered Italy to pay
compensation to India.
2. Bangladesh was awarded 19,467 square kilometers of the 25,602 square
kilometers maritime area in the Bay of Bengal in the Bangladesh v. India
(Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary) case. The terms were accepted by
India.