If the delegation acts as a commission of inquiry, this task may be intrusted to persons other than the judges of the court. The traveling expenses and remuneration to be given to the said persons are fixed and borne by the Powers appointing them.

ART. 21. The contracting powers only may have access to the judicial arbitration court set up by the present convention.

ART. 22. The judicial court of arbitration follows the rules of procedure laid down in the convention for the pacific settlement of international disputes, except in so far as the procedure is laid down in the present convention.

ART. 23. The court determines what language it will itself use and what languages may be used before it.

ART. 24. The international bureau serves as channel for all communications to be made to the judges during the interchange of pleadings provided for in Article 63, paragraph 2, of the convention for the pacific settlement of international disputes.

ART. 25. For all notices to be served, in particular on the parties, witnesses, or experts, the court may apply direct to the government of the state on whose territory the service is to be carried out. The same rule applies in the case of steps being taken to procure evidence.

The requests addressed for this purpose can only be rejected when the Power applied to considers them likely to impair its sovereign rights or its safety. If the request is complied with, the fees charged must only comprise the expenses actually incurred.

The court is equally entitled to act through the Power on whose territory it sits. Notices to be given to parties in the place where the court sits may be served through the international bureau.

ART. 26. The discussions are under the control of the president or vice president, or, in case they are absent or cannot act, of the senior judge present. The judge appointed by one of the parties cannot preside.

ART. 27. The court considers its decisions in private, and the proceedings

are secret.

All decisions are arrived at by a majority of the judges present. If the number of judges is even and equally divided, the vote of the junior judge, in the order of precedence laid down in Article 4, paragraph 1, is not counted.

ART. 28. The judgment of the court must give the reasons on which it is based. It contains the names of the judges taking part in it; it is signed by the president and registrar.

ART. 29. Each party pays its own costs and an equal share of the costs of the

trial.

ART. 30. The provisions of Articles 21 to 29 are applicable by analogy to the procedure before the delegation.

When the right of attaching a member to the delegation has been exercised by one of the parties only, the vote of the member attached is not recorded if the votes are evenly divided.

ART. 31. The general expenses of the court are borne by the contracting Powers.

The administrative council applies to the Powers to obtain the funds requisite for the working of the court.

ART. 32. The court itself draws up its own rules of procedure, which must be communicated to the contracting Powers.

After the ratification of the present convention the court shall meet as early as possible in order to elaborate these rules, elect the president and vice president, and appoint the members of the delegation.

ART. 33. The court may propose modifications in the provisions of the present convention concerning procedure. These proposals are communicated through the Netherland government to the contracting Powers, which will consider together as to the measures to be taken.

PART III. FINAL PROVISIONS

ART. 34. The present convention shall be ratified as soon as possible.
The ratifications shall be deposited at The Hague.

A procès-verbal of the deposit of each ratification shall be drawn up, of which a duly certified copy shall be sent through the diplomatic channel to all the signatory Powers.

ART. 35. The convention shall come into force six months after its ratification. It shall remain in force for twelve years, and shall be tacitly renewed for periods of twelve years, unless denounced.

The denunciation must be notified, at least two years before the expiration of each period, to the Netherland government, which will inform the other Powers.

The denunciation shall only have effect in regard to the notifying Power. The convention shall continue in force as far as the other Powers are concerned.

CONVENTION FOR THE PACIFIC SETTLEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES

His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia; etc.:

Animated by the sincere desire to work for the maintenance of general peace; Resolved to promote by all the efforts in their power the friendly settlement of international disputes;

Recognizing the solidarity uniting the members of the society of civilized nations;

Desirous of extending the empire of law and of strengthening the appreciation of international justice;

Convinced that the permanent institution of a tribunal of arbitration accessible to all, in the midst of independent Powers, will contribute effectively to this result; Having regard to the advantages attending the general and regular organization of the procedure of arbitration;

Sharing the opinion of the august initiator of the international peace conference that it is expedient to record in an international agreement the principles of equity and right on which are based the security of states and the welfare of peoples;

Being desirous, with this object, of insuring the better working in practice of commissions of inquiry and tribunals of arbitration, and of facilitating recourse to arbitration in cases which allow of a summary procedure;

Have deemed it necessary to revise in certain particulars and to complete the work of the first peace conference for the pacific settlement of international disputes; The high contracting parties have resolved to conclude a new convention for this purpose, and have appointed the following as their plenipotentiaries:

[Names of plenipotentiaries] Who, after having deposited their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following:

PART I. THE MAINTENANCE OF GENERAL PEACE

ART. I. With a view to obviating as far as possible recourse to force in the relations between states, the contracting Powers agree to use their best efforts to insure the pacific settlement of international differences.

PART II. GOOD OFFICES AND MEDIATION

ART. 2. In case of serious disagreement or dispute, before an appeal to arms, the contracting Powers agree to have recourse, as far as circumstances allow, to the good offices or mediation of one or more friendly Powers.

ART. 3. Independently of this recourse, the contracting Powers deem it expedient and desirable that one or more Powers, strangers to the dispute, should, on their own initiative and as far as circumstances may allow, offer their good offices or mediation to the states at variance.

Powers strangers to the dispute have the right to offer good offices or mediation even during the course of hostilities.

The exercise of this right can never be regarded by either of the parties in dispute as an unfriendly act.

ART. 4. The part of the mediator consists in reconciling the opposing claims and appeasing the feelings of resentment which may have arisen between the states at variance.

ART. 5. The functions of the mediator are at an end when once it is declared, either by one of the parties to the dispute or by the mediator himself, that the means of reconciliation proposed by him are not accepted.

ART. 6. Good offices and mediation undertaken either at the request of the parties in dispute or on the initiative of Powers strangers to the dispute have exclusively the character of advice, and never have binding force.

ART. 7. The acceptance of mediation cannot, unless there be an agreement to the contrary, have the effect of interrupting, delaying, or hindering mobilization or other measures of preparation for war.

If it takes place after the commencement of hostilities, the military operations in progress are not interrupted in the absence of an agreement to the contrary. ART. 8. The contracting Powers are agreed in recommending the application, when circumstances allow, of special mediation in the following form:

In case of a serious difference endangering peace, the states at variance choose respectively a Power, to which they intrust the mission of entering into direct communication with the Power chosen on the other side, with the object of preventing the rupture of pacific relations.

For the period of this mandate, the term of which, unless otherwise stipulated, cannot exceed thirty days, the states in dispute cease from all direct communication on the subject of the dispute, which is regarded as referred exclusively to the mediating Powers, which must use their best efforts to settle it.

In case of a definite rupture of pacific relations, these Powers are charged with the joint task of taking advantage of any opportunity to restore peace.

PART III. INTERNATIONAL COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY

ART. 9. In disputes of an international nature involving neither honor nor vital interests, and arising from a difference of opinion on points of fact, the contracting Powers deem it expedient and desirable that the parties who have not been able to come to an agreement by means of diplomacy, should, as far as circumstances allow, institute an international commission of inquiry, to facilitate a solution of these disputes by elucidating the facts by means of an impartial and conscientious investigation.

ART. 10. International commissions of inquiry are constituted by special agreement between the parties in dispute.

The inquiry convention defines the facts to be examined; it determines the mode and time in which the commission is to be formed and the extent of the powers of the commissioners.

It also determines, if there is need, where the commission is to sit and whether it may remove to another place, the language the commission shall use and the languages the use of which shall be authorized before it, as well as the date on which each party must deposit its statement of facts, and, generally speaking, all the conditions upon which the parties have agreed.

If the parties consider it necessary to appoint assessors, the convention of inquiry shall determine the mode of their selection and the extent of their powers. ART. 11. If the inquiry convention has not determined where the commission is to sit, it will sit at The Hague.

The place of meeting, once fixed, cannot be altered by the commission except with the assent of the parties.

If the inquiry convention has not determined what languages are to be employed, the question shall be decided by the commission.

ART. 12. Unless an undertaking is made to the contrary, commissions of inquiry shall be formed in the manner determined by Articles 45 and 57 of the present convention.

ART. 13. Should one of the commissioners or one of the assessors, should there be any, either die, or resign, or be unable for any reason whatever to discharge his functions, the same procedure is followed for filling the vacancy as was followed for appointing him.

ART. 14. The parties are entitled to appoint special agents to attend the commission of inquiry, whose duty it is to represent them and to act as intermediaries between them and the commission.

They are further authorized to engage counsel or advocates, appointed by themselves, to state their case and uphold their interests before the commission. ART. 15. The international bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration acts as registry for the commission which sit at The Hague, and it shall place its offices and staff at the disposal of the contracting Powers for the use of the commission of inquiry.

ART. 16. If the commission meets elsewhere than at The Hague, it appoints a secretary general, whose office serves as registry.

It is the function of the registry, under the control of the president, to make the necessary arrangements for the sittings of the commission, the preparation of the minutes, and, while the inquiry lasts, for the charge of the archives, which shall subsequently be transferred to the international bureau at The Hague.

ART. 17. In order to facilitate the constitution and working of commissions of inquiry, the contracting Powers recommend the following rules, which shall be applicable to the inquiry procedure in so far as the parties do not adopt other rules. ART. 18. The commission shall settle the details of the procedure not covered by the special inquiry convention or the present convention, and shall arrange all the formalities required for dealing with the evidence.

ART. 19. On the inquiry both sides must be heard.

At the dates fixed, each party communicates to the commission and to the other party the statements of facts, if any, and, in all cases, the instruments, papers, and documents which it considers useful for ascertaining the truth, as well as the list of witnesses and experts whose evidence it wishes to be heard.

ART. 20. The commission is entitled, with the assent of the Powers, to move temporarily to any place where it considers it may be useful to have recourse to this means of inquiry, or to send one or more of its members. Permission must be obtained from the state on whose territory it is proposed to hold the inquiry.

ART. 21. Every investigation, and every examination of a locality, must be made in the presence of the agents and counsel of the parties or after they have been duly summoned.

ART. 22. The commission is entitled to ask from either party for such explanations and information as it considers necessary.

ART. 23. The parties undertake to supply the commission of inquiry, as fully as they may think possible, with all means and facilities necessary to enable it to become completely acquainted with, and to accurately understand, the facts in question.

They undertake to make use of the means at their disposal, under their municipal law, to insure the appearance of the witnesses or experts who are in their territory and have been summoned before the commission.

If the witnesses or experts are unable to appear before the commission, the parties will arrange for their evidence to be taken before the qualified officials of their own country.