The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-03-29

ness parsimony or fear. II would en-
list passion and vanity, as well as
uobIer motives. TO preserve peace. II
would be like other law suits. though
on a grander scale and before a more
august tribunal. \ complaint would be
drawn. issues would be framed and the
cause would be tried by two nations
before the nations OF the earth sitting
as a legally constituted jury OF their
peers.
4 man who loses his cause before an
irregular tribunal. such as a board OF
arbftratOrs selected by his opponent
and himself almost always feels that
he has been Outwitted I'm the selection
and has been ureiudged from the first.
and. as every lawyer knows. the re-
suit is usually complicated and bitter
litigation. Does the objection apply
with less force where tens OF millions
Of people are concerned and where
partv politics and a sensational press
are sure TO misrepresent?
a permanent court. organized with
out reference 70 any particular cOntro-
versy. would meet the difficulty OF
agreeing upon arbitratOrs. would in
spire. as far as human foresight could.
nOn-pOliticaI decisions and. which is
quite as important a general cOnvic-
ton that they We're non-pOlitical. In
importance. dignity and power the Of
fee OF n justice would be one Of the
highest in the world. an office TO which
the chief iusticeship OF the United
States or the lord chancellorship Of
Great Britain might be regarded as
a mere stepping stone. and each nation
would naturally take great interest and
pride in appointing its ablest and its
Of Mt
national law.
The Judges should be appointed for
life. or until they are s. or 20 years
or age They should not be permitted
to hold any other office nor 10 be
candidates for any As no nation could
claim the honor OF naming the chief
Justice OF the world. he should be
elected by the justices from among
themselves. The court should ultimate
" have from five TO nine members at
least. and could not work TO advantage
with over twenty or thirty. Its cOmpO-
sition. therefore. TO make il the worlds
court and at the same time keep it
from becoming unwieldy, would re-
Guire some concession alike from great
nations and from small ones. Among
the nations that are civilized enough
TO cooperate i'm such an undertaking
ton of $4,000. 900.
If each of these were entitled TO one
Justice. and availed itself of the privi-
lege there would be a fair working
number. and If the smaller states
vastly more numerOuS-were allowed
to unite for the choice of justices on
the basis OF the average population
of the great powers, or even on 49,
900 600 basis. IL is not probable that
enough Of them would do 50 TO incon-
veniently increase the number. These
small states would have most to gain
from n court able to protect them. |
Monaco. with only 1000 inhabitants, !
might never furnish n justice. yet in |
asserting it's rights and obtaining re-
dress OF its wrongs II would stand on |
an equality with the German Empire. |
Before such a court the difficulty of |
agreeing upon issues and methods of
procedure would be met by rules of
law with which litiGant nations would |
have TO comply or be defaulted like or
binary suitors. All English-speakiug |
peoples have substantially the same |
system OF jurisprudence, the English !
common law. They also have sub |
stantiaIIy the same equity system, !
largely derived from the Roman law. |
Broadly speaking. the Latin nations !
are governed by the Code Napoleon |
and by common law derived i'm part |
from the Roman law and in part of
later growth. The same general pTin-
ciples of Justice more or less. pervade
all legal systems and are recognized
throughout the civilized world. With
these principles supplementing inter
national law as at present developed,
and with liberal powers TO establish
rules OF procedure and practice, il
seems to me that the result might be
an international system OF jurisprU
dence as harmonious and complete in
regard to the few subjects within its
province as any that now exists within
the narrower limits of n civilized ma
ton.
No doubt the court could be aided
by legislation. and the treaties from
which it derived it's existence might
also provide for a congress OF nations
to be held at stated periods. say every
five years. THE parliament Of man.
the federation of the world" as one
general government belongs to the
far distant future The time is not yet
at hand when a single congress can
pass general laws for the civilized ma
tions. or when a single supreme court
can interpret and enforce them. The
court and congress suggested would
not contemplate anything OF the kind.
If they did. they would fail in every
thing from attempting too much. They
would have nothing to do with the
form of government or with the in
ternaI affairs of any nation. Their
power would bear no analogy 70 the
numerous and varied powers of our
national congress and supreme court
over the several states. and. while il
would be unprecedentedly great. the
tension would be relieved by the fact
that the lines in which il could be eX-
ercised would be Unprecedentedly mar
row. Each nation would be regarded
as a unit. an individual. absolutely
Independent of and superior TO both
court and congress. except when one
individual trespassed on the rights OF
another.
The worlds court could not he tempt
ed. f1attered or overawed as If IL were