Peace Palace

The Peace Palace (Dutch: Vredespaleis) is a building situated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is often called the seat of international law because it houses the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law, and the extensive Peace Palace Library.

In addition to hosting these institutions, the Palace is also a regular venue for special events in international policy and law.

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Conception

The idea of the Palace started from a discussion in 1900 between the Russian diplomat Friedrich Martens and the US diplomat Andrew White, over providing a home for the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which was established through the first Hague Peace Conference in 1899. White contacted his friend the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie about this idea. Carnegie had his reservations, and at first was only interested in donating money for the establishment of a Library of International Law. White however was able to convince Carnegie, and in 1903 Carnegie agreed to donate the US$1.5 million ($40,000,000, adjusted for inflation) needed for a Peace Temple that would house the PCA as well as to endow it with a library of international law.

At first Carnegie simply wanted to donate the money directly to the Dutch Queen, Wilhelmina of the Netherlands for the building of the palace, but legal problems prohibited this, and in November 1903 the Carnegie Stichting was founded to manage the construction, ownership, and maintenance of the Palace. This foundation is still responsible for these issues at present.

Construction

To find a suitable design, the foundation called for an open international competition. The winning design, set in the Neo-Renaissance style, was submitted by French architect Louis M. Cordonnier. To build within budget, Cordonnier and his Dutch associate Van der Steur adjusted the design. The palace initially had two big bell towers in front and two small ones in the back. Only one big tower and one small tower remained in the final building. Also to save money, the separate library building from the winning design was incorporated into the Palace itself. Thomas Hayton Mawson designed the grounds. Because of the budget constraints, he also had to discard design elements—fountains and sculptures.

The Palace is filled with many gifts of the different nations who attended the Second Hague Conference as a sign of their support. Among the gifts are a 3.2-tonne (3.1-long-ton; 3.5-short-ton) vase from Russia, doors from Belgium, marble from Italy, a fountain from Denmark, wall carpets from Japan, the clock for the clock tower from Switzerland, Persian rugs from Iran and wood from Indonesia and the United States of America. The palace also features a number of statues, busts and portraits of prominent peace campaigners from around the world and of all eras.

In 1907 the first stone was symbolically placed during the Second Hague Conference. The construction began some months later and was completed with an inauguration ceremony on 28 August 1913, attended by, among others, Andrew Carnegie.

In 1999 an eternal peace flame was installed in front of its gates.

In 2007, Queen Beatrix opened the new building for the Peace Palace Library of International Law, housing the entire catalogue of the library, a lecture hall and a new reading room in the bridge to the main building of the Peace Palace.

Occupants

The Peace Palace has been occupied at different times by a number of organisations:

The Permanent Court of Arbitration and International Court of Justice work separately, although they do use the same 'pool' of international judges. The other international courts in The Hague, the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court are separate organizations, located elsewhere in The Hague.

External links

References

Dutch Rijksmonument 333074