Seeking a Warmer Venue

In theory, the 15 judges of the World Court in The Hague form the top tribunal for resolving disputes under international law. In fact, they have decided only about two dozen largely forgettable cases since 1946. Now the judges yearn to leave the Peace Palace that has been their headquarters. Most of them are in their 70s, and they complain that drafts in the palace are conducive to rheumatism. In a resolution currently before the United Nations, they seek to revise a U.N. statute that restricts the court to The Hague.

The judges, who are from different nations and earn $30,000 a year, seem to spend as little time as possible in windy Holland. Privately, a few concede that they would prefer a warmer climate such as the French Riviera, where several have villas. In a memorandum to the U.N., they argue that the palace, "while a noble monument, is totally un suitable" and that The Hague has never become the world law capital that idealists once envisioned. Embarrassed, the Dutch government has renewed an offer of a new site plus $12 million to ward construction of a new building. Meantime, the Swiss government is offering a scenic site in Lausanne.

The whole problem may become academic before long. Returning from vacation this week, the judges will take up the last case that is currently before the court -- a Belgian company's compensation claim for a hydroelectric dam confiscated by the Spanish government in 1948. After that, the judges could theoretically pack up and return to their favorite resorts. Few nations are yet willing to submit their quarrels to an international authority, and the World Court will soon have no further business on its agenda.

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