1938: Permanent Court Of International Justice

During 1938 the Permanent Court of International Justice received two new cases, gave one judgment and prepared to give another, and discontinued the proceedings in the Borchgrave Case upon the mutual agreement of the Belgian and Spanish Governments. By a decision of eleven to one (Judge Van Eysinga of Holland), the Court on June 14 in the 'Phosphates in Morocco Case' denied jurisdiction, sought by Italy under the optional clause of Article 36 of the Statute, and denied by France as having arisen previous to its acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction. The case concerned alleged monopolization of the Moroccan phosphates by the French authorities and denial of rights to Italian citizens.

In the Panevezys-Saldutiskis Railway Case, between Estonia and Lithuania, the Court joined Lithuania's objections to the merits in the case, and at the end of November prepared to render its judgment in one decision.

On May 5 the Belgian Government instituted proceedings against Greece, requesting the Court to declare that Greece had violated its international obligations and to assess the amount of compensation due as to this violation involving the rights of a Belgian citizen, the Société Commerciale de Belgique. The case involves differences arising out of a contract for railway construction in Greece, which were arbitrated in accordance with the 1929 Convention for Conciliation, Arbitration and Judicial Settlement of Disputes between the two states. With the final arbitral award of July 1936, it is claimed the Greek Government subsequently refused to comply.

The Court on July 26 received another application from Belgium asking it to declare that the Bulgarian Government had failed in its international obligations by seriously injuring the rights of a Belgian corporation, the electricity company of Sofia and Bulgaria, and to order the necessary reparation for the injurious measures. The Belgian-incorporated company holds a concession for lighting the city of Sofia with which serious interference by the Bulgarian authorities is alleged. The case was brought under the optional clause as well as the Treaty of Conciliation, Arbitration and Judicial Settlement of 1931 between the two countries.

To fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Ake Hammarskjold, the Assembly and Council elected as judge M. Rafail Waldemar Erich of Finland.

Estonia on May 2 renewed for ten years its acceptance of the optional clause for compulsory jurisdiction, and Iraq, with certain excepted disputes, accepted it on Sept. 22 for five years or until further notice. An unprecedented circumstance occurred when Paraguay in April withdrew its recognition of compulsory jurisdiction. Since no provision for denunciation exists, the Secretary General of the League of Nations merely circulated the communication to the parties to the Court and members of the League. In reply the Bolivian Government pointed out that the decree of Paraguay expressly mentioned the Chaco dispute between the two states, and added that it must make the most formal reservations as to the legal value of Paraguay's withdrawal. The Belgian Government also made all reservations regarding the conditions of the denunciation since Paraguay's acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction had been a simple one and without reference to a period of time.