The Peace Palace and the International Court of Justice

Last Wednesday, I had a private tour of the Peace Palace and the International Court of Justice, which was awesome. The idea for a Peace Palace began back in 1899 with the first international peace conference, which was held in the Hague and was the first of the "Hague conventions." However, it wasn't until 1906 when construction on the Peace Palace began, funded by Andrew Carnegie. It officially opened in 1913. The Palace includes: the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law, and the Peace Palace Library. I was very lucky to receive a tour from a security guard who works for the International Court of Justice. This was great because I didn't have to crowd in with 100 other tourists and I was able to see things I may not have otherwise seen. The palace is gorgeous! It has many different types of marble, lots of stained glass, and statues or other gifts from all countries. The United States gave a statue of Lady Liberty which is placed at the top of the main staircase. The International Court of Justice is the judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles conflicts between countries and also gives advice to countries when asked. The Great Hall of Justice is quite impressive. It is where the 15 judges sit to hear these cases. For example, a recent case was between Ecudador and Colombia regarding herbicides. I also visited the Peace Palace Library, which is the largest collection of international law books and publications. We then had tea and coffee (because that's just what you do here) and then went to the beautiful gardens. It was all very surreal. Why the Hague? No one could give me a definite answer except that the Netherlands has remained fairly neutral in all European conflicts. There is a peace flame which burns continuously outside of the palace as a symbol for world peace. It was really a great experience!