Permanent court of arbitration

[Dave Paprocki]

(MULTILATERAL GOVERNMENT) International court based in the Hague, the Netherlands; founded in 1889; oldest multilateral court. In some respects, a precursor to the [International Court of Justice] (also in the Hague--in the same building, the Peace Palace).
The [PCA] differs from the ICJ in that only national governments may be respondents in the ICJ (which operates like a civil court). The PCA settles disputes that may arise between a private party (such as [RCA], in RCA vs. China-1935) and a national government, or between national governments. Parties submit to the PCA when the dispute is a nuisance to both, but relevant laws are uncertain.