Peace Palace — Attraction in The Hague

The Peace Palace has accommodated a variety of organisations: Permanent Court of Arbitration (1913–present) The original occupant for which the Peace Palace was constructed. From 1901 until the opening of the palace in 1913, the Permanent Court of Arbitration was housed at Prinsegracht 71 in The Hague. Permanent Court of International Justice (1922–1946) and its successor the International Court of Justice (1946–present). In 1922 the Permanent Court of International Justice of the League of Nations was added to the occupants. This meant the library was forced to move to an annex building, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration was moved to the front left of the building. In 1946, when the United Nations replaced the League of Nations, the International Court of Justice was established as the UN's principal judicial organ. Peace Palace Library of International Law (1913–present). Being the original vision of Carnegie, the library grew quickly to house the best collection of material on international law. Although this stature is well in the past, the library still contains some original classical works, as the original copies of Hugo Grotius' works on peace and law and Erasmus' Querela Pacis. The Carnegie Stichting (1913–present) The Hague Academy of International Law (1923–present). Established in 1914, strongly advocated by Tobias Michael Carel Asser. Funds for the academy came from another peace project by Andrew Carnegie, namely the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, established in 1910. 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...

This building is extraordinary not only for its architecture but for what it stands for as well. I had lived in The Hague for a few months and could see its spire from my house and was intrigued by it from the day I arrived and promised myself I would do the tour. I had a visitor coming from home (Australia) so booked us in. To stand in each room guided through with our host, the depth of knowledge she passed on quite literally about everything from who donated the tiles on the floor, the sculptures and paintings and how why end when the international community decided to go ahead and build this incredibly important building.

If you ever visit The Hague, this tour simply must be on your list of things to do. Even if you're staying in Amsterdam The Hague is less than an hour on the train so a day visit is easy. Do yourself a favour and check this extraordinary...

Peace palace is an approx. 32 min walk or 11 min bike ride from Den Haag Centraal (The Hague Central Station). The entry into the palace is very restricted but you can have free audio tours in many languages from outside the building. Also, The World Peace Flame to represent world peace is outside the palace entry on its right which also houses stones contributed by more than 190 countries together.

Embassies of many countries such as India, Kuwait or Japan etc are situated very close to the Peace palace.

The Peace Palace also know as International Court of Justice (abbreviated ICJ) is the central judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles legal disputes between member countries and gives advisory opinions to authorized UN organs and specialized agencies. It comprises a panel...