U.S. AND WORLD COURT

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 618, 21 March 1929, Page 9

U.S. AND WORLD COURT

BACK-STAGE OPPOSITION TO AGREEMENT

YEAR’S DELAY POSSIBLE (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) Received 9.5 a.m. WASHINGTON, Wednesday. The Washington representative of the United Press Association says that . Congressional authorities are agreed ■ that America and the World Court are [ still a long way apart, despite the suc--1 cessful conclusions of Mr. Ulihu Root’s . negotiations at Geneva. > A back-stage opposition to the agree- ■ ment, which is likely to be led by Senator W. E. Borah, chairman of the : Senate Foreign Relations Committee, > has grown up, and notice has been served privately that the subject canj not be squeezed into the coming short : session. L Action, therefore, may await the E regular session, commencing in December. Thus, if no opposition liad r.ppeared, , the matter probably could have been - handled within the next few months, but now it may not come up for a r year. J In the meantime, any nation which - is a party to the court or member of the Council of the League of Nations could thwart the whole procedure by objecting to the Root arrangement, which gives the United States the right to stop any decision from the court in which it claims an interest.

DOMINIONS’ RIGHTS JUDGES OF THE COURT (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) GENEVA, Wednesday. The committee of jurists, considering Sir Cecil Hurst’s suggestion that judges from the Dominions should be entitled to sit on the International Court, expressed the opinion that the desired interpretation exceeded its mandate.

The committee, however, pointed out that the Dominions have the right to claim that a judge of their own nationality should sit in court wnen questions arise concerning them. Mr. Elihu Root observed that the United States had recognised a separate international personality for the British Dominions in exchanging diplomatic representatives with Canada and the Irish Free State. The committee adjourned after adopting the final report, which included a recommendation that the number of judges be increased to 15, and that the court be maintained in permanent session.