The International Court of Justice, one of the five main organs of the United Nations, and its principal judicial organ, is situated, far from UN Headquarters, in the relative aloofness of the Hague Peace Palace, Andrew Carnegies gift to the worlds peace ideal. This publication is launched on the occasion of the Courts golden jubilee. In 12 chapters, with a foreword by His Excellency Mohammed Bedjaoui, President of the International Court of Justice, and with a wealth of illustrations, photographed by Bert and Lilian Mellink, it reviews the idea of the pacific settlement of disputes through the ages, culminating in the Hague Peace Conferences. It then deals with the genesis of the Court, from the days of its predecessor in the inter-war period and with the law and procedure of the International Court of Justice and its various legal and cultural components. Statistics, biographies of all the Judges and a full bibliography conclude this monumental tribute to a worldwide and time-honoured ideal.