II. The Community of civilised States did not, until the end of the nineteenth century, possess any permanent institution which made the administration of international justice possible. When States were in conflict and, instead of having recourse to arms, resolved to have the dispute peaceably settled by an award, in every case they agreed upon so-called arbitration, and they nominated one or more arbitrators, whom they asked to give a verdict. For this reason, it was an epoch-making step forward when the First Peace Conference of 1899 agreed upon the institution of a Permanent Court of Arbitration, and a code of rules for the procedure before this Court. Although the term 'Permanent Court of Arbitration,' as applied to the institution established by the First Hague Peace Conference, is only a euphemism, since actually the Court concerned is not a permanent one and the members of the Court have in every case to be nominated by the parties, there is in existence, firstly, a permanent panel of persons from which the arbitrators may be selected; secondly, a permanent office at the Hague; and, thirdly, a code of procedure before the Court. Thereby an institution has been established which is always at hand in case the parties in conflict want to make use of it; whereas in former times parties in conflict had to negotiate a long time in order to set up the machinery for arbitration. And the short time of twenty years has fully justified the expectations aroused by the institution of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, for a good number of cases have been brought before it and settled to the satisfaction of the parties concerned. And the Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907 contemplated further steps by agreeing upon a treaty concerning the establishment of an International Court of Appeal in Prize Cases, and upon a draft treaty concerning a really Permanent International Court of Justice side by side with the existing Court of Arbitration. Although neither of these contemplated International Courts has been established, there is no doubt that, if after the present war a League of Nations becomes a reality, one or more International Courts of Justice will surely be established, although the existing Permanent Court of Arbitration may remain in being. III. But just as regards International Legislation, I must warn you not to imagine that International Administration of Justice by International Courts is an easy matter. It is in fact full of difficulties of many kinds.