
The Peace Palace Library is a collection of studies and
reference
A reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''nam ...
s specializing in
international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
. It is located in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, Netherlands, and was established to support the
Permanent Court of Justice.
Description
The library is one of the oldest libraries dedicated to international law. Its main objective is to service the institutions residing in the
Peace Palace, including the International Court of Justice, the
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
, and
The Hague Academy of International Law. The library is open to all scholars and students of
international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
.
In 2022, Karin Lodder became the Manager of the Library. Jeroen Vervliet is the Head Librarian.
History and relationship with the Carnegie Foundation
The Dutch
Carnegie Foundation was created in 1903. It received a financial donation of $1.5 million by
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
,
which made the construction of the Peace Palace possible. The palace was completed in 1913, just before the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
The
Carnegie Foundation is subsidized by the
Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Since 1913 the foundation has remained the owner of the palace, and it still runs the Peace Palace Library. The Peace Palace is located at Carnegieplein, The Hague, Netherlands. The palace was built to accommodate the
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
, but
Carnegie insisted that room be made available also for a legal library. The Peace Palace Library resided in the palace itself until 2007, when it moved to the new Academy and Library Building in the rear of the Peace Palace.
Collection
The Peace Palace Library has collected publications since 1913, and now offers over a million titles. A large part is searchable through the library's online catalogue, which also classifies book items. In its classification the library tries to remain faithful, as much as possible, to the ''Catalogue de la bibliothèque du Palais de la paix'', designed in 1916 by Elsa Oppenheim, daughter of the international lawyer . The library also uses a modern classification system with around 4,500 keywords.
International and national law
Most of the publications of the library are about public
international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
, addressing topics such as the law of
state responsibility,
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
,
international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...
,
international criminal law
International criminal law (ICL) is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetrat ...
, law of international organizations, and
European law
European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...
. The collection of the palace further includes
private international law
Conflict of laws (also called private international law) is the set of rules or laws a jurisdiction applies to a case, transaction, or other occurrence that has connections to more than one jurisdiction."Conflict of Laws", ''Black's Law Dictio ...
,
international commercial law International commercial law is a body of legal rules, conventions, treaties, domestic legislation and commercial customs or usages, that governs international commercial or business transactions. A transaction will qualify to be international if ...
, international bankruptcy law, and international law of procedure. In 2012 the Peace Palace Library and the
Institute for Environmental Security began compiling a research database on the proposed Law of
Ecocide
Ecocide (from Greek 'home' and Latin 'to kill') is the destruction of the natural environment, environment by humans. Ecocide threatens all human populations that are dependent on natural resources for maintaining Ecosystem, ecosystems and ensu ...
. The library also collects books on topics of national law, such as
comparative law
Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law and legal systems of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems (or "families") in existence around the world, includ ...
, domestic public and
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
,
criminal law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...
and
criminal procedure
Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...
.
Special collections
The library houses a few special collections, of which the ''Grotius Collection'' and the ''Peace Movement collection'' are the most important. The library has the world's largest collection of works by
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius ( ; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Hugo de Groot () or Huig de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, statesman, poet and playwright. A teenage prodigy, he was born in Delft an ...
, including a rare early edition of
De Iure Belli ac Pacis (''On the Law of War and Peace''), his most famous work written in 1625.
It also holds a special collection of pacifist images, under the title ‘’Peace Movement, Images and Posters and League of Nations philately’’.
Publications
The library maintains the Peace Palace Library Blog, the news service International Law News, and the Peace Palace Library Research Guides, introducing researchers to various topics of international law.
During its centenary celebrations in 2013, the Library acquired a 1499 edition of
Gaius’s
Institutes.
Award
In 2005, the Library won the IALL award for communications.
Literature
* Duynstee, Bob; Meijer, Daan; Tilanus, Floris, et al., ''The Building of Peace: A hundred years of work on Peace through Law. The Peace Palace 1913-2013'', The Hague: Carnegie Foundation,
013
References
External links
*
Peace Palace Library Blog› research-guides, Peace Palace Library, Research Guides
{{Authority control
1913 establishments in the Netherlands
Carnegie libraries in the Netherlands
Law libraries
Libraries in The Hague
Library buildings completed in 1913
Libraries established in 1913