Page "Permanent Court of International Justice" Paragraph 19

Under the Covenant of the League of Nations, all League members agreed that where there was a dispute between states which they " recognize to be suitable for submission to arbitration and which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy ", the matter would be submitted to the Court for arbitration, with suitable disputes being over the interpretation of an international treaty, a question on international law, the validity of facts which, if true, would breach international obligations and the nature of any reparations to be made for breaching international obligations.

The original Statutes of the Court provided that all 11 judges were required to sit in every case.

There were three exceptions ; when reviewing Labour Clauses from a peace treaty such as the Treaty of Versailles ( which was done by a special chamber of 5 judges, appointed every 3 years ), when reviewing cases on communications or transport arising from a peace treaty ( which used a similar procedure ) and when hearing summary procedure cases, which were reviewed by a panel of 3 judges.