Dreams Born and Shattered 355
the Court contained a judge from one state but not the other, then that other
state would be allowed to add a judge of its own choosing to the bench of
regular judges, though only for the one case. Th is additional fi gure was
known as a judge ad hoc. If neither litigating state had a judge of its nation-
ality on the bench, then both would be allowed to appoint judges ad hoc.
(Th is judge ad hoc did not have to be a national of the appointing state, al-
though that was commonly the case.)
One of the most innovative features of this World Court was a provision
for the rendering of advisory opinions. Th ese were pronouncements that the
Court would give to organs of the League on request, to enable them to deal
with diffi cult legal questions. Th e organs could, of course, form their own
legal positions and proceed on that basis. But if they wanted a truly authori-
tative judicial statement of what the law was, they could submit the issue to
the World Court for resolution. In such a proceeding, there would be no
states litigating.
Th e World Court in Action
British foreign offi ce legal adviser Cecil Hurst, surveying the list of the fi rst
judges on the World Court, worried that “there are far too many professors
and legal advisers” on the bench “and too few judges.” Indeed, only three
of the eleven had prior judicial experience. Among the academics were An-
zilotti from Italy, John Bassett Moore from the United States, and Busta-
mante from Cuba. Among the foreign offi ce legal advisers was the Swiss
member, Max Huber (he was also a former academic). Ruy Barbosa—
prodigiously learned but no academic— was elected to the Court, but never
took his seat due to illness (although his bronze bust graces the Peace Pal-
ace, in an eerie silence that is deeply foreign to the fi ery orator.) Moore’s
election was something of a surprise— not least to himself. For one thing,
the United States was neither a member of the League nor a party to the
Court’s statute. Moore was unenthusiastic about the League and consented
to go onto the bench only because he approved of the peaceful settlement of
disputes by judicial tribunals.
Later members of the Court included a former head of state: Pessôa of Bra-
zil, who, aft er fi nishing his term as president, was elected in 1923 to replace
Barbosa (his presidential election rival from 1919). Two former American