paragraph 90 in volume 1, chapter 6, The Members of the Court
Article 21 of the Statute requires the Court, that is to say its elected members, to elect its President and Vice-President for three years; they may be re-elected.1 An interpretation for this three-year term given when the Statute of the Permanent Court was being prepared explains:
It was felt that, given the immense prestige of the position of president of the court, the power which he might exercise and the influence which he might bring to bear upon his colleagues, it wa…