WORLD LAW " FOR CIVILIZED EXISTENCE " SOMEONE ONCE ASKED SOLON HOW 
JUSTICE COULD BE ACHIEVED IN ATHENS . " IT CAN BE 
ACHIEVED, " REPLIED THE GREAT LAWMAKER, IN SUBSTANCE, " IF THOSE 
PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY A WRONG ARE JUST 
AS INDIGNANT ABOUT IT AS THOSE WHO ARE PERSONALLY HURT . 
" THIS GENERALIZED PASSION FOR JUSTICE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HARD 
STANDARD TO LIVE UP TO, BUT U.S . CHIEF JUSTICE EARL 
WARREN CITED IT LAST WEEK TO SET THE THEME FOR A 
MAJOR INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF JURISTS THAT CONVENED LAST WEEK IN SOLON'S 
CITY . FORMAL TITLE : " FIRST WORLD CONFERENCE ON WORLD 
PEACE THROUGH LAW . " CEREMONIALLY WELCOMED BY THE KING AND 
QUEEN OF GREECE IN THE MARBLE HALLS OF THE ATHENS HILTON 
WERE 1,000 JURISTS FROM 105 NATIONS . THE CONFERENCE WAS THE 
CULMINATION OF A MOVEMENT LAUNCHED FIVE YEARS AGO BY WORLD-LAWMAN CHARLES 
SYLVANUS RHYNE, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, AND FOLLOWED 
A SERIES OF PREPARATORY SESSIONS IN COSTA RICA, JAPAN, NIGERIA AND 
ITALY . SAID RHYNE IN HIS KEYNOTE ADDRESS : " WE 
SHARE ONE GREAT IDEAL WHICH TRANSCENDS OUR DIVERSITY A BELIEF THAT 
IN THE RULE OF LAW LIES THE ROUTE TO WORLD PEACE 
. " WORLD LAW, RHYNE CAUTIONED, SHOULD NOT BE THOUGHT OF 
AS " A DRAMATIC PANACEA OR CURE-ALL FOR THE WORLD'S ILLS, 
BUT RATHER A PATIENT LABOR DEMANDING IMMENSE AND CONSTANT EFFORT TO 
DEVELOP THE TRUE BASIS FOR CIVILIZED PROGRESS AND EXISTENCE . " 
SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS . HENRY R . LUCE, EDITOR IN CHIEF OF 
TIME INC., RECALLED THE BIBLICAL PASSAGE, " BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS 
" AND POINTED OUT : PEACE HAS TO BE MADE . 
PEACE CANNOT MERELY BE KEPT NOT FOR LONG BY FORCE OF 
ARMS . NEITHER WILL PEACE BE GIVEN TO US AS AN 
UNDESERVED GIFT FROM HEAVEN . OVERWHELMINGLY, PEACE IS THE WORK OF 
JUSTICE, AND THE WORK OF JUSTICE IS MAINLY THE WORK OF 
THE LAW . " LUCE URGED HIS LISTENERS TO CARRY THE 
CASE FOR WORLD LAW " TO ALL POLITICIANS AND TO ALL 
THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE WORLD . " SAID HE : " 
SO FAR AS I KNOW, NO PRESIDENT OR PRIME MINISTER HAS 
PUT THE RULE OF LAW AT THE TOP OF HIS POLITICAL 
BANNER, " BUT THE " RULE OF LAW CAN BECOME GOOD 
POLITICS . " IN SIX DAYS OF DELIBERATIONS, THE JURISTS MODESTLY 
BEGAN " THE WORK OF THE LAW " BY SURVEYING THE 
WORLD'S EXISTING LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND MAKING SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT . MAIN 
CONCLUSIONS : .THE UNITED NATIONS . REALLY TO BE " MANKIND'S 
BEST HOPE FOR A PEACEFUL WORLD, " IT NEEDS MORE MUSCLE 
. U.N . PEACE-KEEPING EFFORTS SHOULD BE CODIFIED, A PERMANENT " 
PEACE POLICE FORCE " CREATED, AND THE SECURITY COUNCIL ENLARGED . 
THE CONFERENCE RECOMMENDED PARTIAL ABOLITION OF THE VETO : HENCEFORTH IT 
SHOULD NOT BE PERMITTED WHEN A DISPUTE CAN BE SETTLED PEACEFULLY 
. BUT THERE WAS PLAINLY NO DESIRE TO GET INVOLVED IN 
THE TOUCHY ISSUE OF U.N . FINANCING . .THE WORLD COURT 
. WITH MOST STATES (THE U.S . INCLUDED) RESERVING THE RIGHT 
TO IGNORE ITS JURISDICTION, IT HAS RENDERED ONLY 13 FINAL VERDICTS 
IN ITS 18 YEARS . MORE NATIONS SHOULD BOW TO IT, 
SUGGESTED THE ATHENS MEETING . THE COURT SHOULD BE EMPOWERED TO 
HEAR CASES BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AS WELL AS STATES ; AND THE 
POSSIBILITY OF " REGIONAL WORLD COURTS " SHOULD BE EXPLORED. .FOREIGN 
INVESTMENT & TRADE . BOTH SHOULD BE PROTECTED BY A FRAMEWORK 
OF MORE EFFICIENT LAW . STATUTES ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT SHOULD BE 
CODIFIED, AND SPECIAL COURTS CONSIDERED FOR SETTLING DISPUTES . NATIONAL COMMITTEES 
OF LAWYERS SHOULD BE SET UP TO STUDY THE LEGAL MACHINERY 
FOR TRADE, AND IMPROVED POLICING OF INTERNATIONAL PATENTS . . SPACE 
. THE NEWEST FRONTIER PROVOKED MORE QUESTIONS THAN RECOMMENDATIONS . WHERE 
DOES AIRSPACE (OVER WHICH NATIONS EXERT SOVEREIGNTY) END, AND OUTER SPACE 
(WHICH NO COUNTRY HAS YET CLAIMED) BEGIN ? ARE THE MOON 
AND PLANETS OPEN DOMAIN LIKE COLUMBUS' NEW WORLD, WHERE THE HOISTING 
OF FLAG AND CROSS WAS SUFFICIENT TO ESTABLISH SOVEREIGNTY ? ON 
THE LATTER, THE CONFERENCE SAID NO THAT THE U.N . SHOULD 
BE GRANTED SOVEREIGNTY OVER ALL OBJECTS OF OUTER SPACE, NO MATTER 
WHICH NATION'S SPACESHIPS LAND ON THEM FIRST . DELEGATES FURTHER SUGGESTED 
ADOPTION OF " THE PRINCIPLE OF LIABILITY FOR INJURY FROM SPACE 
ACCIDENTS, " URGED AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE TO FORGE A BODY OF 
SPACE LAW . SALVATION PROCLAMATION . AT WEEK'S END, THESE SIMILAR 
TOPICS WERE ADOPTED AS A " GLOBAL WORK PROGRAM . " 
THE JURISTS ALSO 1) AGREED TO FOUND A WORLD PEACE THROUGH 
LAW CENTER, TO BE ORGANIZED BY RHYNE, WHICH WILL SERVE AS 
A RESEARCH CLEARINGHOUSE FOR ALL THE WORLD'S LEGAL SYSTEMS, 2) SET 
IN MOTION PLANS FOR A WORLD RULE OF LAW YEAR, 3) 
DREW UP A " PROCLAMATION OF ATHENS, " STATING THEIR CASE 
BEFORE WORLD OPINION . " THIS CONFERENCE, " SAID THE PROCLAMATION, 
" BEING DEEPLY CONCERNED WITH THE FACT THAT VIOLATION OF THE 
RULE OF LAW IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS CAN ONLY LEAD TO DESTRUCTION 
OF MANKIND THROUGH NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST, HEREBY PROCLAIMS THAT LAW MUST REPLACE 
FORCE AS THE CONTROLLING FACTOR IN THE FATE OF HUMANITY . 
" ONE MEASURE OF THE DIFFICULTY OF THAT TASK : ALTHOUGH 
INVITATIONS WENT TO ALL COMMUNIST COUNTRIES, NONE (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 
YUGOSLAVIA) SENT DELEGATIONS TO ATHENS . 