FINAL ACT OK SECOND PAN AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS. 



It is not difficult to illustrate what the Congress had in mind in this 

 recommendation, and it is perhaps neither necessary to cite an illustra- 

 tion nor to enlarge upon the importance of the recommendation. The 

 distinction is between law and policy, a distinction which citizens of a 

 particular country are apt to forget in their eagerness to justify the con- 

 tentions put forward by their country on any and every occasion. The 

 test of law is not policy, rather the test of policy is law. Much is lost by 

 their confusion; everything is gained by separating them and, when sep- 

 arating them, by discussing them in their various elements and in all 

 their bearings. 



And finally, in dealing with this phase of instruction, the Congress ad- 

 vised that the experience of no one country should be dwelt upon to the 

 exclusion of the experience of other countries. For if international law 

 be in reality the law of nations it is universal and it should be studied in 

 its universal applications, although it may often be most entertainingly ii 

 not best illustrated by examples taken from the experience of the home 

 country. In so doing, however, great care should be exercised, in the 

 present unsatisfactory state of affairs, because, while international law 

 is universal, it is interpreted by each nation and is not infrequently per- 

 verted in the process. In any event, the precedents of no one country 

 should be studied to the exclusion of precedents from other countries; 

 otherwise a belief is likely to grow up in the mind of the student that his 

 country is the favorite home of international law and the international 

 is likely to yield to the national aspect. 



ARTICLE 26. The Second Pan American Scientific Congress, in order still 

 further to advance the cause of international law and the devel- 

 opment of international justice, recommends that a major in inter- 

 national law in a university course, leading to the degree of doctor 

 of philosophy, be followed if possible by residence at The Hague 

 in attendance upon the Academy of International Law, installed 

 in 1914 in the Peace Palace in that city; and that, as no better 

 means has been devised for affording a just appreciation of the 

 diverse and conflicting national views concerning international law 

 or for developing that "international mind" which is so essential 

 in a teacher of that subject, as many fellowships as possible should 

 be established in the Academy at The Hague and put at the dis- 

 position of advanced students of international law in the different 

 American Republics. 



In addition to courses of international law in national institutions the 

 Congress recommends the advantage of studying international law in 



