FINAI, ACT OF SECOND PAN AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC CONGRESS. IOy 



more essential. The participation of the American Republics in The 

 Hague Conference is assured, and to render their influence effective their 

 delegates must be versed in the principles of international law. The 

 future leaders of opinion, here or elsewhere, should have opportunities 

 in their university days of perfecting themselves in the knowledge of 

 international law and of international relations which are based upon 

 the law of Nations, and international law should not be lowered in the 

 opinion of the student by being placed upon a lower plane than any other 

 branches of law or of political science. Professorships of international 

 law should exist in every institution of higher learning in the American 

 Continent, and departments thereof should, in the opinion of the Congress, 

 be created in every such institution. 



ARTICLE 28. The Second Pan American Scientific Congress, recognizing 

 the growing importance of a knowledge of international law to all 

 persons who intend to devote themselves to the administration 

 of justice, and who, through their professional occupation, may 

 contribute largely to the formation of public opinion and who may 

 often be vested with the highest offices in the state and nation, 

 earnestly requests all law schools which now offer no instruction 

 in international law to add to their curriculum a thorough course 

 in that subject. 



Article 28 specifically considers the advisability of offering courses on 

 international law in the law schools of the American countries and the 

 necessity of having lawyers thoroughly grounded in the principles of 

 international law. Given the fact that lawyers are members of the 

 congresses of the different American countries, that they are very often 

 members of the cabinets and presidents of the American Republics ; that in 

 their various public offices they are called upon to interpret the principles 

 of international law, and in many instances to apply them as interpreted 

 to the foreign relations of their country, it needs no argument that per- 

 sons entering Congress and the higher service of the governments require 

 a knowledge of international law to enable them to perform success- 

 fully or even acceptably the duties of their offices. All members of the 

 diplomatic service must needs be trained in international law and in a 

 lesser, but nevertheless to a marked degree, journalists, whose business 

 it is to guide and to mold public opinion, should be trained in the law 

 of nations. 



As the result of an elaborate investigation it has been ascertained that 

 international law is not taught universally in law schools, and indeed 

 that it is omitted from the courses of many of them. The Congress 



