American Institute of International Law

American Institute of International Law was an international scientific association for the study and progress of international law in the Americas.[1][2]

The idea to form an organization that would codify international law was established at a meeting of the Third Committee of American Jurists in Rio de Janeiro on July 16, 1912.[3] The establishment of such an organization was proposed in October 1911.[4]

The institute was founded on October 12, 1912[5] by James Brown Scott and Alejandro Alvarez, and inaugurated December 29, 1915, at the Second Pan American Scientific Congress, held in Washington, D.C. On January 6, 1916, it adopted a Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Nations. The Declaration differed from other projects of a like kind in that it was not based solely upon philosophic principles, but was based exclusively upon decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States.[6]

The organization met irregularly through at least 1938, churning out several international law papers on topics such as statehood, diplomatic and consular agents, and peaceful international dispute resolution.[7] By 1957, due in part to a lack of financial resources, the Institute was no longer active.[8]

  1. ^ Lorca 2014, p. 328.
  2. ^ Scarfi, Juan Pablo (2017). The Hidden History of International Law in the Americas: Empire and Legal Networks. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-062235-0.
  3. ^ Harley 1931, p. 276.
  4. ^ "The American Institute of International Law". American Journal of International Law. 6 (4): 949–957. 1912. doi:10.2307/2186897. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 2186897.
  5. ^ Scott, James (March 1913). "The American Institute of International Law". University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register. 61 (8): 580–587. doi:10.2307/3313380. JSTOR 3313380 – via JSTOR.
  6. ^ Scott 1916, p. Forward.
  7. ^ Kirgis, Frederic L. (October 1996). "The Formative Years of the American Society of International Law". American Journal of International Law. 90 (4): 581. doi:10.2307/2203987. JSTOR 2203987. S2CID 144562555.
  8. ^ Ulloa, Alberto (January 1957). "The American Institute of International Law". American Journal of International Law. 51: 98–100. doi:10.1017/S0002930000176328. S2CID 151354032 – via Cambridge University Press.