The influence of the Latin American doctrine on International Law: The rise of Latin American doctrines at The Hague Academy during the early twentieth century

Formal statements by high authorities, carrying the name of the politician that conceived them (e.g. Drago doctrine) is the usual way of expressing state doctrine. They are sovereign messages to the international community regarding the position of the state in particular matters. On the contrary, ‘the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists’2

(Statute of the ICJ art. 38 (1-d)), are also commonly recognized by international lawyers as doctrine (doctrina). This, especially in Latin America and Europe, thanks to their collective roots in civil law, is a legal system in which the scholar’s interpretation is highly regarded as a subsidiary source of law.3