What Does it Mean to be an Internationalist?

A scholar of public international law, such as Professor Bishop, has a unique place among legal academicians. There is no other field of law where the writings of a respected scholar constitute an actual source of law. The Statute of the International Court of Justice, repeating an authoritative provision that applied to its predecessor court the Permanent Court of International Justice, lists as a subsidiary means for the determination of rules of international law “the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations.” The term “highly qualified publicists,” of course, is synonymous with what the author has called “respected scholars.”