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explanations raising doubts about the emergence of a Western Hemispheric
continental society and a corresponding American International Law, and legal
arguments questioning the right of the American republics to develop their own
regional legal system.
In terms of historical explanations, Sá Vianna and his philosophical allies
do not believe that the Western Hemisphere has developed a sense of
continental solidarity that is sufficiently unique and cohesive to serve as the basis
for a distinct regional legal system for two specific reasons:
• First, it is difficult to argue that the countries of the Western Hemisphere
have developed a truly new and unique regional American
consciousness, historical tradition, and legal system when most of their
customs and domestic legal systems are actually based on those of the
European states (Sá Vianna 1912, 14-16, 67-74).
• Second, if one were to accept that the differences between Europe and
the Western Hemisphere are strong enough to justify the existence of
two separate international legal systems, 13 then the differences within
the Western Hemisphere would also give rise to the emergence of
separate sub-regional legal systems. 14
Sá Vianna and his intellectual associates not only question the existence of
American International Law from a historical perspective, but also the right of
the American republics to develop such a legal system. They take this position
on the basis of the following legal arguments (Sá Vianna 1912, 8):
• First, no region or group of states should be allowed to tamper
unilaterally with international law. International law must be universal
and should be based on the consent of all countries, or at least a
substantial majority of them. Just as domestic law applies to all citizens,
international law must also apply to all states (Sá Vianna 1912, 13). 15
• Second, permitting the emergence of regional legal systems would
threaten both the development and the strengthening of global
international law. For Sá Vianna and Peruvian jurist and diplomat
Alberto Ulloa y Sotomayor, the thesis of American International Law and
the segregationist spirit that inspired it threaten both the continued
development of the global legal system and the full integration of the
American republics into the international community. The progress of
international law has always been toward uniformity and universality (Sá
Vianna 1912, 65-66, 77). More specifically, Ulloa y Sotomayor argues
that American International Law does not exist because its alleged
principles have been gradually integrated into global international law. 16
• Third, in accordance with the Jus-naturalist School of Legal Philosophy’s
premises that all law is derived from natural law and that all human beings
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