The 1907 Hague Conference was the single ever global summit before WW I to critically evaluate the interaction of the worlds of law and diplomacy. Pivotal to its debate was the Russo-Japanese War which suggested no less than eleven out of its thirteen Conventions. The crystallization of fifty years of Western interference in the Far East, the war heralded the end of an Era, sealing the fate of the legendary Chinese and Korean empires and putting Japan on its course to imperialism. This paper recapitulates the historical options available to China, Korea and Japan, reviews causes and consequences of their separate stands, and evaluates their critical relevance to the Hague debate.

Caught Between Tradition and Modernity
  Ⅰ. Relevance and Purport
  Ⅱ. The Dawn of A New Era
  Ⅲ. The First Hague Peace Conference
  Ⅳ. The Interva
  Ⅴ. Preliminary Skirmishes
  Ⅵ. The Korean Incident
  Ⅶ. The Substance of the Second Hague Peace Conference
  Ⅷ. Conclusion

• Arthur Eyffinger(Director JUDICAP <www.judicap.com> The Hague. Ph.D. (Amsterdam). Former Head-Librarian of ICJ.)