Globalisation and the fundamental transformations of the 19th and early 20th centuries also brought about a change in international law. In the face of the omnipresent struggle for influence between the great powers, a movement gained ground on the international scene that sought to base international order on rules and to protect peace through international dispute settlement bodies. The Hague Peace Conferences (1899, 1907), the Pan-American Conferences (1889, 1901, 1906), and the Washington Conference (1907) were the first major steps in this direction. This work analyses these developments, taking into account perspectives from Europe, the United States, and Latin America, and traces the path to the creation of the first international court of law.