Hersch Lauterpacht, of whom this book is an intimate biography by his son, Elihu, was one of the most prolific and influential international lawyers of the first half of the twentieth century. Having come to England from Austria in the early 1920s, he first researched and taught at the London School of Economics before moving to Cambridge in 1937 to become Whewell Professor of International Law. He did valuable work to enhance relations with the United States during the Second World War and was active after the war in the prosecution of William Joyce and the major Nazi war criminals. For ten years he was also involved in various significant items of professional work and in 1955 he was elected a judge of the International Court of Justice. The book contains many extracts from his correspondence, the interest of which will extend to lawyers, historians of the period and beyond.
• First-time publication of selected extracts from Hersch Lauterpacht's private letters • Clear narrative highlights the differences between life in Cambridge and The Hague in the mid twentieth century and today • Companion volume to the Collected Papers of Hersch Lauterpacht
Contents
Prologue and introduction; 1. Background and early years, 1897–1920; 2. Vienna: research, engagement and marriage, 1920–3; 3. England and the London School of Economics, 1923–37; 4. Cambridge, 1937–9: the Whewell Chair; 5. The War Years, Part I, September 1939–January 1941; 6. The war years, Part II, February 1941–March 1942; 7. The war years, Part III, April 1942–December 1944; 8. Human rights; 9. The years of practice 1945–50; 10. 1950–4; 11. The International Court of Justice, 1955–60; 12. Epilogue: the man; Appendix I. Sir Hersch Lauterpacht - published writings; Appendix II. Biographical and academic writings on Sir Hersch Lauterpacht QC; Appendix III. Obituaries of Sir Hersch Lauterpacht QC; Appendix IV. Chronology of significant events in the life of Sir Hersch Lauterpacht QC; Appendix V. Photo inventory.
Review
Review of the hardback: 'Hersch Lauterpacht was widely and rightly regarded as the greatest international legal scholar of the twentieth century. His brilliant if too brief tenure as a judge of the International Court of Justice matched his scholarly attainments. His son Elihu has now written a superb biography of his father that will attract the admiration of the international legal fraternity of the twenty-first century.' Stephen M. Schwebel, Former President of the International Court of Justice (1981–2000)
Printer friendly version