James Brown Scott

James Brown Scott

James Brown Scott (born June 3, 1866 in Kincardine , Ontario , † June 25, 1943 in Annapolis , Maryland ) was an American lawyer and professor. He was a co-founder of the American Society for International Law and first editor-in-chief of the American Journal of International Law . He was also instrumental in founding the Permanent International Court of Justice and the Hague Academy of International Law .

family

Scott was born in Canada to the stonemason John Scott and his wife Janette Brown, the daughter of a weaver. His parents had both emigrated independently from Scotland to New York City in 1849 , where they met and married in 1853. The family lived in Canada until 1869, then moved to Philadelphia until 1871 , returned to Canada and then lived permanently in Philadelphia from 1876. Scott was the youngest of five children. He had three sisters and a brother. While his brother died at the age of 15, all of his sisters were extremely successful at work. While the eldest, Mary, was one of the first women admitted to the Pasteur Institute after graduating from Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania , Margaret worked as a professor of Romance languages at the Universities of Illinois and Syracuse, and Scott's youngest sister, Jeanette, studied art history and then pursued a career in university teaching, also at Syracuse University. On September 1, 1901, Scott married Adele C. Cooper, née Reed, in Champaign , Illinois . The couple met in 1899 at the University of Illinois , where Scott served as the dean of law school while Cooper was studying library science there.

Life

Education and early professional years

Scott spent most of his childhood in Philadelphia. There he attended Central High School from 1881 to 1885 . His university education, he first received at Harvard College , where he in 1890 with summa cum laude of the Bachelor of Arts and a year later the MA was granted. Because of his good work, Scott was awarded the Parker Fellowship . This travel grant enabled him to study in Berlin , Heidelberg and Paris . There he specialized in international law . At the University of Heidelberg doctorate he become the doctor of law . After contracting a lung disease there, in 1893 he made a tour of Palestine , Asia Minor , Constantinople , Greece and Egypt to recover. There he met Nicholas Murray Butler , with whom he then became a lifelong friend. In 1894 he returned to his homeland and settled in Los Angeles . He began practical training as a lawyer, was admitted to the bar in July 1895 and then practiced as a lawyer. In addition to his legal work, he became involved in the establishment of the Los Angeles Law School from 1896 , the forerunner of today's law faculty at the University of Southern California , of which he was dean for three years. With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War , Scott volunteered for the California National Guard and was assigned to the 7th Regiment of California Volunteers on May 5, 1898 with the rank of private . Scott's regiment was at no time involved in combat operations and he retired on December 2, 1898 with the rank of corporal from the army.

academic career

In 1899 Scott accepted the position of Dean of the Law School of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . In 1903 he received a call to a professorship at Columbia University . There he also took over the editing of Columbia University Quarterly , a legal journal. He joined the government three years later and worked for the United States Department of State . In 1911 he moved to the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace , where he became head of the Department of International Law. In addition to his professional activities, Scott continued to teach. From 1906 to 1911 he lectured on international law at George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University . In 1910 he applied for the Chichele chair for international law , but ultimately lost to Henry Erle Richards because the election committee did not want to elect an American to the chair. In 1921 Scott returned to university and took on a professorship in international law and international relations at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service , which he held until 1940. In addition, between 1933 and 1940, he also took over a professorship for international law and Roman law at Georgetown University . Scott has also held several visiting professorships abroad, including at the Universidad de Chile , the universities of Havana and Salamanca as well as in Frankfurt am Main , Kiel and Munich . Shortly before his 75th birthday, Scott retired on June 9, 1941 .

Activities in the field of international law

American Journal of International Law and American Society of International Law

In addition to his various professorships in the field of international law, Scott was also involved in this area to a considerable extent outside the university. Scott came up with the idea of ​​creating a professional journal for international law in English in 1903 when he was appointed to Columbia University. Since the Dean of the University of Illinois wanted him to stay, Scott asked for such a journal to be created. When this was refused, he accepted the position at Columbia University.

On June 1, 1905, he met with George W. Kirchwey (1855–1942) and Robert Lansing to discuss the possibility of creating an English-speaking society to advance international law. On the proposal of these three, the Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration decided to found the American Society for International Law and the American Journal of International Law . In the founding phase of the company, Scott was elected executive secretary and treasurer of the company and on January 29, 1906 appointed its secretary . Until Scott retired as the Society's secretary in 1924, he was actively involved in planning the annual conferences.

Between 1924 and 1929 he held the office of Vice President before he was finally elected President of the Society. He held this position for ten years and was made honorary president when he left in 1939.

In addition to his work for the company, he was also responsible for planning the first publication of the American Journal of International Law. The first issue of the magazine appeared in January 1907. During the first two years Scott held the title of managing editor, from 1909 he was editor-in-chief. In 1924 he retired from this post and was made honorary editor of the magazine. Even after his departure, he remained loyal to society and the magazine and regularly attended the meetings until he was no longer able to do so due to illness.

Participation in the establishment of the Permanent International Court of Justice

The Hague Peace Palace, seat of the Permanent International Court of Justice

In 1906, Scott successfully applied to Elihu Root to serve as government legal advisor . After Root was replaced as Secretary of State by Robert Bacon , who was eventually succeeded by Philander C. Knox , Scott remained in his position. As before under Root, he repeatedly urged his superiors to work towards the creation of a permanent international court of justice at the international level.

After several unsuccessful attempts, he founded the American Society for the Settlement of International Disputes with Theodore Marburg (1862-1946). With financial support from the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, this society continued to pursue the goal of establishing a permanent international court of justice. However, after the United States entered World War I , the company ceased its work.

Scott's move from civil service to the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace did nothing to change his plan. Through Scott's considerable influence in the negotiations of the Paris Suburb Treaties , it was possible to anchor the Permanent International Court of Justice as an organ of the League of Nations in Article 14 of the League of Nations statutes. Subsequently, Scott was involved in drafting the Statute of the Tribunal. After the protocol establishing the Permanent International Court of Justice was passed on December 16, 1920, the court began work on February 15, 1922.

Participation in the establishment of the Hague Academy for International Law

During the second Hague Peace Conference , Scott first learned of the idea of ​​the Swiss international lawyer Otfried Nippold to found an academy for international law in The Hague. After Scott had assumed the post of director of the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace in 1911, he received a letter from the Dutch Foreign Minister Tobias Asser containing a draft statute for an academy. After the Carnegie Foundation had promised its basic support, Scott mediated between various international organizations such as the Institut de Droit International and the International Law Association , all of which were positive about the possible establishment. Scott agreed with the Dutch government that the academy should not compete with the existing universities in the Netherlands and should therefore only offer summer and winter courses, especially for members of the foreign service . When Scott was finally able to secure funding from the Carnegie Foundation in 1913, the Hague Academy of International Law was officially established on January 27, 1914. However, the outbreak of World War I and its aftermath initially prevented lectures from starting. The first lectures therefore took place on July 16, 1923.

Other activities

As an advisor to the US government , Scott was responsible for enforcing claims by American citizens against foreign states. In this position he represented the United States in numerous trials before the Permanent International Court of Justice in The Hague. He also took part in several international law conferences as an advisor to the American delegation. Among other things, he was an advisor at the second Hague Peace Conference . When Elihu Root was elected Senator for New York in 1909 , he continued to draw Scott as an advisor. Scott also advised the American government. With the outbreak of World War I he took over the chairmanship of a newly created committee that advised the government on questions of neutrality until the United States entered the war . With the end of the war Scott was concerned with the international law issues of the peace treaty. Scott was also part of the American delegation to the Washington Naval Conference in 1922 .

Awards (selection)

In total, Scott received 17 honorary doctorates , including from Cambridge University and Queen's University in Ontario . In 1908 Scott became an associate and then in 1910 a full member of the Institut de Droit International. In 1919 he was accepted into the Académie royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique . Scott also belonged to the Institut de France from 1921 and was appointed Visiting Carnegie Professor of International Relations by the Carnegie Foundation in 1928 . In 1935 he was also accepted as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Scott has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize six times , including by Gilbert Gidel and Karl Strupp .

Publications (selection)

• with Víctor M. Maúrtua: Observations on nationality . Oxford University Press, New York 1930.
• The judicial decision of international disputes. (= Journal for International Law. Supplement). Kern, Breslau 1933.
• Le progrès du droit des gens. Ed. International, Paris 1934.
• Cases on International Law. 2nd Edition. West. Publ. Comp., St. Paul 1937.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} William E. Butler: Biographical Materials on James Brown Scott . In: William E. Butler (Ed.): Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown Scott . The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. xiii f .
2. ^ ^{A b} George A. Finch : Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown . Ed .: William E. Butler. The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. 8 .
3. ↑ George A. Finch : Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown . Ed .: William E. Butler. The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. 3 .
4. ↑ George A. Finch : Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown . Ed .: William E. Butler. The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. 4 .
5. ↑ George A. Finch : Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown . Ed .: William E. Butler. The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. 5 .
6. ↑ George A. Finch : Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown . Ed .: William E. Butler. The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. 6 .
7. ↑ George A. Finch : Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown . Ed .: William E. Butler. The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. 15 .
8. ^ William E. Butler: Biographical Materials on James Brown Scott . In: William E. Butler (Ed.): Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown Scott . The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. xviii .
9. ^ William E. Butler: Biographical Materials on James Brown Scott . In: William E. Butler (Ed.): Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown Scott . The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. xvi .
10. ^ William E. Butler: Biographical Materials on James Brown Scott . In: William E. Butler (Ed.): Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown Scott . The Lawbook Exchange, Clark (NJ) 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 , pp. xxi f .

literature

• George A. Finch: Adventures in Internationalism: A Biography of James Brown Scott . With an introduction by William E. Butler. Ed .: William E. Butler. The Law Book Exchange, Clark, New Jersey 2012, ISBN 978-1-61619-165-8 .
• George A. Finch: James Brown Scott, 1866-1943 . In: American Journal of International Law . Vol. 38, No. 2 , April 1944, ISSN  0002-9300 , p. 183-217 , doi : 10.2307 / 2192693 .

Web links

• Entry on Scott in the Encyclopaedia Britannica