The Function of Law in the International Community

The Function of Law in the International Community, first published in 1933, is one of the seminal works on international law. Its author, Sir Hersch Lauterpacht, is widely considered to be one of the great international lawyers of the 20th century. It continues to influence those studying and working in international law today.

This republication once again makes this book available to scholars and students in the field. It features a new introduction by Professor Martti Koskenniemi, examining the world in which the Function of Law was originally published and the lasting legacy of this classic work.

The Late Sir Hersch Lauterpacht was one of the leading international lawyers of the twentieth century. The author of, inter alia, Private Law Sources and Analogies of International Law, the International Law Reports, and one of the editors of Oppenheim's International Law, he was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn and elected to the Whewell Chair of International Law at Cambridge. As a practitioner, he was part of the legal team for oil companies in their arbitrations with various Gulf States between 1948-1950, and advised the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in its dispute with Iran over nationalization in 1950-51. Hersch was appointed QC in 1949. In 1953 and 1954 he was elected to the International Law Commission, where he became Special Rapporteur on Treaties, before being elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice in 1954. Hersch was knighted in 1956. He died on May 8, 1960 at the age of 63.