L. F. L. Oppenheim
Encyclopedia
Lassa Francis Lawrence Oppenheim (March 30, 1858 – October 7, 1919) was a renowned German
jurist
. He is regarded by many as the father of the modern discipline of international law
, especially the hard legal positivist school of thought. He inspired Joseph Raz
and Prosper Weil
.
Born in Windecken near Frankfurt
, Germany
and educated at the Universities of Berlin
, Göttingen, Heidelberg
and Leipzig
. In 1881 he obtained his PhD of Law at the University of Göttingen. Then he completed his Habilitation
at Freiburg (Breisgau). He moved to the United Kingdom
in 1895, acquiring citizenship in 1900 and lived there until his death.
He first lectured at the London School of Economics
and in 1908 became the Whewell Professor of International Law
in the University of Cambridge
. He is the author of the internationally renowned International Law: A Treatise, the first edition of which was published in 1905-1906. The eighth edition of the part on peace
was edited by Sir Hersch Lauterpacht
; the ninth and most recent edition of the same part was co-edited by Sir Robert Jennings
and Sir Arthur Watts. The work is still considered a standard text of International Law.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
. He is regarded by many as the father of the modern discipline of international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, especially the hard legal positivist school of thought. He inspired Joseph Raz
Joseph Raz
Joseph Raz is a legal, moral and political philosopher. He is one of the most prominent advocates of legal positivism. He has spent most of his career as professor of philosophy of law and a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, and simultaneously as professor of law at Columbia University Law...
and Prosper Weil
Prosper Weil
Prosper Weil is a French lawyer, professor emeritus of the University of Paris II: Panthéon-Assas law school, and a member of the Institut de France since 1999.-Life:...
.
Born in Windecken near Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and educated at the Universities of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
, Göttingen, Heidelberg
Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg
The Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is a public research university located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386, it is the oldest university in Germany and was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg has been a coeducational institution...
and Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. In 1881 he obtained his PhD of Law at the University of Göttingen. Then he completed his Habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
at Freiburg (Breisgau). He moved to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1895, acquiring citizenship in 1900 and lived there until his death.
He first lectured at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and in 1908 became the Whewell Professor of International Law
Whewell Professorship of International Law
The Whewell Professorship of International Law is a professorship in the University of Cambridge.The Professorship was established in 1868 by the will of the 19th-century scientist and moral philosopher, William Whewell, with a view to devising "such measures as may tend to diminish the causes of...
in the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He is the author of the internationally renowned International Law: A Treatise, the first edition of which was published in 1905-1906. The eighth edition of the part on peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
was edited by Sir Hersch Lauterpacht
Hersch Lauterpacht
Sir Hersch Lauterpacht was a member of the United Nations' International Law Commission from 1952 to 1954 and a Judge of the International Court of Justice from 1955 to 1960. In the words of former ICJ President Stephen M...
; the ninth and most recent edition of the same part was co-edited by Sir Robert Jennings
Robert Yewdall Jennings
Sir Robert Yewdall Jennings was Whewell Professor of International Law at Cambridge University from 1955 to 1982 and a Judge of the International Court of Justice from 1982...
and Sir Arthur Watts. The work is still considered a standard text of International Law.
Works
He published:- Die Rechtsbeugungsverbrechen (1886)
- Die Nebenklage (1889)
- Die Objekte des Verbrechens (1894)
- Das Gewissen (1898)
- International Law: volume i, Peace (1905; second edition, 1911), volume ii, War, (1906; second edition, 1912)
- The Science of International Law (1908)
- International Incidents (1909; second edition, 1911)
- The Future of International Law (in German, 1912; English, by Bate, 1914)
- The Panama Canal Conflict (1913)
- Westlake'sJohn WestlakeJohn Westlake was an English law scholar, born at Lostwithiel, Cornwall, the son of a Cornish wool-stapler. He was educated at Lostwithiel and, from 1846, at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1850...
collected papers (1914)
External links
- International Law: A Treatise. Vol I: Peace. 1905 edition in Gallica
- International Law: A Treatise. Vol II: War and Neutrality. 1905 edition in Gallica
- http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/11/3/699.pdf. The Internationalist as a Scientist and Herald: Lassa Oppenheim
- http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/13/2/401.pdf. Legal Positivism as Normative Politics: International Society, Balance of Power and Lassa Oppenheim's Positive International Law