Philip Jessup

Philip Caryl Jessup (January 5, 1897 - January 31, 1986) was a diplomat, scholar, and jurist from New York City.

Early life and education

Philip C. Jessup received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College in 1919. He then went on to earn a law degree from Yale Law School in 1924 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1927.^[1]

Jessup married Lois Walcott Kellogg in 1921.^[2]

Career

While pursuing his Ph.D., and for a good time thereafter (1925-1946), Jessup served as a lecturer and professor in international law at Columbia University. In 1946, he was named the Hamilton Fish Professor of International Law and Diplomacy at Columbia, a post he held until 1961.^[2]

Jessup served as assistant secretary-general of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) conference in 1943 and the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference (the "Bretton Woods" conference) in 1944. He was a technical advisor to the American delegation to the San Francisco United Nations charter conference in 1945.

Jessup became a primary target of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who charged in the 1950 Tydings Committee hearings that Jessup was a security risk who had "an unusual affinity... for Communist causes." Although Jessup was cleared of all charges by the Loyalty Board of the State Department and the Tydings Committee, and McCarthy was rebuked by many fellow senators and other statesmen, McCarthy's allegations severely damaged Jessup's reputation and career.

President Harry S. Truman appointed Jessup as United States delegate to the United Nations in 1951. When the appointment came before the Senate, however, it was not approved, largely because of McCarthy's influence. President Truman circumvented the Senate action by assigning Jessup to the United Nations on an "interim appointment."

Shortly after John F. Kennedy took office as president, the State Department approved the appointment of Jessup as U.S. candidate for the International Court of Justice, a post that did not need Senate confirmation. He served from 1961 until 1970.

Upon returning from The Netherlands, Jessup took up a series of academic positions at The University of Georgia School of Law, Columbia University, and Wellesley College.^[2]

Honors

An international law moot court competition, the Philip C. Jessup Cup, is named in Jessup's honor. It is held annually in Washington D.C. and is attended by law students from around the world. Former ICJ President Stephen M. Schwebel Prize for "Best Jessup Oralist" was launched at the 103rd ASIL Annual Meeting on International Law as Law held in Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C. on 25-28 March 2009 and it was won during the 2009 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition by a member of the team from University of the Andes, Colombia. The Colombian team also won this 50th Jessup Moot Competition and Shearman & Sterling Jessup Cup, defeating a team from University College London.

Books by Philip Jessup

Elihu Root (Dodd, Mead & Co., 1938)
A Modern Law of Nations (Macmillan Co., 1948)
Transnational Law (Yale University Press, 1956)
The Birth of Nations (Columbia University Press, 1974)

References

Further reading

• Hearings before the Senate subcommittee investigating the Institute of Pacific Relations
• Cook, Fred J. (1971). The Nightmare Decade: The Life and Times of Senator Joe McCarthy. Random House. ISBN 0-394-46270-X. 
• Philip C. Jessup: A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress

External links

• ICJ Judges
• Manley O. Hudson Awards and 26 January 2009
• ICJ Presidents H.E. Rosalyn Higgins and H.E. Stephen M. Schwebel at the ILSA-ASIL Gala Dinner Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition on 27 March 2009 and Jessup's 50th Anniversary Honorary Committee and 50th Jessup Video and 50th Jessup Programme and Prize for "Best Jessup Oralist" Launched in Honour of Former ICJ President Stephen M. Schwebel at [http://am2009.asil.org/index.cfm the 103rd ASIL Annual Meeting on International Law as Law, Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C., 25-28 March 2009
• Wikipedia Citations of H.E. Judge Philip Jessup
• Visual Wikipedia of H.E. Judge Philip Jessup