Dear anzsil Members and Friends,
On behalf of all anzsil current and former members, I would like to acknowledge, with sadness, the passing of H.E. Judge James Crawford sc ac, of the International Court of Justice, on 31 May 2021.
I had the privilege of meeting Judge Crawford just once, at a workshop on the topic of the dynamic evolution of international law, in Wellington, in 2017. For many anzsil members however, James Crawford was colleague, supervisor, mentor and inspiration.
In a wide-ranging and long career, Judge Crawford had a profound impact on international law and scholarship through his work as academic, advocate, law commission member, arbitrator and judge.
As a scholar, Judge Crawford was Professor of Law at the University of Adelaide, Challis Professor of International Law and Dean at Sydney Law School and Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge. His scholarship was highly regarded, with The Creation of States in International Law (oup, 2006) remaining a standard text in any public international law course reading list.
Judge Crawford served as Commissioner of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1982 – 1990), where he completed important reports, including on indigenous law in Australia. He was also a member of the Australian National Commission for unesco (1984 – 1988) and a member of the Advisory Committee on the Australian Judicial System (1985 – 1987). He advised extensively on a range of constitutional matters within Australia.
Called to the Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of Australia in 1977, to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1987 and appointed Senior Counsel in 1997, Judge Crawford was also a foundation member of Matrix Chambers in the UK. He appeared as counsel in over 30 cases before international tribunals, including the icj and, in 2015, was successfully elected as a judge to the icj, after nomination by Australia.
For any international law student, Judge Crawford’s most enduring legacy was his work on state responsibility as Special Rapporteur for the International Law Commission (1997 – 2001); a successful codification effort that has had an enormous influence on state practice in the twenty years since its adoption.
Judge Crawford will be greatly missed by the Australian and the international legal community but his intellectual and personal legacy will endure for many years to come. On behalf of anzsil and all its members, I would like to extend my condolences and very best wishes to the family, friends, colleagues and admirers of Judge James Crawford.
With best wishes,
Karen Scott
anzsil President
1 June 2021