Lassa Francis Lawrence Oppenheim (30 March 1858 – 7 October 1919) was a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

. He has been characterized as the father of the modern discipline of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, especially the hard legal positivist school of thought. His two-volume ''International Law: A Treatise'' has influenced international law. He inspired

Joseph Raz Joseph Raz (; ; born Joseph Zaltsman; 21 March 19392 May 2022) was an Israeli legal, moral and political philosopher. He was an advocate of legal positivism and is known for his conception of perfectionist liberalism. Raz spent most of his ca ...

and Prosper Weil.

Birth, life, and career in Germany

Oppenheim was born in Windecken near the

Free City of Frankfurt Frankfurt was a major city of the Holy Roman Empire, being the seat of imperial elections since 885 and the city for Coronation of the Holy Roman emperor, imperial coronations from 1562 (previously in Free Imperial City of Aachen) until 1792. F ...

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

, the son of a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

horse trader, and educated at the Universities of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. In 1881, he obtained his PhD of Law at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

. In 1883, he went to the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, where he became a disciple of the renowned Professor of Criminal Law Karl Binding. In 1885 he completed his ''

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

'' at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

and taught criminal law there until he moved to the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

in 1892. In Basel, Oppenheim still worked on criminal law. It was not until he moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

that he turned from criminal law to international law.

Life and career in the United Kingdom

Oppenheim 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 The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and in 1908 became the Whewell Professor of International Law in the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. 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 is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

was edited by Sir

Hersch Lauterpacht Sir Hersch Lauterpacht (16 August 1897 – 8 May 1960) was a British international lawyer, human rights activist, and judge at the International Court of Justice. Biography Hersch Lauterpacht was born on 16 August 1897 to a Jewish family in ...

; the ninth and most recent edition of the same part was co-edited by Sir Robert Yewdall Jennings and Sir Arthur Watts. The work is still considered a standard text of international Law.B Fassfender and A Peters (eds), ''Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law'' (OUP 2012) 1152

Works

Books and monographs

* ''Die Rechtsbeugungsverbrechen des Deutschen Reichsstrafgesetzbuches'' (1886) * ''Die Nebenklage im deutschen Strafprozess'' (1889) * ''Zur Lehre von der Untersuchungshaft'' (1889) * ''Die Objekte des Verbrechens'' (1894) * ''Das Gewissen'' (1898) * ''International Law:'' volume I, ''Peace''
1905second edition, 1912
, volume II, ''War and Neutrality'',
1906second edition, 1912

''International Incidents'' (Cambridge University Press 1909)
second edition, 1911) * (in German, 1911) *Lassa Oppenheim, Ronald Roxburgh, et al., ''International Law: A Treatise'' (two volumes, 1918) * *

Other works

* ''The Science of International Law: Its Task and Method'', American Journal of International Law, vol. ii, pp. 313–56 (1908)

Edited by Oppenheim

* The Collected Papers of John Westlake on Public International Law (Cambridge University Press 1914) * Co-editor, Zeitschrift für Völkerrecht, Vols. i–viii (1906–14) * Contributions to International Law and Diplomacy (Longmans, Green and Co.)

References

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

The Internationalist as a Scientist and Herald: Lassa Oppenheim

Legal Positivism as Normative Politics: International Society, Balance of Power and Lassa Oppenheim's Positive International Law {{DEFAULTSORT:Oppenheim, L. F. L. 1858 births 1919 deaths People from Nidderau People from the Electorate of Hesse German Jews German legal scholars Jewish legal scholars International law scholars Jurists from Hesse German political writers German male non-fiction writers Emigrants from the German Empire to the United Kingdom British legal scholars Heidelberg University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni University of Göttingen alumni Whewell Professors of International Law Academics of the London School of Economics