James Crawford AC SC FBA (1948–2021): The General Law of State Responsibility and the Specific Case of Investment Claims

Abstract

It was characteristic of the generosity of spirit of James Crawford—mentor and friend—that, when we wrote last year to ask him whether he would serve as guest editor of this special issue of the Review, he immediately accepted. His passing on 31 May 2021 is a huge loss on a personal level, as well as for the discipline of public international law, a field to which he made an immeasurable contribution over the course of his life in every dimension: as a scholar and teacher; arbitrator and judge; and as law reformer. Professor Freya Baetens has now kindly completed the introductory essay for this issue that she and James co-authored. It falls to me in this preface to say a word about James Crawford’s personal contribution to the development of the general international law of State responsibility and its relation to the special case of investment claims. This is no easy task. Crawford was himself reticent about his own role as the last Special Rapporteur (1997–2001) for the International Law Commission (ILC/the Commission) on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, leading to the adoption of draft Articles in 2001 (ARSIWA/the Articles). The record is replete with evidence of his contribution: as author of four reports as Special Rapporteur;2 in the Official Commentaries;3 and subsequently as author of both an introductory text and a detailed monograph;4 an edited collection;5 and several articles on the topic.6 Yet the Articles were, on any view, a collective enterprise, reflecting many voices, both within the Commission and of States. Nevertheless, there is reason to accord particular credit to James for their successful completion and, in turn, for the influence that they have had subsequently in the practice of States and in the decisions of international courts and tribunals. There is also reason to consider that, among all of his many contributions, the conclusion of ARSIWA stands as his most enduring achievement.