A Life Dedicated to International Law
As we recently marked the fifth anniversary of his passing on February 20th, I have been reflecting on the life and work of my mentor, David D. Caron, in the field of public international law.
His influence on my life, education, and professional growth was profound.
Professor Caron, or David, as he asked to be called early in our work, served as the dean of the King's College London School of Law and was an emeritus professor of the UC Berkeley School of Law. He was a renowned expert in international law, focusing on international dispute resolution, international courts and tribunals, and international environmental law. He was a member of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal and a Judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice.
He guided me through Berkeley Law on a path of demanding classes about International Law, International Human Rights, and International Environmental Law. He then counseled me to take courses on International Business Transactions, Private International Dispute Resolution, Constitutional Law, and International Trade Law. Passing through the gauntlet of these courses, Professor Caron listened and advised me on research in international law. I investigated the Tinoco Arbitration, a ruling that ordered the Costa Rican government established by a 1917 coup d’etat to pay certain UK loans and the role of the "recognition" of governments.
Professor Caron was a pioneer in international environmental law. His early interest in international environmental law came from his time as an officer in the United States Coast Guard, serving in the Arctic. He encouraged me to apply for funding from the Ford Foundation and work with the National Research Council and the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Council to produce a monograph on the Antarctic Treaty Regime. The work was published by the University of California Berkeley in 1994. With that, my focus on making international law's promises evident in the world was set. We spent afternoons discussing the US air campaign against Serbia and the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk. We discussed the role of truth commissions and honest assessments of history. Believe it or not, we celebrated the signing of the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union, a beacon of liberal political hope for integration and peace in the 1990s.
I had two opportunities that year attributable to his guidance and support. I attended the Hague Academy of International Law Summer Program on Public International Law with funding from a Ford Foundation grant. I then worked as a legal intern at the United States Trade Representative during the final work on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Professor Caron taught me to believe that international law should be based on justice, fairness, and reciprocity. The beauty of the twentieth century is found in the experiment of the League of Nations and the subsequent effort which we today seek to hold together, the United Nations. I hope we can construct a world of rights, respect, and responsibility before undertaking another world conflict.
Professor Caron’s voice motivated me to work at the international level for the World Intellectual Property Organization as an arbitrator for nearly twenty years. I returned to Harvard to obtain an MTS in comparative theology, ethics, and the application to the law. He is missed. But it is my tribute to him each day to continue working to defend human rights and the rule of international law in Uruguay and South America. David was also a Fulbright Scholar, and my work on the Fulbright Commission here in Uruguay would make him proud.
