James Crawford

James Crawford (1948 to 2021) was an Australian academic and practitioner in public international law whose scholarly expertise centered on statehood and state responsibility, most notably in his influential book The Creation of States in International Law. He served as a Judge of the International Court of Justice from February 2015 until his death in May 2021, having been elected in November 2014. Earlier in his career he held the Whewell Professorship of International Law at Cambridge University from 1992 to 2014, was Challis Professor of International Law and Dean of Sydney Law School at the University of Sydney, directed the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at Cambridge, and served as Special Rapporteur on State Responsibility for the United Nations International Law Commission from 1997 to 2001.