Oscar Schachter Hamilton Fish Professor Emeritus of International Law & Diplomacy Columbia Law School
B.S.S., College of the City of New York, 1936 J.D., Columbia, 1939 LL.D., Columbia, 2000. Editor-in-chief, Columbia Law Review. Private practice (New York), 1939. Attorney, U.S. government agencies, 1940-42. Served with U.S. Department of State, 1942-43 United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, 1944-46. Joined United Nations Legal Department in 1946 as deputy director; in 1952, as director of the General Legal Division. Director, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, 1966-75. Joined the Columbia Faculty of Law in 1975; also on the faculties of the School of International and Public Affairs and the Political Science department of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. President, American Society of International Law, 1968-70; honorary president, 1994-96. Coeditor-in-chief, American Journal of International Law, 1978-84; honorary editor, 1985-present. Member, Institut de Droit International (vice president, 1991-93). Adviser, ALI Restatement of Foreign Relations Law. Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science. Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Chairman, University Seminar on the Problem of Peace. Recipient, Hudson Medal for outstanding contributions to international law, 1981. Law Alumni Medal for Excellence, 1991. Judge in Canada-France Maritime Boundary Dispute. Advisor, U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, 1989-93. Publications include International Law in Theory and Practice (1985; rev. ed., 1991); Sharing the World's Resources (1977); International Law: Cases and Materials (coauthor, 1993); Toward Wider Acceptance of U.N. Treaties (coauthor, 1971); and United Nations Legal Order (2 vols., with others, 1994). Articles deal with theory and sources of international law, use of force, the United Nations, dispute settlement, international economic and resources law, outer space, and human rights.
It is with great sadness that I report that Oscar Schachter has passed away. Oscar, a Columbia graduate of the class of 1939, was a towering scholar of international law, revered for his intellect, humor and gentle spirit both in the academy and in the world of international relations practice and law. He was a teacher beloved by generations of students, whom he inspired to enter careers in international law. We will miss him greatly.
