The Rise and Fall of Lauterpacht’s Function of Law

‘International law and institutions are for various reasons under great stress,’ read the opening line of the Journal’s invitation to use classic books as a starting point for reflecting on today’s world. With that as the backdrop, it is not difficult to understand why the editors suggested we revisit Hersch Lauterpacht’s The Function of Law in the International Community. Nowadays, this book provides the intellectual foundation of the project to judicialize politics. In publications of the last three decades, Lauterpacht’s Function is frequently cited as the authority for the idea that the international judge is at the heart of the international rule of law and therefore a key actor for justice and world peace. At a time when not just the judicialization of politics is seen as under attack, but also the notion that interstate relations should be subject to legal constraints has been weakened, rereading the Function may reinvigorate the project of ‘standing tall for the rule of law’.