David D. Caron (28 June 1952 – 20 February 2018)
was an American attorney who was the dean of the
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
School of Law
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
, and an
emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
professor of
UC Berkeley School of Law
The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...
. Caron was a Member of the
Iran-United States Claims Tribunal and a Judge ad hoc of the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
. After his death it was said that "at (his) prime, (he) was arguably one of the top two or three arbitrators in the United States and in the world."
Berkeley Law Dean
Erwin Chemerinsky
Erwin Chemerinsky (born May 14, 1953) is an American legal scholar known for his studies of United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure. Since 2017, Chemerinsky has been the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. Previously, he a ...
said that Caron "wrote on virtually every aspect of international law, looking especially at public and private international dispute resolution and international courts and tribunals" He also credited Caron with being a "pioneer in the field of international environmental law, looking at issues such as the law of the sea and climate change."
Biography
Early life
Caron was born in Connecticut. He was the youngest of three siblings. His parents were emigrants from Quebec, Canada.
While in school Caron undertook summer work in tobacco fields outside of Hartford, Connecticut. He graduated from A.J. Penney High School in East Hartford and applied to join the
United States Coast Guard Academy
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast Gu ...
after high school. His first application was rejected on medical grounds, and he had to have surgery to break and reset his jaw, to meet the admission criteria. Caron’s dental surgeon wrote to the Coast Guard about the “''remarkable stoicism which underscored his determination to qualify as a Cadet at the Academy''”.
Education
At the
United States Coast Guard Academy
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1876, it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast Gu ...
, Caron took physics and political science as his major. He was Commander of the Corps of Cadets in 1974.
He was an
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
navigator and salvage-diving officer aboard the US Coast Guard cutter ''Polar Star''. In
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
he was assistant chief of the Marine Environment Protection Service for California.
Next, in 1979, Caron studied at the
University of Wales
The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
on a
Fulbright Commission
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
scholarship. He then studied
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
.
When asked, later, about his decision to study law, he said: "''I discovered I loved learning and I was just insatiable about it and still am in many ways. I moved from studying how things work to why people don't work – and how you could help them''."
While a legal assistant at the
Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal Caron undertook a PhD in Law at
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
.
Professor of Law
Caron’s first position after law school was as a legal assistant at the
Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal for both Judges Richard M. Mosk and
Charles N. Brower.
Upon his return to California, Caron briefly worked as an attorney, before he became a faculty member at Berkley Law School in 1987. He would remain in the faculty, first as C. William Maxeiner Distinguished Professor of International Law, and later as professor emeritus, for the rest of his life.
He received the 1991 Deak Prize of the American Society of International Law for outstanding scholarship by a younger academic. In 2000, Caron received the first Stefan A. Riesenfeld Award.
The award recognizes outstanding contributions to international law. In 2010-2012 he was the President of the American Society of International Law.
Between 2013 and 2016 he served as Dean of the law school at King’s College London. Caron left this position to take up membership of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, while he kept his links to the law schools in Berkeley and London.
Arbitrator & Judge
Caron served as counsel, and at times as an expert, before international courts and tribunals. In the former role, he became a barrister, and member of 20 Essex Chambers in London.
Caron then built up his extensive expertise as an international arbitrator, including as a Commissioner with the Precedent Panel of the U. N. Compensation Commission in Geneva that resolved claims from the
1990 Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
.
Death
Caron died at St. Thomas' Hospital, London, on 20 February 2018 after a short illness. Only three days before he had been sitting as a Judge at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal.
Legacy
On 23 March 2018, a “packed service of celebration and thanksgiving for his life” was held at The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in London. The memorial host was
Baroness Rosalyn Higgins, a former Treasurer of the Inn, and former President of the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
The
American Society of International Law
The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...
dedicated its 112th Annual Meeting, held from 4-7 April 2018, to Caron’s memory. The Society later announced a fund in Caron’s honour, th
David D. Caron Fund which would support the activities of young scholars and, in particular, the Society’s Mid-Year Meeting.
On 14-15 September 2018,
UC Berkeley School of Law
The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...
held a memorial and conference in Caron’s honor. The conference was on the theme “The Elegance of International Law”. The proceedings of the conference were jointly published by the ''Berkeley Journal of International Law'' and the ''Ecology Law Quarterly'', with both of which Caron had strong ties.
Publications
Books
Caron’s books include the following:
The International Law of Disaster Relief(editor with Michael J. Kelly, Anastasia Telesetsky), 2016, Cambridge University Press.
Practising Virtue: Inside International Arbitration(editor with Stephan W. Schill, Abby Cohen Smutny, and Epaminotas E. Triantafilou), 2015, Oxford University Press.
The Oceans on the Nuclear Age: Legacies and Risks, Second Expanded Edition(editor with Narry N. Scheiber), 2014, Brill Nijhoff.
The UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules: A Commentary(author with Lee M. Caplan), 2013, Oxford University Press.
Articles
Caron's articles include the following:
*'The Alien Tort Statute: An Overview of Current Issues' (2010
28 Berkeley Journal of International Law(with Richard M. Buxbaum)
*'The ILC Articles on State Responsibility: The Paradoxical Relationship between Form and Authority' (2002
96(4) The American Journal of International Law 857
*'War and International Adjudication: Reflections on the 1899 Peace Conference' (2000
94(1) American Journal of International Law 4
*'The legitimacy of the collective authority of the Security Council' (1995
87(4) American Journal of International Law 552
*'The International Whaling Commission and the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission: The Institutional Risks of Coercion in Consensual Structures' (1995
89(1) The American Journal of International Law 154*'The Legitimacy of the Collective Authority of the Security Council' (1993
87(4) American Journal of International Law 552
*'Iraq and the Force of Law: Why Give a Shield of Immunity?' (1991
85(1) The American Journal of International Law 89
Lectures
Fifth Annual Charles N. Brower Lecture on International Dispute Resolution: The Multiple Functions of International Courts and the Singular Task of the Adjudicator American Society of International Law, 2017.
for the UN Audio Visual Library.
References
External links
King's faculty profileBerkeley faculty profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caron, David
1952 births
2018 deaths
Academics of King's College London
American legal scholars
Environmental law
UC Berkeley School of Law alumni
United States Coast Guard Academy alumni
Presidents of the American Society of International Law
International Court of Justice judges