Green Haywood Hackworth (Prestonsburg, Kentucky, January 23, 1883 –
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, June 24, 1973) was an American
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
who served as the first U.S. judge on 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 ...
, as President of the International Court of Justice, as the longest running Legal Adviser to the
US Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
(1925 -1946) and as a member of Secretary of State
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
's inner circle of advisers.
[Hoopes, Townsend & Brinkley, Douglas. ''FDR & The Creation of the U.N.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. p.112. Print.] Hackworth was instrumental in the development of plans for the post World War II world order and was a key member of the U.S. delegation to the
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, or, more formally, the Washington Conversations on International Peace and Security Organization, was an international conference at which proposals for the establishment of a "general international organization", w ...
(1944).
[Hilderbrand, Robert C. ''Dumbarton Oaks: The Origins of the United Nations and the Search for Postwar Security'', Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990. p.18. Print.] He served as a member of the
Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy (1942), as a member of Post War Programs Committee (1944) and as Chairman of the Committee of Jurists that drafted the initial statutes for 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 ...
(1945).
Hackworth also represented the U.S. Delegation on Committee IV at the
United Nations Conference on International Organization
The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, Calif ...
where the articles in the
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
pertaining to the International Court of Justice were finalized.
[Whiteman, Marjorie M. "Green Haywood Hackworth: 1883 - 1973" ''The American Journal of International Law'', Vol. 68, No. 1 (Jan., 1974) p.92.]
Early life and education
Green Haywood Hackworth was born in
Prestonburg Kentucky and his youth was spent in the area of the
Big Sandy River. He received a B.A. degree from
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...
, a
Doctor of Law
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...
degree from the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...
and an
L.L.B
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degree from
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
.
[Whiteman, Marjorie M. "Green Haywood Hackworth: 1883 - 1973" ''The American Journal of International Law'', Vol. 68, No. 1 (Jan., 1974) p.91.] In 1916, after completion of his legal studies, Hackworth secured a job as a law clerk with the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
and in 1918 was promoted to Assistant Solicitor within the department. Although a Democrat, Hackworth was chosen in 1925 by republican U.S. Secretary of State
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...
, for nomination by the President and subsequent approval by the Senate to become Solicitor of the Dept. of State.
Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of State
As the longest running
Legal Adviser of the Department of State
The legal adviser of the Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State. It was created by an Act of Congress on February 23, 1931 (P.L. 71-715; 46 Stat. 1214). The legal adviser replaced the solicitor, a Departme ...
, Hackworth was relied upon for legal advice by five successive U.S. Secretaries of States:
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...
,
Frank B. Kellogg
Frank Billings Kellogg (December 22, 1856December 21, 1937) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of State. He co-authored the Kellogg–Briand Pact, for which he was awarded the ...
,
Henry L. Stimson
Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...
,
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
and
Edward Stettinius Jr. Hackworth was noted for being a skilled legal draftsman concerning the area of treaty provisions and was a perforce in matters involving the U.S. and its foreign relations from the period of U.S. neutrality to the country's entry into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He provided advice to the U.S. President, the
U.S. Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
, members of congress and other departments within the U.S. State Department. As Legal Adviser to the Department of State, Hackworth represented the U.S Government before the International Joint Commission formed by the United States and Canada under the
Boundary Waters treaty of 1909
The Boundary Waters Treaty is the 1909 treaty between the United States and Canada providing mechanisms for resolving any dispute over any waters bordering the two countries. The treaty covers the
Canada, as a dominion of the Crown of Britain ...
. He was a U.S. delegate in 1930 to the
First Conference for the Codification of International Law, held at the Hague under the auspices of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
. Hackworth participated in the
8th Conference of American States (1939) held in Lima, in the 8th Scientific Congress of American States (1940) and in the Inter - American Maritime Conference (1941). Following the outbreak of war in Europe, Hackworth served as Adviser to Secretary of State Hull at the 2nd Meeting of foreign Ministers of the American Republics (1941) held in Havana.
World War Two
On Sunday Dec. 7 Hackworth was in conclave with Secretary of State
Hull at the state department prior to the scheduled meeting with Japanese ambassadors
Kichisaburo Nomura and
Saburo Kurusu when President Roosevelt called at 1:30PM and informed Hull of the
attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor. Hull consulted with Hackworth and Josheph Ballentine, a state department expert on the Far East, on whether or not to see the waiting Japanese diplomats.
[Greaves Jr., Percy L. 2010 ''Pearl Harbor: The Seeds and Fruits of Infamy'' Auburn: Mises Institute, 2010 p.324.] After seeing and then dismissing the diplomats, Hull met with President Roosevelt and then later again with Hackworth where the two discussed drafting a proclamation of war between Japan and the United States. As the war progressed, Hackworth advised Secretary Hull,
President Roosevelt, Judge
Samuel Rosenman
Samuel Irving Rosenman (February 13, 1896 – June 24, 1973) was an American lawyer, judge, Democratic Party activist and presidential speechwriter. He coined the term "New Deal", and helped articulate liberal policies during the heyday of the N ...
, and numerous agencies within the government. His role was to consider past legal developments in the laws of war, the laws of neutrality, laws of belligerency and the effect of these laws on the U.S. and other countries. In 1943, Hackworth served as an adviser to Secretary of State Hull at the
Moscow Conference and in 1945 he served as Adviser to Secretary of State
Edward Stettinius
Edward Reilly Stettinius Jr. (October 22, 1900 – October 31, 1949) was an American businessman who served as United States Secretary of State under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman from 1944 to 1945, and as U.S. Ambassador ...
at the Conference of American States on Problems of War and Peace held in Mexico City.
Post War Planning
In Feb. of 1942, Secretary of State Cordell Hull organized the
Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy which was followed by the Special Subcommittee on International Organization
of which Hackworth was an integral part. The subcommittee prepared draft proposals that clarified the U.S. State Dept.'s vague views on a postwar organization. In over 40 meetings in 1943, the Special Subcommittee on International Organization made intensive studies of key issues upon which any plans for a future world organization would have to depend.
In March 1943, Hull formed the Political Agenda Group which was composed of Hackworth,
Edward R. Stettinius and other members of Hull's inner circle. This organization championed a global organization as opposed to Undersecretary of State
Sumner Welles
Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892September 24, 1961) was an American government official and diplomat in the Foreign Service. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State ...
' vision of a regional post war system. In December 1943, this group prepared and delivered to President Roosevelt a detailed post war plan that became the founding framework of the United Nations.
[Hearden, Patrick J. ''Architects of Globalism: Building a New World Order During World War II'' Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2002. p.165. Print.] After President Roosevelt approved outline of the plan, Hull created The Policy Committee and the Post War Programs Committee, composed of Hackworth and other close advisers from the previously established Informal Agenda Group, to implement the vision of a
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
.
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
Prior to the Dumbarton Oaks conference, the U.S. State Dept. originated the American Planning Group for preparation. This group was divided into three sections and each section was responsible for a different topic that was to be addressed at Dumbarton Oaks.
[Hilderbrand, Robert C. ''Dumbarton Oaks: The Origins of the United Nations and the Search for Postwar Security'' Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990. p.72.]
Hackworth headed the second group charged with studying arrangements for the peaceful settlements of international disputes and the development of a World Court. At the
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, or, more formally, the Washington Conversations on International Peace and Security Organization, was an international conference at which proposals for the establishment of a "general international organization", w ...
, Hackworth chaired a special Legal Subcommittee that was established to deal with the issue of a World Court. The subcommittee used as a base the American draft statute that Hackworth's section had developed prior to the conference.
[Hilderbrand, Robert C. ''Dumbarton Oaks: The Origins of the United Nations and the Search for Postwar Security'' Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990. p.116.] The subcommittee first dealt with the technically complex issue of whether or not the present court should be continued or a new court established and also what the relationship should be of the new court with the new international organization. Hackworth championed the American's view that retaining as much of the existing court statutes as possible. However, the
Soviets
Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union.
Nationality policy in th ...
strongly opposed the continuing membership of certain neutral states in the World Court and favored a new tribunal. This dispute and others over the World Court were settled at the general
U.N. Conference at San Francisco where Hackworth represented the U.S. on Committee IV, which was tasked with finalizing statutes for 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 ...
.
International Court of Justice
Hackworth was nominated by three former U.S. Secretaries of State for an initial six-year term on the Court and was subsequently elected to a full nine-year term in 1951. In 1955 he succeeded
Sir Arnold McNair of Great Britain for a three-year term as President of the International Court of Justice. During his tenure on the Court, Hackworth adjudicated seventeen contentious cases and was asked to give eleven advisory opinions. Due to Hackworth's experience as a legal draftsman, the task of consolidating views of Court members was frequently assigned to him.
Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations
In the case ''Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations'', Hackworth disagreed with the Court in its interpretation of the implied powers doctrine and in his dissent maintained that, "powers not expressed cannot freely be implied. Implied powers flow from a grant of express powers, and are limited by those that are "necessary" to the exercise of powers expressly granted." He disagreed with the majority in that he felt that the majority used an unduly wide version of the implied powers doctrine by relating the power to be implied not to an express provision but rather to the functions and objectives of the organization concerned.
[Fry, James D. ''Legal Resolution of Nuclear Non - Proliferation Disputes'' U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2013. p.69.]
International Court of Justice rulings
Positions
1916 - Law Clerk, U.S. Department of State
1918 - Assistant Solicitor, U.S. Department of State
1925 - Solicitor of the Dept. of State, U.S. Department of State,
1931 - Legal Adviser of the Dept. of State, U.S. Department of State
1930 - Member of U.S. Delegation,
Conference on the Codification of International Law
1939 - Adviser to U.S. Secretary of State, Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the American Republics
1940 - Member of U.S. Delegation, Conference of American States
1943 - Member of U.S. Delegation,
Moscow Conference
1944 - Member of U.S. Delegation,
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
The Dumbarton Oaks Conference, or, more formally, the Washington Conversations on International Peace and Security Organization, was an international conference at which proposals for the establishment of a "general international organization", w ...
1945 - Chairman, Committee of Jurists for Drafting Statutes of the International Court of Justice
1945 - Adviser to US. Delegation,
San Francisco Conference on International Organization of the United Nations
1946 - U.S. Judge, International Court of Justice
Associations
*Council on Foreign Relations
*District of Columbia Bar
*U.S. Supreme Court Bar
*Permanent Court of Arbitration
*American Society of International Law
Publications
*"Digest of International Law" 1940-1944 (eight volumes)
See also
*
Marjorie M. Whiteman
References
Further reading
*Cox, Graham 2019 ''Seeking'' ''Justice for the Holocaust: Herbert C. Pell, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Limits of International Law'' University of Oklahoma Press.
*Pomerance, Michla 1996 '' The United States and the World Court As a 'Supreme Court of the Nations Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
*Simpson, Christopher 1995 ''The Splendid Blond Beast: Money, Law, and Genocide in the Twentieth Century'', Common Courage Press .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackworth, Green
American legal writers
International law scholars
1883 births
1973 deaths
Valparaiso University alumni
Presidents of the International Court of Justice
American judges of United Nations courts and tribunals
20th-century American judges