It is with great sorrow that those of us at the Squire Law Library who knew him, learnt of the death of Sir Elihu Lauterpacht on Wednesday.
Sir Eli was a good friend of the Squire, who over the years played an important role in its development, particularly in the field of International Law. Eli was generous and warm-hearted, attracting many friends. He devoted much of his efforts towards preserving and highlighting the legacy of his illustrious father, Sir Hersch, and to this end founded the Lauterpacht Research Centre in 1983. He continued his father’s work on the internationally renowned International Law Reports. Sir Eli was also highly regarded international lawyer in his own right who was involved in numerous ICJ cases, as well as international trade and boundary arbitrations.
We had the pleasure of conducting a series of interviews with Eli in 2008 for the Eminent Scholars Archive, and those who wish to be reminded of his voice and fascinating reminiscences over seventy years can find these audio recordings and a gallery of photographs in his Archive entry.
Sir Eli was a teacher and practitioner of great repute and the law fraternity at Cambridge will sorely miss him.