Jonathan C. Hamilton, “Lawless Pirates And Vigilantes,” Remarks on The 50th Anniversary of the Va. J. Int'l L., Virginia Journal of International Law, Charlottesville (2010)

According to Hardy Cross Dillard, “Some years back the notion prevailed, at least in unenlightened quarters, that international law was merely a polite curricular ornament to be viewed with tolerant indulgence by students, mild skepticism by the faculty and benign indifference by the bar. The Virginia Journal of International Law adds another testimonial to the vacuity of this notion.”

Thank you to the Editors, the Dean and fellow Board members. It is a pleasure and honor to return to the Dome Rome of the Rotunda. My brief remarks on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Virginia Journal of International Law will focus on the abiding - and, indeed, increasing - relevance of the Journal to its alumni (long known as “VJILantes”), the University, and to the practice of law today.

225 years ago, Mr. Jefferson, served as Minister Plenipotentiary of the nascent United States at Versailles. He conceived and articulated a vision for an international convention to carry out joint operations against vigilantes he described as "lawless pirates".  He presented his proposal following the seizure of two American vessels. Among other things, Jefferson contemplated a governing body, financial contributions by the participating states, a system for voting and, not least, control of administrative costs.

Alas, the convention did not reach fruition: it sank for want of commitment by the American government. Certainly, it was not the last time a convention on the law of the sea met the choppy waters of Washington, DC.

It also was not the last time that skepticism prevailed with respect to international conventions and the evolution of international law. As many a VJIL editor knows, in the early years of the Journal, Dean Hardy Cross Dillard stated:

"Some years back the notion prevailed, at least in unenlightened quarters, that international law was merely a polite curricular ornament to be viewed with tolerant indulgence by students, mild skepticism by the faculty and benign indifference by the bar. The Virginia Journal of International Law adds another testimonial to the vacuity of this notion."

To the current editors, let me assure you that the vacuity of disdain for international legal studies is undermined daily in the contemporary practice of law, as I and many other alumni can attest.

First, the substance. It is the Journal, and select others of its ilk, that has proven most relevant to the globalized practice of law.

My own favorites include:

•       Vol. II, No. 2, 1971: Foreign Investment in Latin America, including its anticipation of the relevance of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

•       Vol. 38, No. 3: Latin Am. Political Risk.

•       Vol. 38, No. 4:  Why LDCs sign BITS.

•       Vol. 36, The Case of Disappearing Political Risk, OPIC

Second, the skill set.

•       Patrick Henry said, "give me liberty or give me death." I say: give me lawyers who can cite and analyze the laws of many countries and treaties, and write well, and bluebook well, and

•       A simple cite to a U.S. case is fine but serves many billion dollar cases only a little.

•      It is precisely the intersection of international and multiple national laws that present the thorniest and most exciting challenge of the profession of law today.

Third, the students -  and the alumni connection, of VJILantes

•         A VJIL Board member inspired my interest in international law and disputes

•         A former VJIL author in Peru hired me to work as a visiting lawyer with a firm in Lima, and later was cross-examined by me in a case involving the Peru

•         Another former VJIL member gave me the one permanent job offer I have ever accepted

•         Another former VJIL member gave me my first work as a new attorney, a memo on comity from Grotius to the present. He is now my co-counsel on case to recover the looted artifacts of Machu Pichu.

•         Another former VJIL member asked me to work in our Mexico Office for years, having been a pioneering American on the ground in Latin America

•       Another former VJIL member has collaborated with me in bringing the largest case ever against the Argentine Republic

•       Another former VJIL member is one of my most trusted associates, who started from day one of his career on complex issues of comparative  law

•       And so it goes.  The substance. The skills. The students.

On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Journal, my former partner and fellow Board member Charles Brower, now a Judge in The Hague, cited Benjamin Franklin:

"At 20 years of age, the will reigns; at 30, the wit;

at 40, the judgment."

The will, the wit, the judgment, and for the Journal:

at 50, the perseverance, for 50 years. And the challenge of delivering quality scholarship, timely, and more immediately though electronic  means.

In closing, a story

When I was a law student, my future firm, White & Case donated funds to the expansion of the law school facilities and in particular for the offices of the  Journal. When student organizations migrated to the new space, construction workers offices found something special painted on the wall behind file cabinets in the old Law Review offices.  In stark letters, it read simple: VJIL RULES!

I couldn't agree more. Thank you.

Thomas Jefferson served as Minister Plenipotentiary of the nascent United States at Versailles. He conceived and articulated a vision for an international convention to carry out joint operations against vigilantes he described as “lawless pirates.” He presented his proposal following the seizure of two American vessels. Among other things, Jefferson contemplated a governing body, financial contributions by the participating states, a system for voting and, not least, control of administrative costs. Alas, the convention did not reach fruition: it sank for want of commitment by the American government. Certainly, it was not the last time a convention on the law of the sea met the choppy waters of Washington, DC.

Jonathan C. Hamilton