Nathan A. Kurz, “Hide a Fact Rather than State it”: The Holocaust, the 1940s Human Rights Surge, and the Cosmopolitan Imperative of International Law (Journal of Genocide Research, forthcoming)
The travaux préparatoires are one of the most studied documents in international legal scholarship. They are used as a means to study treaties, custom, and historical development. At the same time, we know very little about how they were produced, to what ends, and what is left out of them. Nathan Kurz makes a persuasive and powerful case for a more rigorous and critical analysis of the travaux as international legal documents - through the lens of human rights and the Holocaust in the 1940s. He demonstrates why scholars of international law need revise their understanding of the travaux as representing 'facts' and legal knowledge, and why these documents are historically problematic, with critical consequences for how we see international law today. This article, published in the Journal of Genocide Research, is highly original, innovative, and very well-researched. Highly recommended.
Boyd van Dijk
McKenzie Fellow
Melbourne Law School
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Most Interesting 2020: Kurz, “Hide a Fact Rather than State it”: The Holocaust, the 1940s Human Rights Surge, and the Cosmopolitan Imperative of International Law
Many thanks to all those who submitted their choices for most "interesting, important, or influential" article or book published in 2020! As a reminder, the call was open exclusively to junior scholars. Beginning today, I will post the submissions, in the order I received them. Each post will include the article and/or book and a statement from the recommender explaining the reason why they believe the article/book is interesting, important, or influential. The full series will be available at the label "Most Interesting 2020." Here's the first submission:
