6 - Comments for a Cause

Summary

Following the initial Security Council discussion of Syria’s proposal for an advisory opinion, the Legal Advisor for the Provisional Government of Israel, Jacob Robinson, approached Hersch Lauterpacht, Professor of international law at the University of Cambridge, asking him to suggest arguments to make in opposition to Syria. A few months earlier, at the request of the political body proposing Jewish statehood, Lauterpacht had drafted a declaration for a Jewish state in Palestine. Lauterpacht answered with a series of reasons why members of the Security Council should defeat Syria’s proposal. Lauterpacht stressed the complexity of the issue as a reason against seeking an advisory opinion. He also suggested saying that the issues on which Syria wanted an opinion were political rather than legal in nature. Lauterpacht’s responses reflected both his legal advice and his personal opposition to Syria’s proposal. His reasons were conveyed to Aubrey Eban, who was the main spokesperson for the PGI at the United Nations.