Professor Emeritus David Caron ’83, a prominent international law expert and Berkeley Law professor for 26 years, died in London on February 20 at the age of 65.
A leading scholar, judge, and arbitrator, Caron taught at Berkeley Law from 1987 to 2013, gaining a reputation as a warm and generous peer and teacher. Colleagues recalled him as an international law “superstar,” an innovator, a mentor, and a nurturing father.
Caron became dean at Dickson Poon School of Law at King’s College in London in 2013. He continued there as a professor after leaving the deanship in 2016 to assume an appointment as a judge at the Iran-US Claims Tribunal in The Hague, where he also sat as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice.
Caron held numerous high-level roles in international law and dispute resolution. He served as an arbitrator, lead counsel, and expert in private and public proceedings, including commercial arbitration administered by the International Chamber of Commerce. Caron was also a member of the UN Compensation Commission for claims arising out of the 1990 Gulf War.
A prolific scholar, Caron sat on the editorial board for the American Journal of International Law and was co-editor-in-chief of the World Arbitration and Mediation Review and the Social Science Research Network International Environmental Law Ejournal.
He was president of the American Society of International Law and the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, and also chaired the International Law Section of the Association of American Law Schools.
At Berkeley Law, Caron taught public international law, resolution of private international disputes, ocean law and policy, and an advanced international law writing workshop. He served as co-director of the school’s Miller Institute on Global Challenges and the Law, as well as co-director of the Law of the Sea Institute, an internationally recognized forum for ocean law scholarship and analysis.
In 2000, Caron received the first Stefan A. Riesenfeld Award, which honors the longtime Berkeley Law professor and recognizes outstanding contributions to international law.
For the full article by Andrew Cohen, see here.
For additional stories about Professor Caron, see here.
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