TRIBUTE TO PROFESSOR JORDAN PAUST.

• Author: Nanda, Ved
• Position: University of Houston Law Center professor - Testimonial

It is such an honor to pay tribute to a giant in the field of international law, Professor Jordan Paust, the Mike and Teresa Baker Law Center Professor of International Law at the University of Houston Law Center, who has recently retired after teaching there for 42 years. When the Houston Journal of International Law reached out, I readily accepted the invitation, with the only reservation that I may not be able to do justice to my friend's stature and accomplishments.

A widely admired scholar, a beloved teacher, and a powerful voice for justice and peace, Jordan delivered the Myres S. McDougal distinguished lecture in international law at the University of Denver College of Law last October. My students and colleagues had the opportunity to spend time with him and hear him speak eloquently on how essential it is for the U.S. to faithfully and enthusiastically abide by international law norms. Jordan has passionately and convincingly conveyed the message that it is in the U.S. interest to take international law seriously, to abide by it, and to set an example for the world community. This he has done from the platforms of prestigious international law fora, including the American Society of International Law, the American Bar Association, and International Law Association. And ever since he left Yale after working with the world-renowned international law teacher and the mentor to both of us, Professor Myres S. McDougal, Professor Paust has constantly spoken and written about it.

It is no secret that Jordan's scholarship has few peers: not only has he published several highly acclaimed books, but his over 200 articles, book chapters and essays are published in prominent law journals in the United States--Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Cornell, Texas', Duke, Houston, Denver, and the American Journal of International Law, among others. But his reach is not confined to the U.S. He has also published in Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands, Serbia, China, and Japan. Students and teachers there, as well, would attest to the rigorous analysis and insights for which his writing is known. I have taught and lectured in several countries around the world and am always pleased to find that Jordan is a permanent fixture in their law libraries. Professor Paust ranks among the top law school professors in the United States as measured by citations to his published work.

To my students at the University of Hawai'i Law School where I often teach in the summer session, I assigned Professor Paust's textbook. International Law and Litigation in the United States, which he wrote with our mutual dear friends, Professor Linda Malone and the late Professor Jon van Dyke. I am deeply impressed with the quality of their scholarship and the meticulous and thorough coverage of the critical legal issues in this book. I have also often used...