The “English school” of international law: Soundings via the 1972 jubilee essays

As part of the Cambridge Law Journal’s centenary celebrations, this article reads two essays on law of the sea from the journal’s 50th anniversary issue. The essays, by Cambridge professors Robert Jennings and Derek Bowett offer resources for the history of international law and its historiography. They shine a light on key debates on the law of the sea at a crucial moment of its development. A close reading of these essays also reveals starting points for new scrutiny of an ‘English tradition’ of international law, including its relation to empire and capitalism