Jonathan I. Charney: a tribute.

• Author: Bilder, Richard B.
• Position: International law teacher

It is a privilege to share in this tribute to my friend and colleague Jonathan.

I first met Jonathan in 1967 when he was a student in my international law class at the University of Wisconsin Law School. It was only my second year of teaching--I had just come to Wisconsin after some years with the State Department's Office of Legal Adviser. But Jonathan was a generous and forgiving, as well as excellent, student and somehow we both got through the course. Anyway, Jonathan became, first, the student of whom I was most fond; then, as his career developed, the student of whom I was most proud; and, eventually, as the years passed and our paths and work increasingly intersected, a valued colleague and friend. I can't count the number of occasions we were together--collaborating on at least four collective book projects; participating in American Society of International Law, Law of the Sea Institute, or on other committees or conference panels; and, most notably, serving together on the American Journal of International Law's Board of Editors where, for the last few years, Jonathan was the Co-Editor-in-Chief responsible for the Book Review Section of the Journal, which I edit.

Many of you here are familiar with the trajectory of Jonathan's distinguished career. But, to indicate both the broad range of his interests and involvement and the extent to which our profession and his colleagues recognized his work and abilities, let me mention a few of the highlights:

* Jonathan's work immediately after law school with the Department of Justice's Land and Natural Resources Division, where he quickly advanced to head its Marine Resources Section;

* His move to Vanderbilt Law School in 1972 where, among other distinctions, he was in 1999 appointed Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor and in 2001 appointed to the Lee S. and Charles A. Speir Chair in Law;

* His election in 1985 to the Board of Editors of Ocean Development Law and in 1986 to the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law (AJIL), and his election in 1998 and outstanding service since that time as co-editor with Michael Reisman of the AJIL;

* His contributions in innumerable capacities to the American Society of International Law (ASIL), including his election and service as Vice President of the Society from 1994-96;

* His important service as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the Third U.N. Conference on the Law of Sea (1974-81) and as a member of the U.S...