Moore, John Bassett

Moore, John Bassett, 1860–1947, American authority on international law, b. Smyrna, Del. He was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1883. He was (1885–86) a law clerk in the Dept. of State and was (1886–91) an Assistant Secretary of State before becoming (1891–1924) a professor at Columbia. He represented the United States on several important international commissions. He was (1912–38) on the panel of the Hague Tribunal and was (1921–28) the first American judge on the World Court (the Permanent Court of International Justice). Moore believed that the system of alliances that grew up after World War I threatened to make every conflict worldwide and that maintaining neutrality would tend to localize wars. His History and Digest of International Arbitrations (6 vol., 1898), Digest of International Law (8 vol., 1906), and International Adjudications, Ancient and Modern (8 vol., 1937) are standard compilations. His other books include American Diplomacy (1905), Four Phases of American Development (1912), International Law and Some Current Illusions (1924), The Permanent Court of International Justice (1924), and Collected Papers (7 vol., 1945). He also edited the works of James Buchanan (12 vol., 1909–11).

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Moore, John Bassett (1860–1947) international jurist; born in Smyrna, Del. He combined public service with legal scholarship as a professor of law and diplomacy at Columbia University (1891–1924). At the U.S. State Department (1885–91), he dealt with all major American consular business; he was assistant secretary of state during the Spanish-American War and a State Department counselor (1913–14). He was the first U.S. judge on the World Court (1921–28). Among his extensive writings and compilations was Digest of International Law (8 vols. 1906).