Judging Iran: A Memoir of The Hague, The White House, and Life on the Front Line of International Justice

by Charles N. Brower

From a divided Berlin to The Hague, the Reagan White House, the forests of Costa Rica, and more, Judge Charles N. Brower shares a personal history of a life spent at the forefront of international justice— and a case for the role of law in preserving global peace.



A judge of the Iran– United States Claims Tribunal for four decades, Charles N. Brower is an
internationally recognized leader in arbitration and has handled cases on six continents. With quick wit and a keen eye for adventure, he takes readers on a tour of his extraordinary career.



As a young lawyer fresh from Harvard, Brower quickly made partner at a Wall Street
firm. After just four months, however, he left the expected path to join the U.S. State Department, embarking on a career that put him in the thick of Cold War Europe and led to a lifelong focus on international law.



Brower’ s drive carried him to the heart of pressing issues, including globalization, governmental ethics, environmentalism, and human rights. At each stop, Brower encountered criminals and victims, advocates and miscreants, especially at the Iran– United States Claims Tribunal, where heated disagreements between judges once erupted into physical violence. His work at The Hague was interrupted only by his time as an advisor to President Ronald Reagan at the height of the Iran– Contra scandal, and Brower eventually became the most-appointed American judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice.



Judging Iran is a frank insider account of the highest echelons of international law. As an active judge to this day, Brower offers a nuanced history of modern arbitration between nations, from our earliest concept of international law to today’ s efforts for justice. And, as a global citizen, he argues that the law is essential in our work for peace.

Genres: Law

352 pages, Hardcover

Published April 11, 2023

About the author

Charles Nelson Brower is a judge of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal at The Hague and an arbitrator member of 20 Essex Street chambers in London. Brower began his legal career at the New York office of White & Case, where he practiced from 1961 to 1969. He then served in the State Department Office of the Legal Adviser from 1969 to 1973. In his last year at Foggy Bottom he was acting Legal Adviser. Brower returned to White & Case as partner in 1973 and co-founded the firm’s Washington office, where he specialized in arbitrations. He first served as a full-time judge of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal from 1984 to 1988 and returned to the Tribunal in 2001, the same year he joined 20 Essex Street.

Reviews

[Christopher Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lively volume is well suited for anyone interested in international law, regardless of one’s level of familiarity with that subject. I appreciated the perspective of a practitioner who is not just highly experienced and intelligent, but also even-keeled.

[Weil · Rating 4 out of 5]

An honest review of a famous international lawyer's life and work -- maybe a bit too honest.