In 1921, Kelsen became a judge on the Constitutional Court, bringing Lauterpacht into direct contact with a new idea, in Europe if not America: individuals had inalienable constitutional rights, and they could go to a court to enforce those rights. This was a different model from that which protected minority rights, as in Poland. The two key distinctions—between groups and individuals, between national and international enforcement—influenced Lauterpacht’s thinking. In Austria, the individual was placed at the heart of the legal order.
