James C. N. Paul ’47

Jim died peacefully Sept. 13, 2011, at his home. He was a law school dean, law professor, international jurist, and a scholar in international human-rights law.

Jim devoted his life to legal education and truly made a difference. He served in the Navy in World II, then graduated from Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He spent two years as a law clerk to the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Frederick M. Vinson, and taught at the University of North Carolina School of Law, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Rutgers School of Law.

In the 1960s, Jim, with an Eisenhower Fellowship, consulted in Africa for the Peace Corps. His family moved to Ethiopia in 1963, where Jim created the country’s first law school. From 2001 to 2009, he served on a claims commission for Eritrea and Ethiopia at The Hague, Netherlands, hearing and ruling on war claims from the Eritrea/Ethiopia war.

Jim enjoyed his retirement on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with Peggy, his wife of 63 years. He is survived by Peggy and their two daughters, Martha and Adelaide Paul; a son, Nicholas Paul ’75; seven grandchildren; and two great-granddaughters. The class extends sympathy to Peggy and the family. We will greatly miss Jim.