In Honor of Françoise Hampson – Series Introduction

In early 2022, Françoise contacted me, offering to write a two-part post for Articles of War. I was, of course, thrilled at the prospect of adding her to our roll of contributors and sharing her insights with our readers. She had long before cemented her place as an unquestioned pillar of the law of war community. I accepted her offer immediately—posts unseen—lest another publication secure her pen first.

The resulting series was everything I had hoped it would be. Addressing the relationship between the law of war and international human rights law, Françoise offered a perspective that was both sophisticated and clear while characteristically pragmatic. Leveraging her standing as that rarest “multilingual” scholar—fluent in both legal disciplines—Françoise’s posts were a pleasure both to edit and to absorb as a reader. And a well-known stickler for form, she offered a sincere apology for exceeding our word-count guidelines … by thirteen words. After the series, we continued to follow her work closely, always on the lookout for an opportunity to bring her treasured voice back to Articles of War.

This spring, we shared our field’s deep sadness at the loss of her brilliant mind and warm spirit. We soon resolved to memorialize her and her life’s work as best we could. It was immediately clear to us that she should join two of her contemporaries and other late law of war pillars, Colonel (ret.) W. Hays Parks and Professor Yoram Dinstein, whom we had already honored with memorial series.

We are pleased then to bring our readers this series in Françoise’s honor. It will begin with a remembrance by her close colleague at Essex University Law School, Professor Noam Lubell. Then, over the following weeks, we will publish a collection of posts by other colleagues and friends addressing subjects Françoise worked on during her career. These posts will not engage her work directly. Rather they will build off her work and offer independent analyses on those subjects, an approach Françoise would, no doubt, have preferred.

We hope this series will both honor her legacy and sustain the attention she and her work so richly deserve.

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Sean Watts is a Professor in the Department of Law and Philosophy at the United States Military Academy, Co-Director of the Lieber Institute for Law and Warfare at West Point, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Articles of War.

The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. 

Articles of War is a forum for professionals to share opinions and cultivate ideas. Articles of War does not screen articles to fit a particular editorial agenda, nor endorse or advocate material that is published.

Photo credit: UN Photo / Violaine Martin